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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on December 15, 2009 at 8:02am

Here is the links to the photo album I just threw together. Sorry for the delay:

http://www.thechainlink.org/photo/albums/tour-of-hyde-park


We are also going to hangout after the ride at the same spot as the last ride, namely, Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap, which is a great place and treated us well last time....why switch it if you like it? Try the grilled cheese with a pint of anything on tap. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Yummy.

See you Saturday! - Lee

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 17, 2009 at 8:48am

Wow, Lee's Big Time! This weekend's ride made Crain's Chicago Business "10 things to do this weekend" column: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=36487

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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on December 17, 2009 at 11:25am

Cool. Thanks for letting me know Kevin. I am not quite the regular Crain's reader. Thanks!

Kevin Conway said:

Wow, Lee's Big Time! This weekend's ride made Crain's Chicago Business "10 things to do this weekend" column: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=36487

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on December 17, 2009 at 12:02pm

FYI, this route to get to Hyde Park is 18.7 miles. Around half bombing down Milwaukee.

Lee Diamond said:

NORTH SIDE MEET UP FOR HYDE PARK RIDE
Hello, hopefully the questions I have been getting regarding the north side meet up are a good indication of the interest in the ride. The total trek from the meeting place at the intersection of Elston and Milwaukee (THE SOUTHERN ONE RIGHT HERE) to the start of the tour at Washington Park is about 19 miles. Therefore since the tour starts at 1, it seems logical to make the meeting time at 11:30 AM, which gives northsiders 90 minutes to hike to the start of the tour. Remember, the tour itself is a 17-18 mile journey, so you could be looking at a pretty high mile day if you aren't used to that. Plus, it may be several miles of biking to get to the northside meet up which is near north side.
Just saying....

I have to haul at least two of my loaner bikes to the ride, plus my own so I can't join you, but I know of at least 3 riders who will be at the meet-up so there will be a group going down for sure. You can go anyway you like of course and a lot of people choose to take the lakefront path, which is easy enough, but if you are up for some cool architecture, you might want to try this:

Milwaukee south to Ogden
Ogden south to Racine
Racine south to 18th St.
18th St. east to Halsted
Halsted south to 35th St.
35th east to Michigan
Michigan south to Garfield (55th)
Garfield east to Martin Luther King Dr.

The field house is the mid-century modern brick building of no acclaim or pedigree. If you are standing in front of an impressive looking structure in Washington Park, you are in the wrong place.

Here is a map my ride link.

I am quite excited for this! I will post some public transportation info shortly and put a photo album of the area's architecute that will be featured on the tour together. No promises about having the virtual tour done before the tour, but it is being worked on.

Can't wait to see you all! _ Lee

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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on December 18, 2009 at 5:14am

SHEETZENHEIMER!

Ryan,

Thank you for being diligent in noting this....there were two different routes I made. One was from the top of the knife at Elston and Milwaukee at 6100 North just above Peterson, to the bottom of the knife where Elston and Milwaukee meet again at 900 North just above Chicago Avenue.

So the good news is I have updated the map. The other good news is the meeting place is the same. ELSTON AND MILWAUKEE JUST NORTH OF CHICAGO AVE at 11:30 tomorrow, Saturday December 19, and the mileage is much less. From that point it is about 9.4 miles, much less than advertised.

So basically, I posted the wrong map, and made my mileage comments and time frames using that map. Should have known but my brain is fried and I am feeling a little bit overwhelmy. Thank you Ryan for catching my error.


The bad news is I have to make sure noone goes to Milwaukee and Elston above Peterson and I have alloted about double the time you need to make it to the park in time.

I am sorry folks. This is a bonehead move on my part and I can only say that at least there are other festivities at the park to keep you occupied if you get there too early, namely Winter Fest 2009 which is ALSO happening in Washington Park, but meeting at a different place.

Weather looks like some nice actual snow, and low to mid thirties in temperature.

PERFECT.

Cheers and hope to see you tomorrow. - Lee Diamond

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

FYI, this route to get to Hyde Park is 18.7 miles. Around half bombing down Milwaukee.

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on December 18, 2009 at 8:23am

Haha, you're welcome? I honestly didn't even realize it was an error. I was just noting that for people because riding Milwaukee can be a bit scary at times up north.

Lee Diamond said:

SHEETZENHEIMER!

Ryan,

Thank you for being diligent in noting this....there were two different routes I made. One was from the top of the knife at Elston and Milwaukee at 6100 North just above Peterson, to the bottom of the knife where Elston and Milwaukee meet again at 900 North just above Chicago Avenue.

Thank you Ryan for catching my error.


Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

FYI, this route to get to Hyde Park is 18.7 miles. Around half bombing down Milwaukee.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on December 18, 2009 at 12:32pm

Well, you noticed that it was from the different merging of Elston and Milwaukee. That is what created the 18+ mile trip, and that is what I based the 90 minutes off of, but not a big deal anyway.

