Saturday Ride: Just recreational

Yesterday, I went for a short ride with a friend. The ride was really nothing special, but we did see a guy pulled over on McCormack St. My friend noted that one of the officers had unholstered his gun and was keeping behind his bike. I noted that the guy was black. Coincidence?

Friday Evening: Critical Mass

Just woke up from a great night. Last night was Critical Mass, a bike ride which occurs on the last Friday of the month in cities around the world. It's free to participate and there isn't an organizational structure to the Mass. If you want to lead, then you make a map, or get in front and lead the people. The Chicago Critical Mass is pretty popular and in warmer months attracts thousands of cyclists.

Many serious cyclists are anti-Critical Mass because they feel that it reinforces stereotypes that cyclists are fringe, law-breaking assholes who don't care about who they inconvenience and who have no problem fueling animosity between cyclists and non-cyclists and motorists. I totally get that and I myself feel a little conflicted.

I've thought it over and I feel a little differently about the matter. Critical Mass doesn't have a specific agenda. So you can make it whatever you want for it to be. I think it's a great way of showing that bikes are fun and they can get you anywhere you want to go. It's especially effective when we go to neighborhoods that I don't usually visit. The people there are always excited to see all the bikes ride by.

I definitely like to play up the fun factor. I decorate my helmet with balloons and it's really great fun. It brings a smile to people's faces and it really just looks cool. Bonus points for making yourself more visible and being able to find your group in a crowded area.

After work, I met my friend Lisa in Daley Plaza and set to work customizing her bike. I'll look for pictures of it later. It looked good. I then did my helmet and fulfilled my promised Bike Salute for Dubi Kaufmann for his Bike Salute project:

After customizing the helmets of Zach (my boyfriend) and his brother, it was time to take off from the plaza.

We were all in front for the first couple of miles or so. I saw my friends Colleen and Dana on the sidewalk. Lots of people got a kick out of our helmets. I wanted to fall back so we could see more people, so we did. I talked to some guys who were biking from LA to NYC. I was impressed.

I saw some more people whom I had met on previous rides including John Greenfield and Ellen and some other assorted people from The Chain Link.

We made it to the final destination: Garfield Park. After milling about a bit, we took off to Lisa's place and ordered a pizza. The way home was great. It's always fun to ride around with the balloon helmets without the mass.

What a great night!

Friday Morning: almost no stops

One of the things I challenge myself to do on my commute is to try to not come to a complete stop. It makes it more entertaining for me.

Today I made it from the intersection onto Lawrence by my place all the way to Ohio and Wells downtown without having to put my foot down.

For some reason that gives me quite a bit of satisfaction.

My first collision

Well, it has finally happened to me, and I am certainly feeling pretty lucky.

I was biking down Lincoln and going at a good clip towards the light at Diversey. I see a black SUV parking and it looks like it's finished, so I'm keeping on going. There's a line of cars waiting for the light, but the bike lane is clear other than the parked car. I approach the car and at some point when I was really close, it pulls back out into the bike lane. By this point I'm between the SUV and there's another car approaching the light. I manage to swerve and break, but I start fishtailing and my thighs brush against both cars...I think. I also feel the back of my bike hit something. I'm still going forward and fortunately I have the presence of mind to unclip from my pedals and I'm able to come to a stop.

I check to make sure I'm okay and the bike is okay. It seems that it was just my rack that hit the car and it's fine.

I went back and I think I was pretty calm. I was definitely shaking and probably talking ridiculously fast. The lady was really concerned and didn't care at all about the scratch on the car. She said that she was going to be a lot more careful. She even offered to have me go and get a manicure with her at the salon, which I guess was her destination. SInce I was okay, I declined and biked home.

Now I'm realizing how much I really lucked out. It's not very often that one can come away from an incident and have it be the suv that is damaged more than the bike. I'll probably be a little more careful when threading the needle.

At least I know my reflexes work. Yay for instincts.

