A Bike Ride in the Blazing Sun 08/14/09

The sun was blazing today with temperatures near 90 degrees. Although I grew up in North Carolina and should be used to it, I absolutely hate extremely hot weather.  I’d much rather cycle in the snowy sun.  Despite the heat, I couldn’t sit around all day, so I put on my breeziest summer dress and set out on Oma.  This picture captures how hot the sun was, apparently burning through my clothes.

Blazing Sun

My original plan was to go to the art musuem and park downtown, but I did not get far before abandoning that idea – such a long ride with no shade and lots of crowds sounded miserable. Instead, I changed course and took a slow ride north to Andersonville, an old Swedish neighborhood that’s now pretty hip for the 30 plus crowd.

My route followed train tracks, a great way to get north/south since there is little traffic and few cross streets.

Metra Suburban Train

"El" Elevated Train - Chicago's version of the tube, subway, metro, etc.

In keeping with the free or inexpensive theme, my sweaty self stopped by a coffee shop for an Italian soda, browsed a bookstore, window shopped without purchasing anything, and settled on a shady bench with War & Peace. No joke, I’m going to read that book this summer – and early fall. I have a degree in Russian literature and have never read W&P – it’s my dirty little secret.  I have read Anna Karenina several times, if that makes up for anything.

New Project

Finally, I took some pictures to document the flavor of the neighborhood. I’m no photographer, but there are plenty of cool sightings, including several nods to the neighborhood’s Swedish heritage.

Technically, I did not accomplish anything today, but that was not really the point

Thanks to everyone for all the fabulous suggestions for filling my time! I took notes and I’m excited to start some new projects.