I didn't leave work until 5:30 pm today so it was my first bicycle ride through Chicago in darkness. Roosevelt Road is well lit so I was confident my fellow commuters wouldn't have a problem seeing me. My ride started ignominiously; I attempting a track stand as I was waiting for traffic to pass on Damen and my bootied foot caught my front fender. I ended up bending the fender into the front wheel and had to haul my bike out of traffic to bend it back in shape.
I felt pretty strong this evening. Sometimes my quadraceps ache a bit but I was having no problems today. Even on my slight climbs I didn't need to downshift. I guess my steadily biking since late July has gotten me in pretty good shape.
On the Lakefront Trail between Jackson and Monroe I was passed by a commuter on a mountain bike with front suspension so I picked up the pace a bit and eased into his slip stream. We were stopped at the red light at Grand Avenue and exchanged pleasantries. He commutes everyday and through the winter. I learned the Chicago Park District keeps the Lakefront Trail cleared of snow so it is a good route year round. The only problem is the Oak Street curve gets icey since it is so close to Lake Michigan. Once we got going again we bike abreast for a while. Talking and biking is more trouble than its worth at 18 mph. So we bike single file until he breaks off at Lawrence.
At Kenmore and Glenlake I ran into the father of my son's classmates again. So we shared the ride until he turned off at Chicago and Greenleaf.
Distance Traveled: 24.3 miles
Distance to date: 1192.2 miles
Price of gas: $2.41
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