Another Bike Trip

Okay. I did it.

I biked all the way downtown and back.

On a week day.

During business hours.

Now I wasn't as cute as Ashley was.

Yes, I have a very boring old Bell helmet.

But I rode, pumping away of my light green Trek hybrid, feeling extremely self righteous. I was saving 10 miles worth of  gas.

And although I recently posted about the dangers of bike riding in the city, I made a discovery.  There are streets in the city with well delineated bike lanes that feel pretty comfortable.

Yes, and motorists seem to know how to navigate around bikers on that street.  A happy discovery as I was pedaling down the street, on my way to a meeting.

So, since I was feeling pretty comfortable, I started noticing restaurants and shops as I was whizzing through the neighborhood. And even though I felt jealous of Ashley's headgear, I also felt like I was kind of hip.

Yes, hip, as opposed to hipster. Far too old for that and not ironical, even though the irony of living with my daughter when I am "homeless" is a fact I note daily.

 I also enjoyed the newly opened protected bike lane and discovered that in addition to the pylons that separate car from bike, they had also laid down large plates over the metal grid of the bridge, making for a very smooth ride. Heaven. Almost. For a half mile.

The ride home a few hours later was a slightly different tale.

Still pleasant but with a few more obstacles in the way. Including a Chicago Streets and Sanitation truck park obnoxiously in the protected bike lane.

But that made me think about a video that went viral on YouTube about a month ago.  And if you haven't seen it, here it is.

            

More infuriating than the obstructions to the bike lanes, however, was encountering bikers who were riding against the traffic--even in the bike lane.

I wished for an air horn I could blow near their ears.  Instead I just yelled at them. And wished for a cop to come around and give them a ticket.

But I am not even sure if they ticket bicycles in Chicago. What do yo think? Should they?