I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 10, 2014 at 2:10pm

Lake Front Trail was okay around 5. Flooded in places but not icy. The side streets and crosswalks in my neighborhood are all either flooded or icy. Roads are starting to get bad. Stay safe everyone!

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Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on January 10, 2014 at 3:57pm

Yep. At Buena/Broadway my wheels went right out from under me. Thankful there were no cars around.

Made it from South Loop to a block from my house and whoops...no major foul...recommend not riding.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 10, 2014 at 4:53pm

I first noticed the ice on Franklin northbound under the L tracks. Later, turning from Webster onto Stockton, right near Conservatory, my wheels went. I was going slow enough that I just put my feet down. Even then, I had trouble gaining my footing. The first guy at the stop sign headed southbound on Stockton asked if I was okay. The next guy said something like, "You know bikes shouldn't be out in weather like this." Gee, thanks. I hadn't figured that out.

Was the rain supposed to be this bad? Had ice been forecast? In retrospect, it was clear the conditions were ripe for problems, but I hadn't heard anything about this in the forecast I saw.

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Permalink Reply by Haddon on January 11, 2014 at 3:43am

At least the streets had time to drain by this morning. There were a few times last night when I had to say a short prayer and hope the lake I was going through wouldn't have a submerged crash inducing hole or bit of concrete. This AM, easy and sweet. The bike that is locked in front of my building can be seen again, it was burred up to the top tube (who does that to a bike?) alas, warmer please.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Grossman on January 11, 2014 at 7:08am

I fell for the first time in a long time yesterday. On my way home from work I hit a side street patch that was coated in ice. It was too late by the time I realized. I turned (really slowly) and my wheels just slid out. I have a solid strawberry on my forearm and hip. To add insult, I was also yelled at by a couple of drivers who told me I was risking my life biking and that I should get off the road. None of them offered me a ride.

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on January 11, 2014 at 7:29am

I rode for the first time all year. I had to walk to the end of my street which was more fit for hockey than cycling. I took a short ride to meet some friends for breakfast. It was fine on larger streets and dicey on smaller ones. There is still plenty of ice.

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on January 11, 2014 at 8:43am

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Permalink Reply by EssFresh on January 12, 2014 at 5:41am

Wow, it's fantastic out there. Overdressed, needed to pull over and remove layers. Wish I had the day off to enjoy a long ride instead of going to work.

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on January 12, 2014 at 8:12am

The Lakefront Trail from Oak Street north has some serious stretches of ice. It's thick enough in places so that some will be around tomorrow, so watch out on your commutes!

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Permalink Reply by Zömbie 8.0 on January 12, 2014 at 12:04pm

Bummer that ice is still covering some spots. I biked from Belmont Cragin to and from Lincoln Square, Bucktown and Skokie this weekend and was thrilled by all the clear, dry pavement. Came across ice in the road only under a bridge and on one side street that hadn't been plowed (so there were car tire tracks that had cleared parts of the road but the middle was still encased).