Today was another lovely bike ride home. A little windy and chilly, but sunny and relaxing. Refreshing. I was grateful for the escape after a day at the office. Nothing helps me unwind and appreciate my place in life like time on the bike.
read moreSpring is such a beautiful time of year for riding a bike! Oma enjoyed very much spotting so many of her homeland's flowers during the ride home this evening. I put her flowered basket back on for now. I could feel a substantial weight difference with the front rack and basket today, versus strapping my bag to the rear rack, but the basket set-up is worth it for the convenience and aesthetics. The back street route I traveled was car-free for much of the time. Such a rarity in Chicago, which i...
read moreThe shining sun this morning lured me out to the Lakefront Trail, away from my usual route to work. Once I got onto the trail, I realized that there was an extremely strong headwind, the kind that slows me down by half. I started to feel grumpy (this was pre-coffee, people!) but I stopped myself and decided to focus on all the good. My path was clear, the sky had a subtle pink tint, and the spindly trees looked cool. I could turn my face up to the sun and feel the slight warmth on my skin. ...
read moreThe inevitable has happened: snow finally arrived in Chicago! Yesterday evening I was biking home without a jacket and today the streets look like this: Instead of my bike, I took public transit: I'm escaping to Nashville for a long weekend tomorrow, so I can deny the arrival of winter a little bit longer. :) Anyone enjoy a snow ride today?
read moreYesterday I was in the Pilsen neighborhood on Chicago's southside for the Women-Who-Bike brunch. I decided to take the Lakefront Path for the 10 mile ride home, which I could reach by taking the new protected bike lane on S. 18th Street from Canal to Clark Streets, connecting the Pilsen and Chinatown areas. This protected bike lane is one of three in Chicago and exists in part thanks to Alderman Solis (read more about his Ward's projects and his recent trip to the Netherlands here). Here is a quick video I mad...
read moreI ended the year on Saturday with a ride downtown along the Lakefront Trail with my friend Elizabeth. Here's a little video of cycling the Lakefront Trail heading south. I'm riding my Betty Foy and Elizabeth occasionally pops up with a santa hat on her helmet. The video is sped up by 150% and the song is by The Moonlighters from Free Music Archive. You can see that the car-free trail is a very nice route, especially when it's not crowded. I would take this route to work every day if it were a little more ...
read moreBright red seems like the best color for city cycling, getting drivers' attention while still looking stylish off the bike. Chic, classic, and bold. For this reason, I've been searching for the perfect red coat for two years, especially since seeing this post on Copenhagen Cycle Chic. Yesterday, the miraculous happened: I finally found "my" red coat. I was walking through Anthropologie during my lunch break, which I often do to torture myself because I usually can't afford their beautiful clothes, when I spott...
read moreHere is a little video I made of my morning bike commute through relatively quiet side streets. Not the most interesting video ever, but I wanted to show how it's possible to commute into downtown Chicago while avoiding busy streets and scary traffic. This is part of the quiet route that I often take, which I blogged about a few months ago here. It's hard to hear what I'm saying in the beginning and my memory card became full about 1/4 of my way to work, but you get the idea. The speed is 2.5x faster ...
read moreIt’s too bad that so many New Yorkers still complain about the bike lanes’ contribution to the inconvenience of urban driving instead of promoting them for their obvious role in helping solve the city’s transportation miseries, and for their aesthetic possibilities. I don’t mean they’re great to look at. I mean that for users they offer a different way of taking in the city, its streets and architecture, the fine-grained fabric of its neighborhoods...On a bike time bends. Space expands and contracts. Check...
read moreThe past two days have been rainy and super windy, so I've taken public transportation. The L train is no fun compared to my bikes, but I'm grateful for its convenience when needed. The combination of bicycling and access to great public transportation is what allows me to live without a car Happily, today is sunny and dry, although 39 degrees - brrr. I'll not complain about fall weather too much, because I know what's coming. Gotta remember to appreciate the present. Happy Friday!
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