New Divvy Convert

Being a person with something like ten bikes, I never figured I'd ever be a Divvy subscriber. Then my February crash changed things. While I'm coming back, I still walk with a crutch most of the time, and getting from the Metra to the office (Dearborn and Adams) and back is still a pain (literal, at times).

So yesterday, I saw in an email from the City of Evanston that a $15 discount is available during May on an annual Divvy membership. I figured that might well be a better way to get across the Loop, and signed up.

Given that it's supposed to rain this afternoon, instead of riding my old Schwinn three-speed to Metra this morning, I walked a few blocks to the Valli shopping center, checked out a Divvy, and rode to the train. Once in the Loop, I had a few predictable teething pains. The first was figuring out where the nearest docks were (having assiduously ignored Divvy before, because I was above stooping to that level of bike ridership :-). Finding a dock, the first bike I picked had a seatpost stuck in the "down" position, and even after returning it to the dock, it took a few minutes and a phone call to Divvy before I could get a new code to check out another bike. Now I know to adjust the bike before taking it out of the dock. (If I'd have waited a couple more minutes, the phone call to Divvy Central would have probably been unnecessary. But, dang, it was cold this morning.)

So, if you see a crazy guy riding Divvy downtown with lights on his helmet and a crutch strapped to his handlebars, wave and say, "hi!"

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on May 19, 2017 at 2:54am

Ha! Glad to hear! Divvy has many uses--glad to have a new convert on board!

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on May 19, 2017 at 3:53am

Yeah, I have less than ten bikes... three working and one project to be exact, but I'd totally get a DIVVY membership if I could get anywhere I need to go in 30 minutes or less. I really love the idea of DIVVY, but they system is not presently configured for people in my situation/neighborhood.

I've mentioned this before, but it would be great if DIVVY would adopt the NYC tactic of giving subscribers more time per ride - 45 min - vs daily use riders, who are more likely to be be tourists, who get 30 min per ride.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on May 19, 2017 at 6:17am

What neighborhood? Just curious.

I'm fortunate to live a 25-minute Divvy ride from work, so it's perfect for me. Absent that, I'd use it much less frequently.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on May 19, 2017 at 6:21am

McKinley Park - my commute takes at least 30 minutes on a non-DIVVY with a tail-wind and a lot of luck with traffic lights and traffic. Commuting on a DIVVY to the loop is not an option from here without doing the swap thing, which I've done and can be kind of a fun challenge, but I certainly would not want to make it part of my regular commute.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on May 19, 2017 at 8:11am

Yeah, I wouldn't want to deal with that either.

Maybe on a day where you knew you weren't going to be biking home for whatever reason.

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on May 19, 2017 at 5:18am

Welcome to the club. While certainly not perfect, it's a good option for many of us. You'll want the CycleFinder and/or Chicago Bike app on your phone to help find bikes/docks. It can be frustrating to arrive at your destination to find no docks available.

Yeah, having 45 minutes instead of 30 would be very useful at times.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on May 19, 2017 at 5:32am

I installed the suggested Transit app, which I find outstanding. Besides doing the Divvy thing, it also shows me CTA buses and trains, PACE buses, and Metra info. That makes me a very happy camper.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on May 19, 2017 at 7:27am

Very useful app.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on May 19, 2017 at 7:28am

A strapped on crutch - yeah, that's distinctive. ;)

A couple of years ago, my version was pedaling very slowly while wearing a big orthopedic boot on one foot. That low first gear came in very handy.

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