Some days the heart isn't in it
Geezus, I must have made a half dozen wrong turns on my bike ride to work this morning. I mean, I know how to get to downtown Chicago: head south. And you'd think, to get to the lake front bike path, you'd head east. How hard is that?
But in reality, "heading south" without a plan will lead you into dead ends, crappy streets, etc. (OK, that's all I could think of, because that's what I encountered today.) And there are actually only a few places to get on to the lake front bike path, so you want to get that right, too.
The great thing is, the signage is fantastic. I rode to work last week for the first time in, oh, 5 years, and I really couldn't remember what route I used to take. And I also used to have a living, breathing guide to help, too. I was afraid I was in for a really long and frustrating ride as I figured out which way to go. Much like today's ride. But as it turned out, there are little green signs on just about every block pointing the way for bikes. ("To lakefront, 2.5mi", "To Loyola, .5mi", etc.) We don't have bike lanes everywhere in Chicago yet, but the efforts that have been made so far are really nice.
But signage only works, apparently, when you're watching where you're going. A modicum of alertness is required to notice when the signs are telling you to turn left. Without it, you end up dead ending into a parking lot. Which I may or may not have been able to cut across, but it looked like there was a fence on the other side. I couldn't tell. Anyway, what would I do once I got to the other side? I was annoyed. I turned around and backtracked for about four blocks until I found the green sign that I had missed. The cop standing on the corner watched me ride by her both times. I felt like such a dip.
That wasn't the first wrong turn I took this morning, and it wasn't the last. When I got to work, I took the elevator to the wrong floor. I walked my bike all the way down the 4th floor hallway before I realized that my office is on the 3rd floor. I carried the bike back down to 3 (and the cup of coffee I had been holding since I stopped at the corner coffee shop, which was a thrill) and finally made it to the office. And a nice, cool shower.
So this morning, my heart wasn't in my ride. I'm sure I'll get back in the game for my ride home.
But in reality, "heading south" without a plan will lead you into dead ends, crappy streets, etc. (OK, that's all I could think of, because that's what I encountered today.) And there are actually only a few places to get on to the lake front bike path, so you want to get that right, too.
The great thing is, the signage is fantastic. I rode to work last week for the first time in, oh, 5 years, and I really couldn't remember what route I used to take. And I also used to have a living, breathing guide to help, too. I was afraid I was in for a really long and frustrating ride as I figured out which way to go. Much like today's ride. But as it turned out, there are little green signs on just about every block pointing the way for bikes. ("To lakefront, 2.5mi", "To Loyola, .5mi", etc.) We don't have bike lanes everywhere in Chicago yet, but the efforts that have been made so far are really nice.
But signage only works, apparently, when you're watching where you're going. A modicum of alertness is required to notice when the signs are telling you to turn left. Without it, you end up dead ending into a parking lot. Which I may or may not have been able to cut across, but it looked like there was a fence on the other side. I couldn't tell. Anyway, what would I do once I got to the other side? I was annoyed. I turned around and backtracked for about four blocks until I found the green sign that I had missed. The cop standing on the corner watched me ride by her both times. I felt like such a dip.
That wasn't the first wrong turn I took this morning, and it wasn't the last. When I got to work, I took the elevator to the wrong floor. I walked my bike all the way down the 4th floor hallway before I realized that my office is on the 3rd floor. I carried the bike back down to 3 (and the cup of coffee I had been holding since I stopped at the corner coffee shop, which was a thrill) and finally made it to the office. And a nice, cool shower.
So this morning, my heart wasn't in my ride. I'm sure I'll get back in the game for my ride home.
Labels: biking
posted by Jen S. at
10:50 AM
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