#'s 13, 14, & 15. And #'s 25, 2, & 1

So, I've been riding but not writing about rides, though I was quoted in the RedEye about riding. But now that the weather has turned I more or less ride for everything. I've been riding to class, I ride to Dominick's, I ride to the post office, I ride to Wrigley: no desire to get behind the wheel anymore, which is good given the newly discovered cracked radiator. And though I try to change things up as often as possible a lot of the routes are very similar, so in order to avoid redundancy I'm going to focus on new paths, exercise rides, and pavement bombing routes as opposed to the "for fun" and short zen rides.

So since my last ride post I've gone on three document-worthy rides, numbers thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. Thirteen was pure exercise, I raced myself every minute of the ride. Saturday afternoon... Saturdaaaay Afternooon  ...April 10th, 1pm to 3pm and it was my exact throwback route.

Ride fourteen was a mad dash from point A to B to C. I had 10 minutes to get from Bryn Mar and Kimball to Wrigley Field for the 1st Inning. I made it with 3 minutes to spare, even squeezing out a twitpic walking in. Google Map'd.

The following pictures are from Wrigley. Cubs rallied for four runs in the eighth to win 7 - 6 over the Brewers, great game. Theriot, Fukudome, and Lee all hitting real well.

Addison & Clark Entrance, 04/14/10 - Walking in during the National Anthem

A beautiful day at The Friendly Confines

Five dollar tickets on Stubhub. Of course I snuck down seven rows

Ride fifteen was today. I reversed my normal route and headed Southeast on Lincoln towards the lake, then South into Old Town, East on Division, and then back North on the Lake Shore Bike Path. Winds were around 25 mph and I was hoping to catch the stream heading North but they were crashing in from the West pretty heavily. Google Map'd.

Pictures below are in order corresponding to the numbers listed on the map.

The Hancock Building in the distance from the corner of Division and Astor

#Chicago #Beach

Lake Shore Bike Path on the left, facing North

Starting the hunt for a new bike this weekend. I want to go into this as educated as possible so I'm taking my time doing as much research and test riding as I can. Any suggestions or advice is always welcome and greatly appreciated.

Happy Official Awesome Spring Chicago Weather Riding Season!

-Zach

@thegratefulone

Excuse Me, Lollygagger: I've Got Some Pavement to Shred

So, ten rides into the season and I've already grown tired of my original route from last year, the route highlighted here in Ride Number Eight, so I decided to mix it up on Friday and rode South into Wicker Park on Damen. Pretty scenic, very "city." But it was still extremely windy out, especially heading South, so I cut the route short and dove East at North Avenue, and only ventured slightly into Old Town before hitting the Lake Shore bike path and heading back North (though I must say heading North on the bike path, riding with the winds, is a world of difference compared to riding South against the winds along the lake). Google map'd.

This is the time of year when it seems like the number of people outside increases exponentially by the hour. And with more people bring more obstacles which in turn brings more fun! I've realized the last few days of riding that everybody who rides is riding for a different reason. Most ride to lollygag, lazily enjoying the scenery around them; others are riding for pure exercise, zooming past in spandex suits; while others are riding for commuter purposes, taking them from point A to point B. There are hundreds of reasons why any individual is out on a bike, and they are all good reasons.

I ride for sport. I ride aggressively. I ride the shit out of these roads. I ride in front of traffic; I do not slow down; I get in your way and I pedal with full force; I bomb every bit of open pavement using every muscle in my body. And as the city grows to life throughout the summer, the same trails get increasingly challenging, bringing more and more adventure to the sport of city bike riding.

Here is my route from Friday's ride. While it was shorter than usual, around 14 miles, it was a step in a new direction, finding new routes and new trails to take me on new adventures.

Here are some pictures from this ride. Click any of the shots, including the map above, for larger slides. Pictures are numbered according to the map above.

(1) Chicago river from North Avenue facing Southeast

with the N. tip of Goose Island on the right

(2) At North Beach, facing West, away from the lake.

You can see the wind in this picture.

 

(3) North Ave. Beach facing East towards the lake.

Really quickly I want to mention "30 Days of Biking," an event taking place throughout all of April. The idea, pretty self explanatory, is to ride every day of April. It's a national thing and a topic that has started gaining attention on twitter. You can find more information about it here: 30 Days of Biking

And here is the twitter search for it: #30daysofbiking

Happy Easter!

-Zach

@thegratefulone