Bike Facilities Downtown?

Fellow riders,

I've recently moved to Chicago and work downtown near the corner of N Wacker and Madison. I'd love to start riding to work every morning, but unfortunately my workplace is not really bike friendly aka no secure racks, change facilities etc.

Does anyone know somewhere downtown that is open to the public (I don't mind paying), and would have these facilities?

I'd love to just harden up and ride in regardless, but unfortunately I sweat at the thought of sweating, making it impractical without a change room...

Cheers,

Tom

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Permalink Reply by Kevin K on February 25, 2013 at 10:09am

Tom, if you end up locking your bike up outside, make sure you use two U-Locks, so both wheels are locked to the frame.

Bike thieves in Chicago are relentless. Even if your frame and wheels are locked up, they will steal saddles, handlebars, components, etc, downtown, during the workday. I work at Michigan and Madison and people get saddles stolen all the time, right on the sidewalk on Michigan avenue.

If you have a remotely nice road/tri/cross/fixie, and you have to park it outside, you might want to consider getting a used $200 bike off Craigslist to use as a commuter.

I remember going up to Madison a couple years ago, by the Capitol, and I was shocked to see so many really nice bikes, locked up to chain link fences with flimsy cable locks. I was like, "So, this is what civilization looks like..."

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 25, 2013 at 10:32am

I am not sure what your work situation is like, but I typically just use the bathroom stall to change clothes and use face wipes to wipe down if I am extra sweaty.