Bike Traffic - August 2005

August 2005

Autumn Biking Begins With BLT
New metric century route introduced

By Ethan Spotts

Summer appears to be in full force, but everyone in Chicagoland knows that autumn is right around the corner.

It’s sort of like a curse. Beautiful summers for two-and-a-half months, then a quick fade into fall. But most bicyclists know that autumn is a great season to be out on the roads and trails.

For the past 16 years, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has offered this classic Chicago bicycle tour; and in recent years the ride has found a new home at the onset of autumn riding. The Boulevard Lakefront Tour has been around for almost as many years as CBF and is just as much a part of its history. Exploring the parks, boulevards, architecture and rich history of Chicago’s South and West Sides, the BLT spawned Bike The Drive when the 2001 BLT route included a bicycles-only section of Lake Shore Drive.

This year’s BLT edition, Sunday, Sept. 11, is an invitation to continue bicycling beyond summer.

We’re offering three routes this year. There’s a 10-mile Leisure Ride exploring Hyde Park’s architecture, and a 35-mile Boulevard Tour highlighting the parks and boulevards on the South and West sides. Or, you can challenge yourself with the BLT’s new 62-mile Chicago Cycling Club Metric Century, which delves into neighborhoods of the Northwest Side. Push yourself to do a century ride (ala metric) during National Century Month with an expert route designed by the Chicago Cycling Club.

As always, the BLT benefits the CBF and is presented this year by the law firm of Schwartz Cooper. If you’re a listener or a fan of WBEZ radio’s Abby Ryan, traffic goddess and bicycle commuter, you’ve heard their ads on NPR’s Morning Edition.

A great festival/picnic follows the ride with Frisbees, food and music at the Midway Plaisance.

Ethan Spotts is Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s director of events marketing