As I was planning my Bike The City trip to Chicago, my intent was to disassemble and crate up my Cannondale, transport it, reassemble it, ride it, disassemble, re-crate it, assemble it back on Long Island, and drag it through the airports along the way! Then in the process of doing the research for my journey I discovered BikeChicago.com. I am thrilled that I did.
I called from the office and spoke with Kristie of Bike and Roll, the company which actually operates bikechicago.com to arrange for a rental bike for my stay in the city. I arrived and went to pick up my mount for the five day stay. I really expected a serviceable, but probably well used and somewhat tired mount. What I was delivered was a tight, easy rolling, extremely well maintained, current model year, Specialized Allez. The bike was provided with Lock, and loaner helmet if you wanted it, but I had brought along my own. The bike came with pedals with toe cages, but I had also brought along my clipless pedals, so they were swapped out.
What I am pointing to is the fact that here in Chicago, a city that begs to be cycled through, there is an easy and painless way to get a very decent ride at a reasonable rate. Bike and roll proved to be an extremely easy solution to a serious cyclist's needs.
But what about the duffers, or a family looking for an enjoyable evening out in the city, or a newcomer tourist looking to discover the sites? Well that is covered as well. Offering three tours, The Amazing Waterfront, The Friendly Neighborhoods, and the Sites At Nite, Bike and Roll has the tourists needs pretty much covered.
Cori and I chose to do the Sites at Nite Tour. We rolled out from the Navy Pier Rental Station after being fitted for our bikes by Chris, a business and economics major, and Closing Manager for Bike and Roll, and we were delighted that our tour would be led by Lauren, Bike and Roll's Tour and Marketing Manager.
What can I say, the ride was beautiful and the company was very pleasant! We covered much of the same ground I had whizzed by the day before with Stu, but this time we took the time to smell the sausages, and see the sites! We passed the Millenium Park Fountain, a multi-media Installation which broadcasts the faces of Chicago Citizens in an endless loop as the children cool off in the wading pool. We proceeded North through the "Taste of Chicago," a street fair of culinary offerings of every ilk, to Buckingham Fountain/ Returning to the shore We rode out to the Shedd Aquarium for a spectacular sunset and skyline view of the city.
Along the way Lauren provided a lively dialogue about the City and it's attitude about bicycling. much of the information related in this series of articles comes directly from my conversations with her, Thank you Lauren for all your help!
After enjoying the sunset we headed back to the Navy Pier for an evening boat tour of the skyline and a fireworks display. What you see below are two images of the same shoreline separated by about ten minutes. No kidding, one minute we had a spectacular view and the next we could see nothing through the fog! But cold and wet, the fireworks lit off as planned and frankly I think we were the only ones to actually see them through the fog since we were closer to them than the shore!
All that being said, all I can say is that if you are in Chicago. take a few hours out of your day and enjoy one of these tours, they are terrific, and a great family recreation. And by the way, Bike and Roll has affiliates in San Francisco, Washington DC, St. Louis, and Miami. If you are there check them out!
As I was planning my Bike The City trip to Chicago, my intent was to disassemble and crate up my Cannondale, transport it, reassemble it, ride it, disassemble, re-crate it, assemble it back on Long Island, and drag it through the airports along the way! Then in the process of doing the research for my journey I discovered BikeChicago.com. I am thrilled that I did.
I called from the office and spoke with Kristie of Bike and Roll, the company which actually operates bikechicago.com to arrange for a rental bike for my stay in the city. I arrived and went to pick up my mount for the five day stay. I really expected a serviceable, but probably well used and somewhat tired mount. What I was delivered was a tight, easy rolling, extremely well maintained, current model year, Specialized Allez. The bike was provided with Lock, and loaner helmet if you wanted it, but I had brought along my own. The bike came with pedals with toe cages, but I had also brought along my clipless pedals, so they were swapped out.
What I am pointing to is the fact that here in Chicago, a city that begs to be cycled through, there is an easy and painless way to get a very decent ride at a reasonable rate. Bike and roll proved to be an extremely easy solution to a serious cyclist's needs.
But what about the duffers, or a family looking for an enjoyable evening out in the city, or a newcomer tourist looking to discover the sites? Well that is covered as well. Offering three tours, The Amazing Waterfront, The Friendly Neighborhoods, and the Sites At Nite, Bike and Roll has the tourists needs pretty much covered.
Cori and I chose to do the Sites at Nite Tour. We rolled out from the Navy Pier Rental Station after being fitted for our bikes by Chris, a business and economics major, and Closing Manager for Bike and Roll, and we were delighted that our tour would be led by Lauren, Bike and Roll's Tour and Marketing Manager.
What can I say, the ride was beautiful and the company was very pleasant! We covered much of the same ground I had whizzed by the day before with Stu, but this time we took the time to smell the sausages, and see the sites! We passed the Millenium Park Fountain, a multi-media Installation which broadcasts the faces of Chicago Citizens in an endless loop as the children cool off in the wading pool. We proceeded North through the "Taste of Chicago," a street fair of culinary offerings of every ilk, to Buckingham Fountain/ Returning to the shore We rode out to the Shedd Aquarium for a spectacular sunset and skyline view of the city.
Along the way Lauren provided a lively dialogue about the City and it's attitude about bicycling. much of the information related in this series of articles comes directly from my conversations with her, Thank you Lauren for all your help!
After enjoying the sunset we headed back to the Navy Pier for an evening boat tour of the skyline and a fireworks display. What you see below are two images of the same shoreline separated by about ten minutes. No kidding, one minute we had a spectacular view and the next we could see nothing through the fog! But cold and wet, the fireworks lit off as planned and frankly I think we were the only ones to actually see them through the fog since we were closer to them than the shore!
All that being said, all I can say is that if you are in Chicago. take a few hours out of your day and enjoy one of these tours, they are terrific, and a great family recreation. And by the way, Bike and Roll has affiliates in San Francisco, Washington DC, St. Louis, and Miami. If you are there check them out!
