ChiWhoBike #91
I have days in the summertime when I take the whole day and I just ride through Chicago. I’ll start in Uptown or West Ridge and I’ll go all the way out to Beverly. And those are some of my favorite rides. Riding on the same street on the northwest side and on the southeast side in the same day, I geek out on that. It’s a great way to know the city, especially as a lifelong Chicagoan. So those are always all day rides, and you really have to be on when you’re riding in Chicago streets. My bike is like my third arm.
I started biking when I was five years old. My aunt’s girlfriend at the time bought me my first bike, and my uncle, who was going off in the Navy, taught me how to ride it and my grandmother taught me how to get good at it. And when I was a kid I would sneak off on my bike all across Chicago.
I use this bike to commute, but I also use it to bike around my state senate district. I think you see things differently when you’re on the bike. And I like to ride on the bike trails outside of the city - that’s often where I go to recharge. So I’ll go out to the Fox River Valley, and ride on the Prairie Trail, which takes you all the way to Wisconsin, that’s like a day trip. I’ll take the Fox River Trail out to Aurora, about 40 miles. But I like to ride it around the city. I mean, this is the bike I use for the potholes and turbulent streets in Chicago. And I use it for everything.
When you asked earlier about a cool ride, a bike ride I did recently, I forgot to talk about Critical Mass. And yes, as a state senator, I do participate in the critical mass - I’ve been doing it since before I was an elected official. I think it’s a wonderful thing when several hundred people take over streets and bike, and there’s so much joy and movement that’s happening, and there’s music and there’s space for people who are nerdy or weird. And I think that’s good for the world right now. I always enjoy Critical Mass. Even last fall when we took over part of the 94 expressway downtown, I was on that ride.
