City Sliksters
By Matt Phelan and Pat Gavula
Chicago carries an energy that surrounds the city. It’s alive with movement, good energy and bad, hot days and cold nights – all of them windy. It shifts weather patterns with it’s behemoth mass and density on the regular. Rain to sun in minutes. Snow flurries in June and 69 degree days in mid-December. It’s an urban ant farm of everyone moving in a systematic direction for very dissimilar purposes. One thing is for sure, the city erupts with people who love to ride so much that we will brave pothole-riddled asphalt and unrelenting drivers for a few moments of doing what we love: cycling.
Riding a bike carries a sense of freedom. Getting on a bike can be one of the best things you can do for yourself, as long as you are prepared and protected. There is no getting around it, biking in Chicago is not easy and can be considered by some as outright crazy. There are many factors to take into consideration before you embark on that Saturday morning lakefront path for a leisurely ride or that Monday morning commute to work. Biking anywhere in Chicago has its risks, but if you are properly prepared it can be a great experience with many benefits.
One of the biggest benefits of commuting by bike in Chicago is its economic value. Take one look at ‘09 and you can definitely say that a lot of economic change has occurred in a very short amount of time. Save a dime, or at least invest it! Biking is very inexpensive in comparison to taking a bus, train, cab or car. You can spend upwards of $90 a month if you ride the trains and buses of Chicago twice a day, five days a week. And we all know, it is never fun to be crammed next to someone so close that you can smell what they had for breakfast. Let’s face it, parking downtown can be down right depressing. Parking garages can be anywhere from $20 to $40 a day and street parking has been ransacked by a private industry making parking meters 25 cents for seven minutes. There is nothing better then locking your bike for free to a parking meter. There is a great sense of freedom as I bike past a fully-packed bus stopping to pick up a handful of 9 to 5-ers. By investing the money you spend on commuting or parking, riding a bike is by far the most economic way to get around.
You’re not only doing good for your bank account, but you’re doing great for your health. Being active is what we as humans were meant to do. Riding a bike will help your heart, lungs, joints as well as your waistline. Riding to work can become a great wake-up in the morning and a relaxing, calming escape from the hectic rat race that we call “work.”
But it’s not all coming up roses!
Congestion, 24/7 rush-hour traffic, cabs and trucks, distracted drivers, and pedestrian traffic all gobble up the streets and paths of Chicago. Navigating through the city streets is like swimming through hungry sharks out for blood. Not only do Chicago drivers have to fight with every other car on the road, but now they are forced to fight for the street with bikers. There is rare consideration for the biker, so make sure you roll right.
With the massive number of commuters, riders and enthusiasts on our streets everyday, not only are we showing motorists that we are here, but that we are going to coexist regardless of our differences. The city has caught on quickly and we are seeing a lot of positive progression towards safer streets and better laws. They have created new laws about doorings and accidents, and established miles of bike-friendly streets and paths. They’ve reached out to multiple neighborhoods to educate riders on how important it is to be aware and safe while riding. Unfortunately, while the city is very progressive, the individual has maintained an inflexible way of thinking. Many motorists don’t even know they could be ticketed or even jailed for dooring a biker. Fortunately, the mayor of Chicago is an avid cyclist himself. This ensures that regardless of the paleolithic way that many Chicago motorists think, at least we can ride with some assurance of a safer future.
Even with the progress seen in Chicago as becoming a top bike-friendly city, we cannot throw caution to the wind. There are a couple of simple things to remember when biking these great scapes. One, the drivers out here are crazy! This isn’t amature hour; wear your helmet when you ride. Love your life as much as you do your beloved bike. I didn’t used to wear a helmet when I first started to ride. Due to an onslaught of cycling related deaths in 2007 and 2008, helmet safety has become the norm. Two, lights are a major factor when riding at night. Buy two lights- one for the front and one for the rear. Drivers are not looking for you and the most common explanation from a driver who has just struck a biker is “I didn’t even see him”. Many pedestrians blindly walk out into streets without regard for anything. People step out from in front of parked cars, and cross streets without looking at all. Many Chicago side streets are narrow and packed with cars, with motorists flying down the streets, taking their designated “shortcuts” to avoid main arteries. Complete stops generally only happen at stop lights in Chicago. A rolling stop is common practice – drivers roll past the stop sign into an intersection at anywhere from 5 to 7 MPH. Oh, and let’s not forget that stop signs on side streets usually don’t even get the “slow down” reaction; motorists just speed right through. This being said, it’s not a smart idea to ride with headphones on. Stop listening to your IPod and start listening to the cars around you. With all the potholes out there, it’s necessary to weave in and out of traffic to avoid face-planting. Consider yourself part of the Chicago traffic flow!
Within the past year there are a lot of cyclists that have been led astray. It seems that style reigns supreme over safety. I see more and more people riding single-speed free wheels with only a front brake – yeah, a front brake! No back brake whatsoever. Yes, fixed gears are popular and are one of the primary ways people choose to ride here. But, riding a free wheel without a back brake is unsafe and just stupid! If you’re carrying any sort of speed and need to stop quickly, your bike might – but you will certainly be flying over your handle bars. The disregard for one’s safety is a personal choice. But the unnecessary accidents and unnecessary head traumas are only making the cyclist culture look uneducated and foolish.
The life of a Chicago biker is full of both freedom and potential pain. Yes, we have so much to ride for, but at the same time, there are clearly many dangers on the city road. We all need to work together to help push this great experience further and make sure that everyone, regardless of their mode of transportation, feels good on our streets and knows how to ride safely while having the best ride possible.
Issue: Issue 3
