Commute Route from Wilmette

I am going to be in Chicago for the summer living in Wilmette by Plaza Del Lago and working at 35 E Wacker.  Want to bike commute.  Route recs?  What about N. Lincoln > N. Wells?

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by JMinHP on February 13, 2013 at 5:10am

My suggestions (from the few times I've done the ride):

1) First, Plaza Del Lago is an awesome jumping off point for cycling...if you're heading North.  You'll see several cyclists parking in the back lot on weekends for long rides along Sheridan.

2) I personally am not a fan of riding the North Shore Channel Trail, running parallel to McCormick.  Too many street crossings and the meandering path can get tedious (IMO).

3) I think I'm in the minority on this, but I like to ride Chicago Ave/Clark St until I reach the north terminus of Lake Shore Path.  I know several bike clubs that use a different route, but I prefer the direct route that Clark offers.

Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on February 13, 2013 at 5:12am

Richard - Lincoln is out of your way in Wilmette - quite far west.  You will want to keep close to the lake all the way to the loop imo.  My route recommendation is to get through Evanston and hook up with Clark street or Ridge down to about Granville.  You could cut east to the Lake Front Path and take that all the way to downtown Chicago.  Alternatively, you could take Clark Street all the way to the loop, but that would involve a little more time in traffic.  My personal approach is to take city streets in the morning going south when there seems to be less traffic and take the Lake Front Path home (to Evanston) in the evening. Good luck.

 

Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on February 13, 2013 at 6:05am

You want to use the LFP as often as possible because it'll save you so much time missing streetlights.  I've never found a comepletely satisfactory way to get to the LFP from Evanston though.  Summer afternoons the LFP is unridable because of pedestrian traffic.  

 

A good street route would be Dodge which turns into California in Chicago, then briefly east on Lawrence then southeast on Lincoln into downtown. 

Permalink Reply by Richard on February 13, 2013 at 6:39am

I go from Ravenswood to Evanston daily with a stop over at my kid's preschool for dropoff.

My routes:

NSCT: The NSCT is decent. Crossing the push-to-cross signaled intersections can be frustrating, yes, but the miles of car-free travel more than makes up for it. Plus you pass a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. So for me, 9/10 of my commute is off-street trail.

Neighborhood: Going north I use Damen - Bryn Mar - Glenwood - Arthor - Greenview. I round the cemetery  on Chicago, Custer, or the sidewalk (which is signed as part of the bike path) along Sheridan's Dead Man Curve over to the Evanston Lake Front.

Here's a map of what I'll typically do in any given week. Caveats: These is only my observations. Judge for yourself. And secondly, I reverse commute -- AM North, PM South.

http://goo.gl/maps/0PwVy 

Alternately: During the way too cold days, I've taken an old folding bike on Metra. I *think* folders are pretty much allowed at any point. Can someone, double check that? But again I reverse commute between Ravenswood and Evanston.

And here is a ride I did last year from Evanston to the Loop:

http://goo.gl/maps/FfZ7i

Hope these help.

Again, ask around. There are some good ways to go. A weekend dry run would be helpful too (less traffic, no time pressure).

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 13, 2013 at 7:47am

About folding bikes on Metra - any bike that is folded and bagged is allowed on the train at ANY time.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 13, 2013 at 7:56am

A word of caution about the lakefront path - once volleyball season starts, it's worth keeping your eyes and ears open when you pass the volleyball area by North Ave. beach.  Errant volleyballs do occasionally fly into the path.  Sometimes they hit people while they are still airborne.  Sometimes they land on the path right in front of the bike, causing sudden unintended deceleration (endo -> cyclist landing on pavement). 

This doesn't happen very often, but it does happen.  Both types of crashes have happened to friends.

On the nicest days of summer, I've often skipped the path south of Diversey because it can be quite congested and chaotic.  Rider experience varies a lot depending on riding speed.  Lower speeds are generally safer in the most congested areas.  My alternate route when I skip this part of the path is Dearborn to North Ave., cross North and take the path straight north under the LaSalle extension, cut over to Stockton before the zoo, cross Fullerton and take one of the paths north and east, cross Cannon Dr. before Diversey, and continue north and east on paths under Lake Shore Dr. and continue north on the lakefront path. 

That skips the worst of the congestion and still allows a lot of time to enjoy the lakefront views and breezes.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on February 13, 2013 at 8:05am

^^ Spot on advice.

I was coming home from the loop on a volley ball night last June and saw a dude 20 feet in front of me wipe out when a volleyball crossed his path. Yikes!

Permalink Reply by JMinHP on February 13, 2013 at 8:15am

Agree with LSP in the summer. Don't expect to be riding at speed until you're at least past Fullerton ave.  I sort of take Anne's route:  cross North Ave at State and follow the path through the (recently renovated) tunnel under LaSalle.  I then cut east and continue riding north through the Zoo parking lot running parallel to LSD and the lagoon.  I don't like Stockton in the summers due to the zoo/beach traffic and general inattentiveness of non-local drivers looking for free street parking.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 13, 2013 at 8:27am

Yes, Stockton can get hairy in summer for the reasons JM gives.  I find that it's better either riding fast and taking the lane (but prepared to stop or pass slowly when major bottlenecks happen), or going slow and prepared to go slower or stop due to inattentive parkers. 

Any route on or near the lakefront is gonna be crowded at evening rush hour unless the weather is horrible, because so many people want to be out there enjoying the lake.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on February 13, 2013 at 9:17am

Look out for clueless hordes in the summer, watch for geese in the fall, beware of ice in the winter and squirrels in the spring.

They're all better than dealing with traffic on city streets, though.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on February 14, 2013 at 12:57am

This might be repeating what others have said, but the LFP in the morning is a delight all the way.  In the afternoon, between Oak and North Avenue, it is sometimes better to walk the bike! ;-) 

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on February 14, 2013 at 3:05am
The most direct route is going to be Sheridan south to Chicago Ave, until Chicago becomes Clark and takes you to Wacker. Taking the LFT will add 2 miles to you trip, and, especially in the afternoon/evening, a lot of hassle. Wells is not open over the river right now, other wise I'd suggest folding that in to your commute as well. As you gain experience with our streets, there are a lot of other great routes (like Stockton/Inner Drive,) that you can fold into your trip make it more interesting and fun.

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