My Route

My commute begins with the Green Bay Trail, a 10 mile bike path from Highland Park south to Wilmette that was converted from the former North Shore Railroad right-of-way. It is a scenic and pleasant start to my 23 mile journey. Once I arrive in Wilmette, I bike on streets until I reach the Lakefront Trail in Chicago. Prior to the trail, the only part that is pretty hairy is Sheridan Road from Howard to a bike lane on southbound Winthrop. The Lakefront Trail provides an easy commute with plenty of other bikers to shame me into peddling faster. Upon reaching Roosevelt Road, I pass under Lake Shore Drive and it is back to the streets. The hairiness begins again from Michigan Avenue to just past the Dan Ryan Expressway. It gets pretty congested and my brother-in-law John has twice been nearly hit along this stretch. Roosevelt Road is very wide and not so crazy from then on. Bikely.com is an interesting website that has a chart of my commute.