jargo432

My wife and i will be biking in chicago in July and are looking for a place to stay. We will be arriving by Amtrack and want to visit the city for a few days. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank You

spinnaker

You are going to have to get a whole lot more specific than that. For one Chicago is an enormous city. And there are lots of options on places to stay. From warmshowers host to hostels to extremely expensive hotel rooms.

spinnaker

BTW Except for maybe down by the lake, Chicago isn't exactly a great place to bike. Streets are WAY too congested with car traffic.

rm -rf

Leave your bikes behind for a day downtown.

The Divvy bikeshare day pass ($15 for unlimited rides within 24 hours) is great for exploring the downtown area and the waterfront parks. I rode around the historic skyscraper district on a sunny,warm Saturday, and the traffic wasn't heavy. (Weekdays are likely to be more congested.) I think it's because parking downtown is so expensive and annoying.

It's great, there's bike stations every few blocks, so you can explore and drop off the bike whenever you see something interesting. Then grab another bike when you want to move on. The phone app will map nearby stations.

The bikeshare map is amazing! 580 stations. Zoom in!

indyfabz

Duh.

https://www.fourseasons.com/chicago/

fietsbob

IYHA Chicago https://www.hihostels.com/search/hos...A&d=us-chicago


As a Solo Touring rider I liked the social meeting of others a Hostel provides.. I used them a lot in Ireland and Scotland, on my last tour..

You Married and traveling with your Wife the private Hotel Room may be fine..







....

spinnaker

Darn they are full up the night I will be in Chicago. $1,500 a night is a heck of a bargain.

WMcCready

Consider staying at a hotel or motel in the West Loop, near Union Station (Amtrak terminus) preferably one where you could take bike in Room or hotel baggage room, for safe keeping, do Day rides from there, Loop, lakefront bike trail, or North side. DIVY bike may be worthwhile, if only to protect you bikes from theft, ( we are Second City for that as well) I think DIVY requires a year fee of $ 75 or more. Another plan may be to just come, cab to WorkingBikes.org on 24 th. & Western pick up two suitable used bikes, & locks, do your riding then donate them back when leaving. Some city bike shops are drop off points for WorkingBikes. May want to get some support from BF members if your in need while here.

3speed

I'd recommend staying anywhere but Chicago! But as mentioned, biking in Chicago isn't great. And the one Terrible experience I've had with Amtrak was into Chicago. I've never dealt with staff in a customer service position who were either uninterested in or rude to customers as if it were a standard. They then became actually hostile toward us when the train was stuck on the tracks for 10 hours right outside of the city and they wouldn't open up the food car for anyone to eat. There were literally children crying of hunger and people sharing food. The staff was all in the front car chatting, having coffee, and eating... I honestly can't imagine a worse means of transportation into Chicago than Amtrak. While you're there, I'd look into warm showers hosts. If you haven't heard of that, it's like couch surfing for bike tourists.

indyfabz

Next time you are in the Missoula area consider this place:

https://www.theranchatrockcreek.com/...715.1522502756

I know a guy whose brother is the sous chef there. Accommodations will set you back close to $2K/night minimum, although it is all-inclusive. I have toured near the place twice. Beautiful area.

Doug64

And I thought $350 a night in Green Bay when the Packers were playing at home game was high.

We rode through Chicago once and around Chicago another time while killing some time before catching our train home. It is not too bad if you are used to big city riding. However, the places that are easy to ride may not get you to the most interesting parts of the city. Just based on those two short visits, Id stay somewhere near the Lake Michigan. There is a good trial (about 20 miles long) along the lake, and is easy access to downtown.

The Lake front trail is nice—unless the Airshow is taking place over the Lake.


There are some pretty good routes through Chicago.


There are some pretty nice bike lanes in the down town area.

spinnaker

Last time I was there, I did not have my bike. I thought the streets were pretty darn busy in that area.

This year I will have my bike. I was not impressed with their security at AmTrak, I am reluctant to leave my bike. I figure I will take a ride down to the lake. I have ridden in a number of large cities before and they don't phase me much. My concern is finding a place to eat while I can keep an eye on my bike. I am hoping there will be a place down by the lake where I can do that.