Rode the route today and caught a couple of detours based on construction, etc. Should be fun. See you there

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

Haha, you're welcome? I honestly didn't even realize it was an error. I was just noting that for people because riding Milwaukee can be a bit scary at times up north.

Lee Diamond said:

SHEETZENHEIMER!

Ryan,

Thank you for being diligent in noting this....there were two different routes I made. One was from the top of the knife at Elston and Milwaukee at 6100 North just above Peterson, to the bottom of the knife where Elston and Milwaukee meet again at 900 North just above Chicago Avenue.

Thank you Ryan for catching my error.


Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

FYI, this route to get to Hyde Park is 18.7 miles. Around half bombing down Milwaukee.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Bussey on December 21, 2009 at 3:34am

yuck yuck yuck....

H3N3 said:

Report Mr. Sulu!
How did it go? Looks like Aaron backed up his hard drive to chainlink this morning?

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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on December 21, 2009 at 5:23am

Report coming shortly. A brief report is this:

About 2 dozen of us gathered in Washington Park for what was the most wintery winter ride of the series this year or last, thus far. I personally had a blast, and except for one grumpy guy who borrowed one of my bikes, and then more or less complained from that moment on, I think most everyone there had a good time as well.

You can't please all of the people all of the time, but my guess is this might be one of those that you can't please ANYTIME.

Cheers and stay tuned for a ride report. - Lee "Sulu" Diamond

H3N3 said:

Report Mr. Sulu!
How did it go? Looks like Aaron backed up his hard drive to chainlink this morning?

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on December 22, 2009 at 6:51pm

Well done on the music and the Fountain of Time shots. Now it will haunt my dreams!

Brian Kennedy said:

Here's a little video of the Winter Hyde Park Tour. If you were there, you are in the video, so watch it!!! Proper credit given in the...credits. Go figure. Song: "Redneck Stomp" by Obituary. You have to love death metal instrumentals. I attached it as a wmv zip file, which may exclude some from being able to view it but I can't embed it because YouTube keeps catching the audio track as unauthorized!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Bussey on December 23, 2009 at 4:35am

Nice Job Brian!

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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on December 25, 2009 at 6:37am

First of all Happy Holidays everyone.

Thanks also to Aaron Bussey for the unauthrorized use of some of his ride pics in this report. Now for the ride report:

The Hyde Park winter ride took place on Saturday December 19, held earlier in the month than our typical rides to avoid Christmas conflicts. Laura, Brian and Aaron flew down from the North Side meet-up to join us all at the start of the ride at Washington Park. As many commented, I was not just on time, but early for the ride. Amazing.

Anyway, there's a first time for everything.

After suiting up our ride-less riders with his loaner bike, I pumped some tires, oiled some chains and had riders sign their waivers as Santa Willow passed out fleece balaclavas, gaiters and scarves. Numbering only a couple of dozen, it struck me that once this would have seemed a sizeable ride, but these days it seemed smallish for our tours. For the first half-dozen tours I organized, our largest group was only about a dozen, and these days we often number ten times that, but the actual winter weather that we had that Saturday kept our numbers to exactly 26, but rider enthusiasm was high, and I am always excited to bike and show off bits of Chicago to those that want to listen.

Beginning with a ride through the northern section of Washington Park, around the Armory, and down to the Fountain of Time, many riders were seeing Lorado Taft's masterwork for the very first time. For those that haven't seen it before, it is a stunning piece.

A quick visit to Midway Studios and the southern wall of UofChicago buildings on the southern side of the Midway Plaissance followed before we hit the Rosalie Villas.

Following the spectacular array of Victorian homes in the Rosalie Villas, the exploration of the university really began in earnest. Highlights of the university are many, but some of the discussions and stops focused on the Rockefeller Chapel, the Nuclear Energy monument, the International House, Ida Noyes Hall, Snell-Hitchcock and the buildings of the main Quadrangles.

Other highlights of the tour included two Frank Lloyd Wright homes, his Prairie masterpiece the Robie House, and an earlier home, the Heller House.

A few twists and turns aside, the tour brought us next to the lakefront, where we had an excellent view of the beachfront hotels, and face full of the icy rain and lake spray along the lakefront path, past the Museum of Science and Industry, before ducking through the underpass at Hayes drive out to the Statue of the Republic, or Big Mary as she was referred to by the attendees of the World's Fair over 100 years ago.

Cruising north through Jackson Park to the Japanese Isle, many riders could already taste the sweet suds waiting for us at Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap. A quick cruise up the Midway Plaissance allowed the thirstiest to veer off towards the bar while I lead the group back to the start point for those retrieving their cars.

I was only able to join the riders for a couple of quick drinks and the obligatory Jimmy's grilled cheese before cruising back home. All in all, it was a truly lovely winter afternoon. Thanks all for coming and especially to Willow for her awesome Santaness, Lowell for the several pairs of goggles he brought for others, Brian for sweeping, Aaron for documenting, Mike for organizing and pre-ridin and everyone for a fun time.

Next up is Lincoln Square on January 30. See you then!

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