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Daley Closes Lake Shore Drive to Cars
For one day, for 15 miles, just for bikes
By Steve Buchtel

In 2000, Mayor Daley closed four miles of northbound Lake Shore Drive for Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Boulevard Lakefront Tour, providing cyclists with a unique cycling experience only matched by 2001's BLT, when the Mayor again closed LSD from 57th St. to 35th.

Forget about it.

On Sunday, June 9th, Mayor Daley will shut down 15 miles of Lake Shore Drive, from 57th St. in the south to Hollywood Ave. near the Evanston border, northbound and southbound lanes, from 5:30 AM to 9:30 AM. The Drive will be closed to cars. And open to bikes.

It certainly simplifies the route map: the 2002 Bike the Drive starts in Grant Park, heads north on LSD to Hollywood, then turns around and heads south. A 15-mile route stops at Grant Park, while a 30-mile route continues to 57th St., where it again turns north back to Grant Park. Twelve thousand cyclists are expected to make either trip. But don't worry about the crowd: you'll have up to eight lanes to choose from.

Bike the Drive director Lauren Strickler doesn't even try to sit still when talking about the event. "This is a dream scenario for me," says Lauren, a veteran of sports event organizing whose resume includes helping to coordinate the Chicago Triathlon. She's convinced of the value of such a high profile act like closing Lake Shore Drive to cars. "No event closes Lake Shore Drive, not all of it. Not even the marathon," she says, her speech getting faster the more she talks. "The marathon will have more numbers than us this year probably, but that won't last."

The world's premier bicycle rides are in her sites as well. The Boulevard Lakefront Tour always ranked highly as an interesting, fun, and well-organized ride, but its 5000-6000 riders disappeared behind the New York City Five Boroughs Tour's 30,000 riders and the Montreal Bicycle Tour's 35,000 plus.

"The best big city for bicycling has always had the best city ride [with the BLT]" Lauren says. "But we also deserve the biggest."

Running the route exclusively on Lake Shore Drive makes the big attendance numbers more manageable. "Intersections make a ride director lose sleep, and so do construction projects and street events that seem to pop up with no warning overnight," says Lauren. "And you can never get enough course marshals to help all the cyclists make the turns where they're supposed to." But there's no corners and no place to set up carnival rides on Lake Shore Drive. "And a lot of the route markings are already in place," Lauren says. "They say US 41 North and US 41 South."

What else is new with this event (besides 30 miles of Lake Shore Drive, the start location, and no day of event registration)? In addition to your T-shirt, you'll get a goody bag when you pick up your packet, which you can get before June 9…that's right, avoid long lines by picking up your packet ahead of time. Also, keep your eyes out for an exclusive volunteer party after the ride. (How do you get in? Easy: sign up on-line, call the event's assistant director, Robb, at 312/427-3325 or e-mail robb@bikethedrive.com.)

To get more information or to sign up for Bike The Drive, check on-line, or call 312/42-PEDAL (427-3325), ext. 51. The registration fee of $35 ($30 for members) includes ride entry, short-sleeved T-shirt, ride guide, ride support, food and drinks at rest stops, and the Bike The Drive Festival. Registering on-line will save you $5 before April 30, and $3 between May 1 and May 24. The deadline for mail-in registration is Wednesday, May 22, and for on-line registration is Thursday, June 6. There is no day-of-event registration.

Bike The Drive is presented by Clif Bar. Other sponsors include CTA, Kryptonite, Chicago Athlete, and WLUP-FM. The event is organized in cooperation with Mayor Richard M. Daley, and the Chicago Police Department, and the Department of General Services.

Whither the BLT?

While Bike the Drive's exclusive use of Lake Shore Drive for 30 miles is impressive, some long-time riders of the Boulevard Lakefront Tour will miss the charms along Chicago's Emerald Necklace, architect Daniel Burnham's description of the network of neighborhood parks and boulevards that he created in the late 19th century. BLT riders have circled the tree-lined boulevards on Father's Day for 12 years in what's become, for many, a Father's Day tradition.

Well, good news: Dad can still get a ride in with the kids, thanks to the willingness of the Bicycle Club of Lake County to move their event, the Ramble, to June 16th. They have a new starting location and a few new routes for Father's Day, so even if Dad's done it before, tell him to stop being so stubborn and go enjoy himself. You can sign up at bikebclc.com, or call 847/604-0520.

And everyone can ride on the Boulevard Lakefront Tour on Labor Day weekend, September 1.