Barrettscv 

I lived in Chicago most of my life. I now visit from downstate. I use the Whitehall on Delaware: https://www.google.com/search?q=hote...81166615280263

It's an affordable older hotel with an ideal location.

Doug64

That's a good point. When we were on our micro-tour of the city while waiting for our train we stopped at a place to each lunch. My wife went into a busy deli to scout it out while I locked up the bikes. My usual method for locking up two loaded touring bikes is to lock them through the frame and the wheels with a cable lock. hard to roll away and difficult to lift both bikes. A woman who was taking a break outside he office building came over to talk. She told me our bikes were not secure the way I had them locked. As she was telling me this, two guys walking by heard the conversation, and said to me, " you better listen to the lady." She offered to watch our bikes while we went into the deli to order lunch. There was outside seating so we parked the bikes near our table

Sometimes it pays to pay attention to the local. We stopped at this diner in Cleveland, locked up the bikes and went inside for lunch. The waitress saw us come in and came over to tell us to bring our bikes inside or "they will probably not be there when you go out".

spinnaker

One of my concerns about touring alone is what to do with my bike in a big city. I will be in at least two. Sacramento and Chicago. Followed by Eugene and Salem for a couple of smaller ones. Doubt I will be going into the city in Portland.



But it looks like solo touring is in my future so either don't go or just deal. You are a lucky man to have a built in touring partner.

Doug64

I am lucky!!

You also need to be cautious in Eugene, it is almost as bad as Portland for bike thefts.

On another topic: I heard last week that Portland Metro is starting bike friendly bus service in the Columbia Gorge from Portland to Hood River. I believe they said it would start in May. I don't know if you have totally ruled out the Gorge.

spinnaker

Figured put thanks for the tip.

Hey those shots of you and the wife down by the lake in Chicago. Was that your train trip? If so why not leave the bags at Union Station?



And what on earth were you doing in Cleveland?

Doug64

I was not aware that stowing the bags was an option. I'll try to check from now on, instead of assuming that leaving the bags at the station is not an option.

We were riding across the U.S. on Highway 20. Newport, OR to Boston, MA.

spinnaker

Like I mentioned above. You might not want them to store anything expensive. But I guess a bunch of dirty clothes will be OK. FYI it is a part of the service when you have a roomette. I assume you got a room or roomette? Not sure what they have for people in coach.

fixedweasel

Ah........yeah..........not so much. I've lived here all my life, biked through this whole city and bike it all year round. Chicago is an absolutely wonderful city that has so much to offer. Most stuff(s) folks want to see is downtown anywhere off of Michigan Ave. The lakefront trail is approx. a 30 mile loop and the views are worth every pedal stroke. The Art Institute, Museums, nice restaurants, lakefront are all there plus we have a wonderful theatre district as well as Second City/Blue Man/etc. Lock your bikes proper as you should anywhere. Enjoy, well worth.

jargo432

We found a bike friendly hotel downtown for 165 a night. Can't wait to visit your city. We are used to traffic so no worries. (It can't be worse than downtown Dallas)

spinnaker

How can it be a lake front loop at only 30 miles? Lake Superior has nearly 1,800 miles of shore line.

gorob23

My wife and I stayed here on trip last year ... we are not kids and it was fine ..

24 East Congress Parkway
Chicago, Illinois 60605
Call 1 (312) 360-0300
Chicago@hiusa.org
Hostel Menu
good luck

Rob

fixedweasel

Ha! Yes, quite so, you are indeed correct. But for those who ride in Chicago, the Lakefront Path defines it, so to speak. It is a path just east of Lakeshore Drive that is paved. It is continuous without interruption. It runs approximately 15-16 miles and the "loop" is really defined by out and back. If you ever do come to Chicago in May, a nice ride is Bike the Drive where they shut down Lake Shore Drive for most of the morning and tens of thousands of riders take over the Drive. Here's a link and some more info on our Lakefront............

https://www.bikethedrive.org/