I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on December 9, 2013 at 9:36am

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on December 9, 2013 at 6:51pm

I only rode to the Metra this morning, but I got a shot of a nice "ice sculpture" outside the OTC.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on December 9, 2013 at 7:03pm

No, but I am riding tomorrow! I was colder walking to and from the train than I have ever been on my bike, and most of the side streets look "rideable".

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Permalink Reply by David Altenburg on December 9, 2013 at 8:53pm

Took the CTA. However, on the way home a Divvied back from the Blue Line stop, riding on the side of Logan Boulevard that hadn't been plowed. The Divvy bike was great in the snow! It's so stable that it's trivial to recover when the front wheel slides. In fact, I could see checking one out after a snow fall just to ride it around in the snow, it was so much fun.

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on December 9, 2013 at 9:05pm

If you take the lake front trail know the city's not clearing anything between Grand and Oak, so you may want to use Dearborn. It was damn cold tonight. I'm going for the lined LL Bean pants tomorrow if I ride.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 9, 2013 at 9:14pm

Was the Oak underpass cleared? As of this morning, it was still full of snow.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 9, 2013 at 9:28pm

This evening (12/9 @ 7:45 pm) the W/B Kinzie PBL was a sloppy and icy mess. Same for the N/B Milwaukee PBL.

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Permalink Reply by Josh L. on December 9, 2013 at 10:25pm

Just got back an hour ago from taking sheffield from North to Clark. Well plowed. I actually was comfortable on the ride home. Wore three layers, wool socks.

This am took Clark from Wilson to North then cut down Wells to Merchandise Mart. Clark was plowed only so so in the bike lane. Disappointed that the bike lanes on wells were not well plowed. Is the City supposed to/obligated to clear bike lanes too?

Winter biking seems much more dangerous to me because I need to ride closer to traffic as the bike lanes aren't cleared and I"m worried about ice or I don't want to go through slush. Anyone else feel the same?

Also I must say riding a commuter bike with 28 cc' tires feels a lot safer than a road bike with thin tires. I feel like I need to be on something more stable given the wet, potentially icy, roads.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 9, 2013 at 10:35pm

Yep. I definitely do not like having to ride so far outside the bike lane to avoid slush. Had to do that on Dearborn and Clark though River North this evening.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on December 10, 2013 at 8:39am

I rode my bike to the train station. Once I got there, I realized that I had forgotten my locks. So I ended up riding 4 miles in my office clothes. Not recommended in this weather.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on December 10, 2013 at 8:49am

Well, despite my resolve, Kevin's description of the bike lanes from last night sent me to the Blue Line. Once that stuff freezes it is not going anywhere in this weather.