Last week, I found myself in the greater Chicago area for a work trip as a "hired gun" of sorts. I had a trip similar to this last year, when we needed some assistance in our Indy location. Mayhaps I have a future in this type of role. Anyway, the most recent trip proved to be momentous for several reasons.
For starters, I'd never been to Chicago proper, except for a couple layovers in the airports and one pass-thru on a high school youth group trip. Even knowing that I had some pretty full work days ahead of me, I was pretty excited to spend some time in a new city, no matter how brief it might be. And of course, I was excited to ride a bike in a different locale. You didn't think I'd travel without one, did you?
I arrived on Sunday around 4PM Central Time (the trip there was much more exciting knowing I was "gaining" time). After checking in to the hotel and a brief stop at the shop to get my bearings, I pulled the bike out of the back of my work truck and headed out to explore, but mostly to find some dinner. My hotel was conveniently located about a mile from the Great Western Trail, which easily connects several of the western suburbs for those who prefer alternative transportation methods:
I'll have more info on the trail later. As for my destination for the evening, after a 4.5 mile ride I ended up at a very typical destination for me: a microbrewery! I've had a longstanding joke with my cousin when sipping our first sip of a beer, where we'd say "That tastes like...more." I finally found the literal representation of this little quip:
I did also eat some food, not pictured. At the end of the night, I had another quirky sight of my bike in a hotel room. I didn't get quite as many weird looks from the front desk this time, but you can tell they don't see this very often:
The shop was only a mile from the hotel, so I was more than capable of riding to and from there every day. Monday was mostly gray with some heavy rains mixed in, so I didn't do much riding other than those short commutes. On Tuesday, things were a little more cooperative and I was able to get in a good ride into the city with some assistance. I headed back to the trail after finishing up my work day:
The Great Western Trail is your pretty typical rail trail, composed mostly of packed gravel, which makes for some leisurely riding for a cyclist of just about any experience level. It was a short 2 mile ride from my hotel into the town center of Lombard, where I picked up the train from there:
The commuter trains in Chicago are no joke. I didn't get a pic of the whole train, but it was at least 8 cars deep, and they're double-decked to boot. I'm told that these are routinely packed on weekday mornings and afternoons. As such, they don't allow bikes on board during these times. During non-peak hours, bikes are totally fine. I've done this before, but it's still a low-level thrill that I truly appreciate, especially now that I live in a place where this isn't commonplace:
I stowed my bike safely and decided to ride on the upper level just because, ya know...I could:
After a smooth 40-minute ride, I found myself in Downtown Chicago. Immediately, I noticed one of their bikeshare stations to my left upon exiting the station:
As much as I have enjoyed and appreciated using various bike share systems throughout the US, I was kinda glad I didn't have to use one for a change. There's just something about riding your own bike in a different place. But in any case, I'll probably find myself using Divvy at some point during a future visit.
Anywho, I planned to meet up with friends for dinner later in the evening, but I was lucky enough to have caught the earlier train into the city with about an hour or so to explore. I felt a strange feeling of familiarity riding through these streets, even though I'd never been here before:
It almost felt like NYC, or Philly, if I'm being totally honest. It was eerily comfortable, and I really can't explain why.
I had looked ahead and made exactly one planned stop at one of the most cliché places in the city, Millennium Park:
I had a bit of an ulterior motive for this destination other than the touristy picture. You see, as luck would have it, this particular ride put me over 2,000 miles of riding on the year 2021, on my 570th consecutive day of riding. By the way, my goal for this year was to hit 2,000 for the first time since 2018. You might say I'm ahead of my pace.
Continuing on, I headed as far east as Lake Shore Drive, where the trail continues between the roadway and Lake Michigan:
I also made it far enough south on the trail to catch a glimpse of Soldier Field before heading west to meet up with my friends for dinner. I didn't have much time for more exploration after that. My final day in the area on Wednesday was also tame by comparison, but I did get one more nice view of the Great Western Trail at sunset, and I spotted the dedication plaque with lots of interesting historical tidbits:
I told you I'd have more info on the trail later in the post, didn't I? I'm a tad disappointed I didn't notice this until my last day in the area, because I would have loved to explore a little more of the trail and its surroundings. I guess I'll have to come back, no?
My adventurous week didn't end in Chicago. After a brief commute in on Thursday, I was headed back to Columbus. By Friday night, I'd picked up my family and found myself in my home town for another quick visit:
Thanks again to Mom for letting me borrow her bike for a couple weekend rides to keep my streak alive. I'd only traverse this ridiculous amount of miles in such a short time for a momentous occasion. In this case, my niece's 2nd birthday. After a year away due to COVID, I'm keeping true to my promise not to miss another birthday. It's a nice bonus when my Sister buys her a balance bike to mark the occasion:
And of course, when I get to see my niece enjoying it. This was the best pic I could get. It's tough to keep an excited child sitting still for more than a half second:
Biking in three different states in one week was definitely not on my radar as recently as a month ago, but when life hands you an opportunity, take advantage. I'm sure I could have squeezed in a little more, but I got a lot out of this one, and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next time, should the next time arise.
