I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 4, 2013 at 6:28am

I completely understand. You wouldn't want one of those little Bobcat-type snow plows sliding into the lake. I imagine that curve can be solid ice in cold weather, and a good chunk of it is angled toward the lake. If a plow started sliding, the flat portion (with it's own layer of ice/water) might not provide enough friction to stop the slide. Even if they were to plow only on the flat portion, a little fish tail might be hard to stop.

Maybe we could equip the plow drivers with full wet suits and air tanks. Then they could just swim the tri course to Ohio Street Beach after falling into the lake. :-)

in it to win it 8.0 mi said:

I'll be surprised if they do. They usually give that curve up to Mother Nature in the Winter.

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 4, 2013 at 6:46am

I sent this email along with the photo to the Goodman at Info@GoodmanTheatre.org:

Shoveling your sidewalk snow into a bike lane essentially keeps bicycles from using it as it was designed and creates a hazard. Be a good neighbor and dispose of your snow elsewhere.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Gordon Theatre shoveled snow into the Dearborn lane again...

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 4, 2013 at 7:06am

Great, thanks! I also tweeted them with the photo and a request to stop.

Gene Tenner said:

I sent this email along with the photo to the Goodman at Info@GoodmanTheatre.org:

Shoveling your sidewalk snow into a bike lane essentially keeps bicycles from using it as it was designed and creates a hazard. Be a good neighbor and dispose of your snow elsewhere.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Gordon Theatre shoveled snow into the Dearborn lane again...

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Permalink Reply by TehDoak on February 4, 2013 at 7:34am

Is the Elston PBL pretty clear, did anyone see? I am debating using this coming home tonight if it is.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 4, 2013 at 7:37am

I haven't seen that happen since cones were placed in the bike lane.

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

During theater going hours they've also been habitually using it as a valet parking staging area.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

[Goodman] Theatre shoveled snow into the Dearborn lane again...

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 4, 2013 at 8:51am

The response from Goodman to my email:

Good afternoon Gene,

Thank you for contacting Goodman Theatre. We appreciate your comments.

I have reached out to our facilities manager and forwarded him your message about the snow obstructing the bike lane on Dearborn Street. Unfortunately this is the first significant snow fall since the bike lane was erected in December and it presents a new challenge for us to address. Please know that we are working on a better solution to protect the safety of pedestrians and bikers.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Best,

Gabriela Jirasek

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Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on February 5, 2013 at 2:49am

Today seemed a little more slippery in spots than yesterday. Coming from the Montrose to the loop, Broadway/Halsted/Clark were all in "ok" shape.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on February 5, 2013 at 3:29am

Definitely worse than yesterday. Yesterday it was mainly standing water, this morning it was slushy stuff sticking to your tires, making for a slippery commute.

in it to win it 8.0 mi said:

Today seemed a little more slippery in spots than yesterday. Coming from the Montrose to the loop, Broadway/Halsted/Clark were all in "ok" shape.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on February 5, 2013 at 3:43am

I probably should have waited a day, but I really wanted to ride my bike. Side streets were clear in the middle but bad near the parking lanes. Augusta bike lane was frozen slush. That K station building on Kinzie had pushed its snow into the east bound Kinzie bike lane. The Goodman was oh so polite but did not remove the snow it put into the bike lane.

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Permalink Reply by Katie 4.0 mi on February 5, 2013 at 3:49am

Yeah, the bike lanes on Armitage were really messy. And Cortland was covered in about a foot of what I was hoping was water, but it was actually probably sewer water...unfortunately I noticed the guys cleaning it up in Tyvek suits after I was midway through :/. Still, the temperatures were lovely!

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Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on February 5, 2013 at 4:00am

Today was worse than yesterday. When I tried to ride in the bike lane I kept slipping. Much easier in the car lane. This leads me to believe that I need another bike with 'fatter' tires cause this cheap road bike with slim/slick tires did not like today.

Duppie - I think I see you often & spoke to you today on Lincoln/Wells?! If it was you, I wasn't trying to draft you - I just couldn't make up my mind on a speed/where I wanted to ride!