"The BLT is such a unique vision of the city and its neighborhoods, that it broke our heart to replace it with Bike the Drive," says Lauren Strickler, who now has two major bike rides to direct. "So we wanted to move it, and the idea of riding through all those parks on the unofficial last day of summer just made us smile."

Registration opens in June. Check biketraffic.org often to watch for news on the Tour.

One advantage of moving the BLT to the fall: Bulls championship playoffs won't interfere with ride attendance like in years past.

Yeah, we used to worry about that.

Bicycle Commuter Challenge Steps Up
City that Works will get to work by bike
By Randy Warren

Although the 2001 version of the Bicycle Commuter Challenge grew over 30% from 2000, there still aren't enough people commuting by bicycle in Chicagoland. We want to move from hundreds of people commuting by bike to thousands. And we want to do it this year.

Living in a major city with a bicycle-friendly mayor certainly has its rewards: Mayor Daley has agreed to challenge all 42,000+ city employees to ride their bikes to work during the Challenge (May 17-24).

Mayor Daley is so confident that city employees will swing their collective leg over their collective top tube and ride to work that he may challenge the Mayors of New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia to a friendly competition. Each city will see who can get the highest percentage of city employees to ride their bikes to work during each city's respective Bike to Work Week.

What? You're not the leader of a major U.S. metropolis or one of its other public servants? The Bicycle Commuter Challenge allows organizations and companies of all sizes to challenge their peers. There are categories for private and public businesses/ organizations from 5 to 500+ employees. Just go to biketraffic.org to register you and your company and we will send you a helpful packet of information to help you recruit and organize your co-workers/teammembers/ associates/fellow Rotarians. Plus, everyone who participates in the challenge receives a discount at area bike shops (a higher % if you are a CBF member) and is eligible to receive great prizes just for participating!

So, make a difference here in Chicagoland and join the thousands of others who will be commuting by bicycle May 17-24!

Board Proposes Bylaws Overhaul
By Randy Neufeld

Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has changed dramatically since it was founded in 1985 and the bylaws haven't kept up. Our board is proposing a major overhaul to allow this growing organization to continue pursuing its mission on behalf of the diverse group of people who ride bikes in Chicagoland.

Proposed are lots of technical changes to financial management and board procedures. More flexibility is sought for membership categories. You are encouraged to view all of these changes on-line at biketraffic.org/bylaws or call and we'll mail you a copy. One of the more significant changes gives the board the ability to change the bylaws and select new board members. This is the model used by most large effective non-profit organizations. Because of our size and geographical spread, most CBF members cannot attend an annual board election and candidates are not known to most members. Board elections are not the way our members voice their opinions anyway. Members vote with their contributions and their involvement. If passed, there won't be an annual board election, but there will continue to be many forums and opportunities for members to give their input on the direction of the organization and the future of bicycling. That's the strength of a united voice for bicyclists.

The proposed updated CBF mission statement speaks for itself: "The mission of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation is to improve the bicycling environment and thereby the quality of life in the region. The Federation does this by promoting bicycle safety, education and facilities, and by encouraging use of the bicycle as an energy-efficient, economical, and non-polluting form of transportation and as a healthful and enjoyable form of recreation."

Independence Day in May
Freedom rings when kids bike & walk to school
By Dave Glowacz

Independence Day draws near.

Independence, I mean, for kids. Do your kids or your neighbors' kids know how to get around their communities on their own? For most, no–according to national studies.

But a workshop you can attend this May will help you strike a blow for kids' independence.

Many of our communities lack good sidewalks, have scary intersections with out-of-control traffic, or harbor lurking thugs–unsafe or unpleasant places for children to bike or walk. So no matter how close kids' daily destinations seem, parents often transport kids via cars.

Parents driving kids often complicates parents' schedules, adds to traffic congestion, and deprives youngsters of a simple outlet for physical activity--and the independence that comes from knowing one's neighborhood from first-hand (or first-foot) experience.

We at the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation want to help adults teach their children and students how to use bicycles to get around, and to achieve transportation independence. Our Safe Routes to School program, which we operate for the Chicago Dept. of Transportation, does just that (see the January 2002 Bike Traffic).

But we want folks across the region–not just in Chicago–to think about their kids biking and walking to school. So we'll help run a workshop on Safe Routes to School programs on Friday, May 10 at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago. At the workshop, speakers from Chicagoland and around the country will describe their Safe Routes to School programs.

Who should attend? Anyone with an interest in getting more kids to bike or walk in their communities–including parents, teachers, transportation planners, municipal leaders, and legislators. Participants will learn about the funding, planning, tools, and promotion needed to help children bike and walk to school.

