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Permalink Reply by David P. on July 23, 2020 at 4:14am

I never stopped going to the office, so my daily habits changed surprisingly little. But when car traffic plummeted, driving to work (Avondale to Englewood) became a 15-minute trip, while riding remained a 75-minute trip. So I started driving to work and riding after work. Then I'd get lazy about riding after work because sometimes I had other things to do. Then I got comfortable with driving. So I've had to make myself sechedule days when I'm ready to go out the door early enough to ride to work and get there at a reasonable time. It's surprising.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on July 23, 2020 at 5:43am

Normally having a car commute to a bike- and transit-unfriendly suburban office takes ~2 hours of my day. Working from home most of the time since the end of March, I've used that time to ride and walk in my bike-friendly neighborhood and adjacent parts of Chicago, both for errands and for excercise.  My mileage is up, my weight is down, my pants are loose!  It's crazy that it took a pandemic to get that kind of freedom from a pointless commute.

As for masks, I always have one with me when I'm riding, mostly to wear if I make a stop for shopping.  I only wear it while riding if I'm on a crowded MUP, like the LFT.  On streets, I'm never very close to anyone else.

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Permalink Reply by ChicagoCyclist on July 23, 2020 at 7:16am

I lost my bike commute too.  I ride less, but walk and RUN more.  I used to go running only once a week on weekend.  Now I run 2-4 times a week. I still ride pretty much, but as time goes on, the differential increases.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Pounder on July 23, 2020 at 10:15am

More since bike riding is about the only activity available.  Though I'm doing more hours solo, rather than on all the group rides that have been canceled.  

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Hutchinson on July 24, 2020 at 8:14am

I'm generally riding the same number of miles, maybe a little more than normal. My daily bike commute has disappeared, and I have little need to bike for running errands, but working from home has given me more time for longer solo rides during the week. I did 900 miles on Divvy last year, but have only been on Divvy a few times since March. 

With no racing to train for, I've just been trying to ride some solo miles and enjoy biking. I've been riding the LFT and North Branch trail some during the week (between 6am-8am) and both have seemed busier than normal. I wear a mask on those rides. 

On weekend mornings I've been riding up through North Shore 'burbs. I bring a mask on those rides, but only wear it when I'm riding through the city and know I'll be around others, waiting at stoplights, etc. Once I'm north of Evanston I ride without it. 

There are a lot of larger group rides happening on the North Shore, and I've seen some smaller group rides on the LFT as well. I find this surprising because I have no interest in riding in a group right now, and have always thought group rides on the LFT was a terrible idea. 

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on July 24, 2020 at 10:13am

Less, but slowly increasing. I do most of my riding on the streets of the South Side, never exactly the most welcoming environment. When traffic declined precipitously, I thought I'd be riding around everywhere. However, I quickly discovered that the drivers still on the road were crazier than ever. The Archer Avenue International Speedway shifted into an even higher gear. Stop lights and signs become the merest of suggestions. It was scarier than ever, so I virtually quit riding. Also, for a while there were hardly any places to go.  Just a few laps around McKinley Park and brief shopping excursions utilizing as many side streets as possible. For lack of a better word, you could say I am a chicken. Please, I mean no offense to actual chickens. 

So now I'm horribly out of shape, even for me, but trending in the right direction. As traffic has picked up, it seemingly has calmed down (or been forced to calm down) a little. I don't fear riding on public transportation with my mask. People on the CTA seem reasonably mindful, as do the people in area stores. I don't believe there's any significant risk in riding down a street or in an uncrowded park without a mask, or on the southern part of the lake path. However, I always keep a mask with me and put it on if I think there's even a slight reason, or just to make everyone feel more secure. My constitutional rights don't feel impaired one bit.

I have a whole lot of work to do, for sure. 

 

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Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on July 25, 2020 at 2:22am

Yes.  1968 miles commuting to date.  COVID freaked me out that much.  This year I will likely log more miles on my bicycle than I ever have. In 4 weeks my mileage will equal the distance to my sister's apartment in California.  The bet with my neighbors is that I will cross the distance to Ireland via a magical bike path over the Atlantic (I don't know why they said Ireland, but that's the bet).  So right now on the magic bike path I am close to an undersea mountain range known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.  I often think of my quest as a battle against an unseen menace....as Theoden says @1:53 in the clip, "Ride Now!  Ride for Ruin and The World's Ending!!" and of course "DEATH!!!" to the virus (aka Sauron the Deceiver)...

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on July 27, 2020 at 3:18am

I have had more  miles, more  rides,  less miles per ride. I have very few rides over 40 miles. When  working  from home, I  am making sure  to get  out, even if it is  just a dozen  or so miles.  I have  been commuting to the loop and am not  taking  public transportation, so that means I  have  been biking a few times per  week  and using  a  motorized machine a few times as well.  I generally, do not  wear a mask when I ride  but do have  one  with me for  any time I am  off the bike.I often  wear a neck  gaiter and pull it  up  if  I  am  commuting in a crowd. There has been  much more  bike traffic lately.   

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Permalink Reply by Philip Iplixian on July 30, 2020 at 9:46am

I ride significantly more. I'll do a morning ride from 5:30am until 7am usually 15-20 miles and, weather permitting, some is along the LFT, with a pit stop for a dip in the lake. Then, I typically do a 7:30 to 9:30pm ride. 

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Permalink Reply by Chupacabra Chalupa on July 31, 2020 at 4:11am

Much less. I lost my commute, and though it's great seeing all these new people out on bicycles (it was pretty much just me and one or two other stragglers out by me before), they're all unmasked. I can perfectly understand why they're unmasked, but I don't want to be anywhere near them. I used to put in a lot of miles on the trails, but they're just a more concentrated version of the streets, with cyclist after cyclist passing just a few feet from me, huffing and puffing (along with me) and not wearing masks. Again, I understand why they're not wearing them, but I don't need to be that close to them. It's nice that we're finally flirting with critical mass, but not a good time for a mass.

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Permalink Reply by curt(is) locke on August 1, 2020 at 9:34am

Slightly more mileage than last year, but not statistically significant. Still getting my Perimeter centuries on and feeling NO need to wear a mask on these rides as I am quite capable of keeping my distance. I don't do the LFT (well, maybe from 57th Street to South Shore Cultural Center sometimes.) I carry a mask just in case I need to go inside, which is rare, or I get too close to anyone.

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