What I don't like about Lincoln Ave

I ride up and down Lincoln Avenue every day, and I think for the most part it's a fantastic route for commuting. Mostly it has nice wide bike lanes, the drivers aren't going 50+ mph, people are used to seeing bikes so they're mostly watching out for you, etc.

But in the winter, during my morning commute, I'm riding right at the sun. I start up north of Foster, and for a while it's not too bad. From Lawrence down to Belmont, the sun is off to your left, and the buildings break up the glare some. But once you get south of Belmont, bam, the sun is pretty much straight ahead of you.

Worse, this morning I couldn't even avoid the glare by concentrating on the road surface ahead of me because the wet road was reflecting the glare right back up into my eyes. I spent my commute squinting and wondering when I was going to run into something because I didn't see it until it was 10 feet ahead of me.

Now most of you are probably clever enough to wear sunglasses or some other type of glare shielding device. Good for you. Every once in a while I'll pick up a cheapass pair of shades at a dollar store, but I quickly lose them or have them stolen by one of my kids and I'm out of luck again.

Now we can't move Lincoln Avenue and we sure as hell can't move the sun, and I can't stop working or change my schedule while this is a problem. Not riding is not an option; winter biking is way too much fun for any number of reasons. There's nothing to be done about it (other than buying more sunglasses, ok, I get it), I'm just venting a little bit.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on January 30, 2009 at 4:38am
just close your eyes and hope for the best...

I prefer Clark to Lincoln for some reason.
Permalink Reply by justJason on January 30, 2009 at 4:50am
Any love for Damen ova heah???
Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on January 30, 2009 at 5:14am

Permalink Reply by justJason on January 30, 2009 at 5:36am
Audience: Boo! Boo!
Burns: Smithers...are they booing me?
Smithers: Uh, no, they're saying "Boo-urns! Boo-urns!"
Burns: Are you saying "boo" or "Boo-urns"?
Audience: Boo! Boo!
Hans: I was saying "Boo-urns"...


GabeW said:

Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on January 30, 2009 at 5:37am
Hey, I think I've seen you out there! I'm on a gray Rockhopper these days, w/blue cables.
Anyway, i've come up w/a unique solution to the sun problem. I realized that a. the sun is in the same place for long periods of my ride b. sunglasses don't help because of the glare. I have velcro across the front of my helmet and a disk of black plastic about 3" in dia. w/velcro, and I put it exactly where the sun is hitting me.

I've also been using alternate routes when the snow and ice are really bad, i'd rather deal with just the snow on a longer side street than sliding right next to the cars.
Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on January 30, 2009 at 5:48am
Jim - Try ski goggles. They're much more comfortable in the winter and your kids will have a lot of trouble hiding the fact that they stole them (unless they do lots of downhill, sledding or snowmobiling or ICEBIKING!!!!!! ) - plus they're not very convenient to store so they might be a less attractive target. The only problem then is that you might lose them. However most people don't wear ski goggles to work so your coworkers would know whose "glasses" they were.... No chance you'd lose them at lunch since you'd likely be walking to the deli or getting a ride from a friend.... At home the question would be "Where are Dad's ski goggles?" ..... Think about it.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on January 30, 2009 at 5:51am
agreed. I lose or break sunglasses within a week and I've had these ski goggles for 6 weeks now and used them today. They rock my house.
Matt M. said:
Jim - Try ski goggles. They're much more comfortable in the winter and your kids will have a lot of trouble hiding the fact that they stole them (unless they do lots of downhill, sledding or snowmobiling or ICEBIKING!!!!!! ) - plus they're not very convenient to store so they might be a less attractive target. The only problem then is that you might lose them. However most people don't wear ski goggles to work so your coworkers would know whose "glasses" they were.... No chance you'd lose them at lunch since you'd likely be walking to the deli or getting a ride from a friend.... At home the question would be "Where are Dad's ski goggles?" ..... Think about it.
Permalink Reply by Rusty Piton on January 30, 2009 at 7:55am
I too ride south on Lincoln every morning and sun glasses are essential.
This morning I expected it to be cloudy so I wore my yellow glasses that actually make everything look brighter :(

Also, Damen is hands down the best street in Chicago for crossing the city north to south.
Permalink Reply by terryg on January 30, 2009 at 8:59am
That glare on Lincoln, especially when wet, is definitely a drag. I fear for my behind, for some car to not see me!

But it is quick....
Permalink Reply by Juan on January 31, 2009 at 5:42am
I had the same problem until I rode with a cycling cap and Now I wont ride without one.........
They are Cheap, they shield your eyes from the wind and the best part is they block the sun....

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