To help kids in your community reach Independence Day, register for the May 10 Safe Routes to School workshop: Contact Melissa Smiley at 312/793-0119 or msmiley@catsmpo.com. To register on-line, go to www.catsmpo.com/bikeped.

The Safe Routes to School workshop, organized by the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), is part of a series of events for sharing best practices to promote bicycling and walking.

This month, the Center for Neighborhood Technology is launching I-GO, a new neighborhood-based car sharing service. The service provides all the annoyance and stress of trying to drive a car in Chicago without the added injury of actually having to own one.

I-GO cars are parked within walking

distance of members' homes and can be reserved for as little as one hour at a time. The Edgewater community gets the first cars, four Honda Civics. The program will expand to other areas of the city this summer.

I-GO handles all of the car related expenses like insurance, maintenance, parking, gas and cleaning. To join, members pay a $25 application fee, a one-time $100 membership fee and a $20 monthly fee. Members have 24 hour access to all I-GO cars and pay only for their driving time. Usage fees are $4.50 per hour plus $.50 per mile. Total monthly expenses are expected to be less than $150/month (15hours/100miles).

You can apply online, by telephone or by mail. Those living outside of Edgewater don't have to wait until car sharing comes to their neighborhood later this summer. They can self-organize to get an I-GO car now. For more information please visit www.i-go-cars.org, or call 773/278-4800x227.

Three New Faces
Oh wait, that's Nick with a mustache
By Steve Buchtel

Robb Zbierski joins Chicagoland Bicycle Federation as Special Events Assistant, and will help Events Director Lauren Strickler pull off two major bike rides in 2002. Robb worked as a manager at Village Cycle Center in Chicago before joining our staff, and still moonlights as "Clif Bar sample guy" at area events. "I think my high level of energy—thanks to Clif Bar's new Ice series featuring fantastic new flavors like Cool Chocolate Mint—can be a big help to the organization," says Robb, chewing.

Rosie Newton joins the Bicycling Ambassador Program as Program Implementer, and will coordinate the activities and events for up to a dozen Bicycling Ambassadors. Rosie's last gig was touring as an actor with the play Late Nite Catechism, and prior to that was a science demonstrator at the Museum of Science and Industry. Her hobbies include eating meat, driving her ‘62 Cadillac down to the corner store to buy her daily box of Swisher Sweets, and planting surveillance devices for Ford.

Nick Jackson has worked with us for four years, spending the last two on loan at CDOT's offices on LaSalle. Nick's back at our offices now, where he assumes the Director of Planning position. Nick will help CBF complete its burgeoning contractural bike planning responsibilities, and give us capacity to take on new opportunities. But first he has to shave that mustache.

Long Distance Training
by Lauren Salmi

I've ridden from my house in Logan Square as far north as Winnetka, as west as the Fox River and as south as the South Shore Cultural Center without any intermodal assistance. It's fun and tiring. But I look at my Chicagoland Bicycle Map and think, I want to go further.

Last fall, a friend of mine moved from 35th and Western in Chicago to Lansing, Illinois. On a Saturday soon after she moved, I thought, "Visiting her means riding from Fullerton and Kedzie to 180th street and Torrence." But riding what? I realized that I, for once, had options.

I called my friend at 9:00 a.m. to let her know I'd be there at noon for lunch. Three hours, enough time to catch the Blue Line, switch over to the Red Line downtown and get off with my bike at the final stop, 95th and State. At the Logan Square stop, the train came quickly and I was on my way.

The weather forcast was 30% chance of rain, but I had two sets of rain gear and one set of dry clothes. The rain had started, so I put on my rain pants to get ready for the weather. I had with me my ‘80s Fuji twelve speed with a medium sized pannier. When I transferred at Washington to the Red line, there was no wait and once again, my Fuji and I rolled onto the train. Traveling further south, the rain continued to come down, and I decided at 95th to double up on my rain gear. Getting off the train, the 95th Street station was making repairs and I had to carry the Fuji up to the street. No problem. Here I was, the rain was just a light drizzle and the south side was my adventure to roam. I started east on 95th dry and ready to enjoy the ride.

This far south, State Street is about 2 miles from the lake. I planned to take 95th to Martin Luther King Drive and turn south to 110th. Only a few blocks east on 95th, I turned from a moderately busy roadway onto a light traffic MLK, to see the campus of Chicago State University. MLK was a good way to start the trip. Yellow limestone bungalows from the 60's greeted the street, and small split-level ranch style homes as well. Perfect for a Saturday morning. I watched people out doing errands, catching the bus, or working on their houses. At 110th Street I turned left.

