Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Pretty much a standard heavy snow commute today.

Need to push through snow packed side streets. Fine once you reach the main routes. Main problems were dismounting and walking around stuck cars, watching for peds walking in the bike lane, protected bike lanes not passable & having to take the in lane. Lots of cardboard debris out there.

I saw about 5 or 6 other cyclists today. Not bad.


Gene what do you take your beautiful photos with? I know you answered this once before but I forgot :)
Gene Tenner said:

While heading south on the Lakefront trail the plowing came to an abrupt end one block south of Montrose. Took Marine to Canon (plowed but not salted by the zoo) to Lake Shore Drive.

For those of you that rode/ride between Addison and the Loop...what is the condition of the LFP? I am contemplating riding tomorrow, but not if the route has not had any attention (read: plow, etc.)

Thanks in advance.

Clark St. this morning was immaculate, Halsted and Broadway tonight get a C/C-. Glenwood was cruisable, just a bit slushy.

Returned to the bike this morning, taking my usual route from Evanston to the Loop. The larger streets (Howard, Ashland, Pratt, etc) were no problem. The smaller side streets (Winthrop and Ardmore in particular) in the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods hadn't yet been plowed - just compressed by cars - and were were still iffy. I managed to slog through without much trouble.

LFT from Ardmore to Belmont Harbor was fine. The stretch between Belmont Harbor and Diversey Harbor was another story. I was bopping along when all of a sudden I was riding on thick ice. Just as quickly the the ice I was riding on was floating! I managed to dismount and portage around that stretch with no problem. South of the Diversey Harbor entrance there was a bit more ice, but nothing like that one stretch.

The rubber side stayed down the whole time and though my feet were a bit cold, it appears they stayed pretty dry despite the quick plunge in the icy water (thank you neoprene booties!).

I didn't see a single runner or other bikie on the entire ride to work. I did see a person on snowshoes near the north end of Belmont Harbor, a first for me.

Thanks for asking, Josh. I use a compact camera, because it is lighter and easier to wield around. I have a big SLR (singe lens reflex) camera, but it pales in comparison to the Canon S120 that I use for these shots and in my day job. Although it is not cheap, it does everything I need it to do except head-and-shoulder shots. This is the second compact Canon I have owned.

Josh L. said:


Gene what do you take your beautiful photos with? I know you answered this once before but I forgot :)
Gene Tenner said:

Anybody ride Milwaukee from Jeff Park to the Loop?  I'm curious on the conditions.  I'll be back in the saddle tomorrow, I spent all my commuting time digging out neighbors this morn 

My ride on the LFT from 55th to Grand was great till the bridge over the Chicago River. For some reason that stretch never seems to get shoveled. 55th st bike lanes were a complete mess though.  

Milwaukee between Logan Square and the Loop is rideable but messy. 

Some of the bike lanes are rideable, in other places, I had to take the lane. They were actually better yesterday. Auto congestion was super high before each intersection as well, and getting by the cars can be tricky because of the snow narrowing the lane.


Apie (10.6) said:

Anybody ride Milwaukee from Jeff Park to the Loop?  I'm curious on the conditions.  I'll be back in the saddle tomorrow, I spent all my commuting time digging out neighbors this morn 

That area is always rideable!  N. of Addison is the nastiness.  

David Altenburg said:

Milwaukee between Logan Square and the Loop is rideable but messy. 

Some of the bike lanes are rideable, in other places, I had to take the lane. They were actually better yesterday. Auto congestion was super high before each intersection as well, and getting by the cars can be tricky because of the snow narrowing the lane.


Apie (10.6) said:

Anybody ride Milwaukee from Jeff Park to the Loop?  I'm curious on the conditions.  I'll be back in the saddle tomorrow, I spent all my commuting time digging out neighbors this morn 

Rode Milwaukee - Damen - Jackson - Racine on my way to work today around 11am.  Milwaukee was fine, Damen & Jackson were sloppy, and Racine was perfect.  They are using the Jackson PBL as snow storage again...just like last year.  It was probably piled up to my waist.  Only encountered a few impatient drivers, most were very hesitant to get anywhere near me.  

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