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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 2, 2017 at 10:05am

In case you haven't seen it, there's a route recommendation for Oak Park (to and from the city):

http://www.thechainlink.org/page/routes-to-and-from-oak-park-to-chi...

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Permalink Reply by Meg on August 2, 2017 at 10:12am

Thanks for the link, much appreciated. I was hoping to avoid Jackson to Lake going E/W due to poor street conditions as there is often broken glass. But I was hoping to also zig zag a bit but not excessively. So many options!

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Permalink Reply by ad on August 2, 2017 at 11:36am

You hear horror stories about Lake, but the pavement is in decent shape, and the broken glass is livable if you invest in high-end puncture proof tires (**serious knock on wood now for tonight's ride**).  The rub with Lake is the L noise, which can be annoying, but you get use to it to a degree. 

Cutting down Damen, then taking Augusta west, and heading south on Central Park Ave. to Lake is another option to get you out to OP using bike lanes pretty heavily.  I personally do not like riding north/south on many of the major streets west of Central Park (like Laramie, Cicero, Central, Pulaski, etc.) since you pretty much have to take a lane, and traffic can move fast and pretty aggressive during rush times on those streets.  They're largely feeders to 290, as some of the side streets dead end and turn into one ways at random points.   

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Permalink Reply by Meg on August 2, 2017 at 12:49pm

Thanks Leah! That'd be great. Let me get a few of these routines under my belt and I'd love to ride out together. I'm fairly new to cycling in Chicago but decently confident as well. I got hit not too long ago so I just want to build my confidence back.

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Permalink Reply by ad on August 2, 2017 at 11:26am

Given how far north you are, you even have a couple of routes out to OP that others almost never take (and aren't talked about in the link). 

Lawrence has a bike lane essentially the whole stretch out to Central Ave.  If you continue on Lawrence from Central to Narragansett (no bike lane, but Lawrence is much calmer in that section), you can then take Narragansett south (which also has a bike lane for much of its length) all the way into OP (it basically becomes Ridgeland with a slight jog once you hit the boarder).  Ridgeland is a decent street to ride on in OP, and you can then turn off onto Lake.   

I've never ridden that route during typical rush hour periods, but I have ridden it several times home (I live in OP) later at night and on the weekends when I'm that far north in the City. 

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on August 3, 2017 at 3:15am

Great suggestion. Might do this for fun some weekend.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 2, 2017 at 11:30am

I used to ride Montrose West to Narragansett although Lawrence might be a better bet with the bike lane.

There are a few awkward spots on Narragansett with merging traffic but it's a pretty straight shot to Oak Park and you get to pass the sweet smell of the Mars factory.  

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Permalink Reply by Meg on August 2, 2017 at 12:50pm

I moved away from that sweet smell a few months ago to Uptown :) Don't really miss it haha. That neighborhood doesn't have a whole heck of a lot to do...

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Permalink Reply by Shawn Evans on August 2, 2017 at 8:22pm

You can ride Montrose to Laramie, and take Laramie as far south as you need to go. That way you avoid the train tracks on Narragansett.

There are also some side streets that have stoplights at the major arterials, although they are one way, such as Roscoe and Keeler.

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