Going east, I noticed the pace and number of cars started to pick up as I neared I-94. On the map, it looked like I could cross the overpass and continue east, until I noticed that my only choice was to get onto the expressway. Over the bridge, I could see a roadway amidst a land of green. I also saw an IDOT truck parked on the shoulder and decided to ask. The driver was startled when I knocked on his truck. I asked about getting across and he said the only way east to Torrence was 103rd or 130th. I asked about the roads on the other side of the bridge and he said it went through a private golf course. I decided to backtrack and head south to 130th.

Off of the bridge, I took a left onto Langley. It traveled along the expressway, behind a few factories and came to a stop at 114th. I went south on Cottage Grove for a few blocks where it ended behind more factories and a nice smelling patch of prairie near the railroad tracks. At this time, I unlayered to rain pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. I checked the map and decided to get onto 115th and take Michigan Avenue south until its end at 127th. From there, I'd go east to Indiana, and south to 130th.

My route led me through Pullman, West Pullman, West Pullman Park, and past Pullman row houses and a few old mansions turned into field houses or

restaurants. On Indiana, I rode the closest I had ever been to the Little Calumet River. It looked perfect for an urban assault, with dirt roads leading alongside train tracks and factories.

I met 130th street at 13 mph, and observed this new territory I had never been through. There weren't many cars, but they were going fast. I took the right lane: there was no shoulder and the drivers passed without hesitation. It started raining and I put on my jacket.

A very large Ford plant loomed in the north, and I realized that there was a lot of prairie regrowth around the factories (whether or not they were operating). I started to appreciate the wildlife in this area that could have been mowed into chem-lawn or parking lots. After the factory and foliage came I-94.

On the map, it looked pretty harmless, just the road and nothing else around. Even the cloverleaf freeway seemed like dancing circles where cars would

gracefully enter and exit the road. Actually, it was as exciting and hazardous as a

combination of Damen and the Stevenson and Peterson at the Edens. As long as I pedaled hard, whistled really loud and rode in the middle of my lane, I would make myself known. I squeezed out of the intersection doing 18-20 mph, pedaling hard and laughing at the adventure I was taking.

Moving off the cloverleaf and closer to the river, there were boat docks and bars on both sides of the road. While climbing over the Calumet Bridge, I noticed a big river boat parallel to the bridge and one side sunk in the sand. This rusted, two-level, platform boat looked 40 years old, maybe an old party boat for fisherman or sight seers and now it was blocking 75 percent of the river way. Was it to slow other boats coming from the canals in Lake Calumet, had it sank and was left to remember the tragedy, or was it a drunken stooge who crashed the ship, took the license stickers off and fled the scene? Riding down the bridge, I came to Torrence Avenue. At last! Another marker on the way to my final destination. I turned south toward Burnham and Calumet City.

Most of Torrence is the embodiment of 60's style suburban commerce — rows of businesses, retail or restaurant, in an island of parking. Once I entered Calumet City, I decided to ride on the empty sidewalk. When I reached Michigan City Road, I called my friend for further directions. She said I could continue south, until Ridge, then go west on School to her house.

Continuing, I rode between two forest Preserves, Shabbona Woods to the west and Green Lake Woods to the east. The maple leaves had changed to a bright yellow and I felt like I was nowhere near Chicago. I—80/94 brought me back to reality as I passed over it. Off the bridge, I was in Lansing, and a few blocks further south I met Ridge Road. This was the original main street of the city, lined with small shops and ample sidewalks, an old movie house, which was still active as the local pizza place, and plenty of people shopping locally. I saw a small market selling mum plants that were two and a half feet in diameter. For a few bucks, I decided to get a housewarming gift. I considered riding with one hand, but decided to smoosh the clothes in my pannier all the way to the bottom, rest the plant on top and cinch the drawstring around the plant for security. I looked like a flower delivery service as I pedaled down the street. The road turned residential again as I turned onto School toward my final destination.

My friend laughed when I made it to her doorway wet, smiling and with flowers. I changed into my dry clothes and threw the wet ones in her dryer. It was 12:30. With help from the CTA, I was able to eat lunch with her, instead of possibly a very late dinner. We went out to eat and I told her of my adventure while eating a heap of nachos, beans, rice and cheese enchiladas.

Copyright 2002, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
650 S. Clark, Ste. 300, Chicago, Ill. 60605
Ph: 312/427-3325  Fax: 312/427-4907 E-mail: cbf@biketraffic.org