The Chainlink

riding in Riverside

While I was working the Boulevard Lakefront Tour rest stop in Riverside recently, I had a great conversation with the village administrator.  She was excited to see so many cyclists enjoying a ride in Riverside and said that the village wants to encourage more cyclists to visit.  They recognize that most people who don't live in or near Riverside find it difficult to navigate, and they want to make it easier.

She mentioned that they're phasing in a bike plan, with some marked routes and bike lanes, with future plans to link to the expanded Salt Creek Trail.  Go to this page and look for the Riverside Bicycle Plan link in the middle of the list on the right side.  The bike plan map makes navigation a little easier, and the recommended routes are excellent ones.

If you want to visit Riverside on your own, they have some information online.  If you're there and looking for places to eat or get coffee, there are a few good places on Burlington east of the water tower and Metra station.  It's a beautiful, low-traffic place to ride, with plenty of green space along the river that's perfect for a picnic. 

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Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on September 17, 2010 at 8:25am
It's worth noting that the library is quite nice and features a reading room overlooking the river. There also may or may not still be a fairly decent BMX trail tucked away along the river somewhere for those of you that might be into that sort of thing, but you have to find it on your own.
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on September 17, 2010 at 8:32am
One more thing...you know those planned suburban developments that so many city dwellers seemingly love to hate? This one begat them all.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 17, 2010 at 11:54am
Riverside is incredibly beautiful to ride around. It helps to have a guide though.....
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 17, 2010 at 7:48pm
The library is beautiful inside and has gorgeous views. If you continue further east down the street from the library, you'll find a cool footbridge tucked away just after the municipal building.

Michael Perz said:
It's worth noting that the library is quite nice and features a reading room overlooking the river. There also may or may not still be a fairly decent BMX trail tucked away along the river somewhere for those of you that might be into that sort of thing, but you have to find it on your own.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 17, 2010 at 7:53pm
True. But there are a few huge differences. This one was NOT developed around the car, so there are almost no cul de sacs and it's very bike friendly. Nearly all the streets within Riverside are very pleasant for walking or cycling. The street layout incorporates a lot of beautiful public green space with many trees. Sections of town are generally well connected, except where natural barriers (like the river) limit the connections.

As with Mies van der Rohe's "Less is more" approach to architecture, most imitators attempted a similar idea but didn't do it nearly as well.

Michael Perz said:
One more thing...you know those planned suburban developments that so many city dwellers seemingly love to hate? This one begat them all.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 17, 2010 at 7:54pm
It helps to have a good sense of direction and to rely on that sense of direction.

Julie Hochstadter said:
Riverside is incredibly beautiful to ride around. It helps to have a guide though.....

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