The Chainlink

With the awesome weather yesterday, I'm sure many of you were eager to get some longer time in the saddle. Though, for me, there was something different about the atmosphere. A one off or a sign of things to come? Here are my observations from riding around the Northside (4-7), share yours below.

The good:

- Everyone on a bike was having a blast.

- There were all types of cyclists out yesterday: people training, leisure riders on their own bikes, Divvy, etc. I don't think I've seen the LFT so crowded on a Tuesday.

- The stream heading north on the LFT was filled with bike commuters.

- Encouragingly, the share of women on bikes was incredibly high. I would say around 40%. I saw a ton of women on road bikes.

- I saw only one cyclist/ped conflict at the terribly designed Belmont Harbor stretch.

- The 606 was not that crowded.

The bad:

- The wind was brutal if you were heading South or West.

- Some of the passing left a lot to be desired. Way too much unsafe passing from all sorts of cyclists. 

- The lane positioning for many was terrible. Too many single cyclists hugging the center line or riding three abreast.

- That fucking puddle leading to the North Ave ped bridge by the fields. That thing has been there for how long now?

- The thought that those pedal-quads might soon be unleashed on the LFT. Ban them now.

The ugly:

- It's clear to me that the width of the LFT bike path is already obsolete in many places, especially from North Ave to Fullerton.

- The moron with the motorized stand up scooter that had three wheels and was as wide as the entire lane.

- What was in the air last night that made the motorists even crazier than normal? The traffic was atrocious and the law breaking was hitting peak levels. No, the Chicago/Dearborn intersection does not have a double left-turn lane.

- WB Cortland, after the river was a parking lot. There were so many motorists turning right and blocking the bike lane that it was hard to get through without going across the center line. I can't think of a better location for the Dept of DIY.

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Oh, I thought this was a reference to or review of the 1986 film starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore that was shot here in Chicago that was an adaptation of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago.

hahaha, I did too. 

Probably should have made it "Impressions of Last Night"

Or wrote an ode to the movie and the great local backdrop ;-)

Check it out on thefilmreel.org.

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