Thursday Morning: No Scrubs

So, this morning I was thinking about the TLC song No Scrubs. You know:

I don't want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend's ride
Trying to holler at me
I don't want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend's ride
Trying to holler at me

Well, I wasn't being hollered at, but I sure got held up by some idiots cruising down the street yelling at girls on the sidewalk. I tried to pass them, but there was oncoming traffic...and I felt a little ogle coming my way. Come on! It's 8 am, save it for the evening guys!

Other sights: A dog going after a squirrel when his owner seemed a little unprepared for the morning walk; three uniformed school kids looking really sad at having to go back to school and one mom seeming pretty frustrating at having to get them going.

The ride was nice. I hit most of my lights, though I always feel like kind of a jerk when I pass faster riders who get to lights when they are still red. I always coast or slowly approach a red light so I can get going again without having to actually stop. Invariably I pass someone who went fast the entireway to the light, but then had to stop. I try to reason that they just need to learn the routes better. The lights are on timers people!

I saw one of my co-workers on the way in. I just said hi since i needed to get to work and shower and she was alreay dressed for work. Today was humid, and I was sweating buckets getting ready in my apartment...so I decided a shower was necessary today. I'm guesing that pretty soon it will be cool enough for me to do all my showering at home and skipping the at-work rinse.

Wednesday Evening

After work, I biked over to my swing dance class in the West Loop. It's so much easier than having to figure out public transit to areas that aren't exactly close to el stations.


Later that same night I took Halsted up to Lincoln. Wow, there was a lot of broken glass on the street? Did I miss some kind of celebration where you throw bottles at the ground? Is this guerrilla warfare against cyclists? I know one street that is in need of a street cleaning.

When I almost was up to Lincoln, I heard squealing tires and almost witnessed an accident after a car almost blew a stop sign. No collision, but it certainly made me scared for a moment.

My arrival onto Lincoln Ave is always kind of like coming home. I know that street. Those lights. Those cabs parked in the bike lane. Aw.


One sad note. I didn't make it though the light at Irving and Lincoln, I had to stop, so I rolled by the bus shelter and was surprised to see a cat laying at the stop. Dead of course. Poor thing even had a collar. Poor thing. It kind of reminded me of my cat, Napoleon.

Here's a salute to the fallen.

Wednesday Morning

I'm really loving the cool weather that we are having this August. The wind wasn't bad this morning, which makes it easy.

I took my normal route, but I saw a couple of new characters.

One was an older gentleman who was quite the rider! He had a very good, fast cadence, which is something I'm working on developing. He said good morning at the light at Addison and then I breezed by him...but lo and behold! He caught up and we stayed together until Lincoln turned into Wells and he got kind of confused...it must have been a new commute for him. So I told him that it was in fact Wells and then I hurried up so I could make it through the light at North and didn't see him again for the rest of the ride.

So, I made it through the light and I'm enjoying the ride for a couple of blocks and I go up to pass a guy who was already dressed for work. I say "on your left" and pass and look back to make sure that I can safely take the bike lane and I see that it's actually someone I know! It's Chris.

Chris is a guy who's in my concert band. He had used to ride a lot, but then he said he was too old for it. It was so great to see him back on the bike. I slowed up and chatted a bit. However, I was running late and today was a day I planned to shower at work, so I had to take off. I'll be looking for him in the future.

Today was definitely an A+ ride.

Perimeter Ride

I've had some biking epiphanies lately and so I hereby am recommitting myself to updating this blog.

About my recent cyclying activities: I recently participated in the 7th annual Perimeter Ride, let by the amazing John Greenfield. This ride started at the Hollywood Grille on North and Ashland and went around the general perimeter of the city.

What a ride it was! Over 60 people started the ride and it looked like there were about 30 when I broke off to head home.

So, meeting the wonderful people there led me to desire to start getting more serious about the biking thing. So I'm going to do some century rides.

I also recently hit the 1000 mile mark on my new bike. I got it on May 20, 2008 and hit the bike one oh oh oh on August 20, 2008.

Anyway, my new commitment is just going to be to write about my rides, be in commute, recreational, training or whatever. Sometimes it may be boring, sometimes it may be interesting, but it will get me writing. Here goes!