See Chicago from a Bicycle
Chicago is known for its museums, its skyline, one of world’s tallest building, and the legendary second city status.
Second city does not refer to being second to New York City, but the second Chicago built after the great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned down the first city.
Chicago is the perfect size for a big city. The pace is not to fast, not to slow, but just right for everyone to enjoy a leisurely stroll or mad dash to any given destination.
To mingle with Chicagoans and see how they relax, along with viewing the beauty of the city and all that it has to offer, there is only one place to visit, the lakefront. The best way to enjoy this non-tourist destination is by bicycle and during the summer.
Whether one is biking, jogging, rollerblading or walking the 29 miles of lakefront trials is the perfect spot to start a relaxing adventure. The trail is called the bike path by Chicagoans, and bikers do have the right of way. It is wise to stay to the right of the path or walk on the grass, if you are on not on a bike. Biking is just like driving, slow vehicles on the right side of the road.
Bicycles can be rented at Navy Pier. To start at the north end of the bike path, ride your rented bike west from the pier to Michigan Avenue and board the 147 Northbound Howard bus. City buses have added racks to hold two bicycles.
The bike path starts at Hollywood beach-the furthest north beach in city limits-and the bus stops 150 feet from the beginning of the path. As you ride south on the path, the first introduction to city dwellers starts at Foster where an open outside basketball court sits two feet from the path. This may be a good opportunity to take a break to play a game of pick up for a few minutes before a line of “we got next” starts at the court.
Two minutes south of the basketball court is a skateboard park at Wilson. The skate park is a great place to watch skater kids crash and burn. The adventurous bandits on a board with wheels look magnificent in their artistic dance through the air when one is pedaling pass the open venue at a leisurely pace.
Six blocks south of the skateboard park is the nine-hole golf course at Irving Park. This park also has tennis courts, a bird sanctuary, a playground for children, a little beach for dogs, and the entrance to Belmont Harbor. When sail boats are nestled in harbor slots or sitting in the middle of the lake, it transforms the city into a Mediterranean port, especially in July when the Chicago to Mackinaw Sailboat Race takes over Lake Michigan.
Traveling further south on the path you’ll bike by the Theater on the Lake at Fullerton which also houses a beachfront cafÃ?©. The theater is open mid June through mid August and reasonably priced. The facility is enclosed with mesh screening to prevent mosquitoes and other bugs from biting patrons while watching a semi outdoor movie.
A mile south of Fullerton is the most active beach in Chicago. The North Avenue Beach House which looks like a white ocean liner beached on the sand is where the 18-35 age group come in the summer to participate in volleyball tournaments for fun and titles, play and watch in-line hockey games, lounge on the upper deck of the beachfront caf�©, workout at the outdoor athletic club, and watch the Air and Water show in August.
The highlight of North Avenue Beach is just a few paces south of the ocean liner cafe, the chess atrium. Sixteen tops of raised concrete slabs are painted with squares and people bring their chess pieces to play games as long as the sun is out. Cyclists usually stop to watch people play chess.
The Chicago skyline is prominently in view from the chess atrium. It is a short sprint towards the legendary Oak Street Beach. This is the beach to “people watch.” The beachfront cafÃ?© is the perfect spot to watch sunbathers, people eating, lifeguards watching swimmers from their towers and boats, people on sitting on the balconies of their lakefront condominiums, and people biking from the directions of North Avenue Beach and Navy Pier.
The bike path around Oak Street Beach is the nearest one gets to the traffic of Lake Shore Drive. It’s a real marvel to watch cars and trucks speed by while your next destination is Navy Pier.
The transformation of Navy Pier from its drab grey concrete days in the early 1900s is a marvel. The 1.5 mile long piece of land houses a museum for children, restaurants, a garden, interactive games, bicycle rentals, boat rides, and free concerts in the summer and early fall. The pier is where thousands go to watch the Independence Day (celebrated in Chicago on July 3rd) and New Year’s Eve fireworks.
The bike path continues south pass the museum campus, Soldier Field, McCormick Place and the Museum of Science and Industry ended at the South Shore Cultural Center on 71st and South Shore Drive. The south end of the path is tranquil. It’s the perfect time to get lost in your thoughts and nod your head (the biker greeting) when a fellow biker zooms by in the opposite direction.
The two-hour roundtrip journey is worth every push on the pedal. Biking the lakefront is the only way to view a cross section of every neighborhood and ethnic group in the city. The beautiful architecture and the laid back nature of the people of the great city of Chicago will make every visitor appreciate and understand why Chicagoans love their paradise on the lake.
