A couple of weeks ago, I shared photos of my bike ride through Chicago's first protected lane on Kinzie Avenue. I love this lane, so now I'm sharing the experience with all of you. Sorry for the jumpy video - the ride is more peaceful than it looks, but Chicago's streets are bumpy and I was holding the camera in my hand. Enjoy!
read moreTrisha and I have started a cycling-themed podcast series! We'll talk to creators of sites and bicycles we like, other bloggers, each other and more. I encourage you to subscribe to the LGRAB Podcasts for free via iTunes to stay up-to-date on all future podcasts. Simply click on the link, then "view in iTunes" and "Subscribe." Our first podcast is an interview with John Greenfield and Steven Vance, co-creators and writers of Chicago-based sustainable transportation blog Grid Chicago. Both have past insid...
read moreI recently biked along the city's first protected bike lane. It happened to be the most direct route to get from work to the bar where I was meeting Ash for drinks. And it was amazing - all I hoped for and more. These pictures really don't do the lane justice. Most of the lane is next to the curb and separated from moving car traffic by flexible bollards and parked cars. It is wide and comfortable and felt totally safe. Not having to worry about how close drivers were passing on my left or watch out for open...
read moreThe Loop is the very center of downtown Chicago, filled with courthouses, office buildings, theaters and shopping. Unfortunately, biking in the Loop anytime between 7:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. is very stressful. Bicyclists have to take the lane and haul ass. The wide, one-way streets are a free-for-all of buses, speeding cabs, personal vehicles of those with enough money to pay for parking, police SUVs, and pedestrians. I dislike biking in the Loop so much, When I have to go to court, I park my bike at my office and ...
read moreImagine my surprise when I visited the main page of the Chicago Tribune this evening and saw the big lead story: City to rent thousands of bicycles. Apparently, city officials just announced plans for a large scale bike-sharing system. Oh yes yes yes!! The system is still in the planning stages and a company has not yet been picked to implement it, but it's expected to start in the summer of 2012, with 3,000 bikes at 300 stations around the city, most 1/4 of a mile apart in the most dense areas. By 2014, t...
read moreLast week, I logged onto the Chicago Tribune website and the headline proclaimed: Police Crackdown on Bicyclists: 240 Warnings, 1 Ticket. That got the public's attention. Readers left 340 comments on the article and recommended it on Facebook 1,000 times. The majority of the comments were ridiculously anti-bicyclist and rejoiced at the comeuppance. And all of that is good. I'm totally cool with it. Because the crackdown took place at the very intersection where the city is quickly constructing its first p...
read moreYesterday, while waiting at a red light on my bike, a woman with a baby on the back of her bike rolled up and stopped next to me. I waved and cooed to the baby until he smiled. Then his mother said, "Say hi," and he did, flapping his chubby little hand, eyes shining under his helmet. The light turned green, she told me to go ahead and I told her to have a good day. In an ideal world, sweet meetings like that would happen all the time. In reality, I very rarely see anyone bicycling on Chicago streets with a...
read moreWhen I got on my bike Friday morning, I made a last-minute decision to take the Lakefront Trail instead of my usual street route, since I was not feeling up to car traffic and was not in a rush. The Lakefront Trail in spring is totally different from the Lakefront Trail I wrote about in winter. First, getting on the trail was a challenge, as recent thunderstorms created a moat in the underpass access. The water was very deep, so I backtracked up the ramp and biked three blocks south to the next access po...
read moreBreathing behind the exhaust pipes of cars, trucks and SUVs is one of the worst parts of bike commuting. Although passengers in motor vehicles breathe in extra pollution from the toxic chemicals leaching off the car interior itself, a recent study found that bicyclists in Brussels breathe in 5 times more air pollution than drivers or pedestrians. On the other hand, I remember a study that declared bicyclists breathe in less air pollution, but I cannot find a link to it now. What I know for sure is my own experienc...
read moreWBEZ asks this question and Julie Hochstadter answers. For those of you who are not from Chicago, brief introductions: WBEZ is my beloved Chicago Public Radio, Julie is co-owner of The Chainlink and all-around awesome woman. Julie's take on the question: basically, bicycling is a political statement even if you don't intend it to be because you're doing something out of the norm. Also, you're saving the world. ;) But bicycling is also fun, practical, safe and fast. I cannot embed the story, so read ...
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