ICU Doc

There is a possibility that I may relocate to Chicago. I am currently in NYC, and am relatively spoiled (for someone that does not live in California, the Carolinas, Colorado, etc) with regards to being able to put in serious miles in relatively hilly terrain (heading north from the city, up 9W, into Nyack/Rockland/Bear Mtn/etc). I realize that Chicago will not offer the terrain, but are there good 50-100 mile rides that do not include the lakefront path if I wind up living in the Lakeview area?

nixternal

Head west to the suburbs. This question would be better asked if in the Great Lakes forum here. I am 30 minutes west of the city, and as long as I stay west of the city, there are plenty of routes that would offer that distance. You can even do laps up in Barrington Hills for what we consider hills out here They aren't large, but they are all we have. Though we do have the wind, and if you get far enough west into the corn fields (less than an hour west of Chicago) you can get in good workouts with the wind. That is where you can run into Christian Vande Velde training sometimes.

Good places to ride where you can get in some good miles, non-path would be:
* Lemont
* Will County
* Kane County
* St. Charles
* Barrington Hills
* McHenry County
* Madison, WI (great riding in western Wisconsin, 3 hours away)

Forgot to add, less than 8 hours to either Kentucky or Tennessee, which is really nice for a weekend getaway. The team I belong to usually hosts a training camp down there in the late winter/early spring time-frame.

ICU Doc

Thanks for the suggestions. What if I don't have a car, and need to start out from the Lakeview/Wrigleyville area? Can you easily get to the areas that you mention?

badhat

quickest way out of the city is north from where youre gonna be.

take sheridan up towards evanston and theres a lot of options. you can also take a bike on the L during off hours and on the weekend, blue line, green line and orange line will all get you out towards the burbs pretty quickly.

ive been gone for a few years but thats how i remember it anyway.

ColinL

do the CTA buses have bike racks on front? we've got those-- only hold 4 bikes max, but I often see one or none on them.

could be a helpful addition to using the L.


side note: I would think Chicago is less car-free friendly than NYC, but I've only visited them both.. not resided in either.

nixternal

Yeah, if you don't have a care, then public trans is your best bet. The CTA as well as METRA allow bikes during certain times. On the weekends and holidays, all times, but during the work week, it is limited to non-rush-hour times. You can take the Metra to pretty much every location I listed above, except for Madison. You can hop on the Metra from either Union Station or Olgive and head to St. Charles and further west (Elburn), Barrington Hills area (quite a few places to take the train to that are close), and Will/Kane/McHenry as well.

You could ride north, but I find it absolutely worthless riding anywhere close to the city as there is so much stop & go. Some people I guess like this, but forget intervals, unless sprinting 200m to the next light is your cup of tea. If you were to ride to any of the locations I stated above, you would be close to 50 miles because of all of the zig-zagging you have to do. Chicago is a very bike-friendly city, if you enjoy riding in skinny jeans and don't shower for a month, very hipster heavy, and another reason I can't stand riding near the city.

bonz50

the far north burbs offer a great gateway to SE WI... very scenic and very unpopulated roads up there... typically well maintained also... metra also goes to Kenosha, WI, another great launching point for some riding...

tadawdy

There are some good rides in the north burbs. There are good group rides that leave from Evanston. The routes are pretty restricted until you get a little further north, though.

I'm not familiar with actually riding in the city, but stay away from the lakeshore path during warmer months. During the winter, it's actually pretty clear, and mostly abandoned. Then, it's not so bad.

badhat

i used to work nights on the southside near the museum campus and live in andersonville near the north end of the Lakeshore path.

used to love getting out of work at 11 or 12 on a weeknight and jumpin on the trail and having it all to myself. best view of the skyline.

ICU Doc

wow, it seems the options are fairly limited unless i have a car or jump on a train. do the suggested ex-urban rides at least avoid residential areas so that there is actual scenery?

tadawdy

Chicagoland is pretty much all residential area, until you get relatively far out. Just north of me (Sheridan road through Wilmette, Winnetka, and beyond) is a very nice residential area, and nice riding, but your options are relatively limited. It makes for a nice commute, though.

From me it's:

East: the lake
South: the city
West: sprawling residential and concrete commercial cluster****/infrastructure nightmare, aka Skokie.
North: pretty good riding; a lot of rides rides go north and then west, out along highway 94. Part of the issue is that the east/west arteries around me are operating beyond their capacity (it would seem). Bikes are banned from several major east-west roads.

There are lots of people (myself included) who manage to enjoy cycling here, in a square peg-round hole kind of way. I certainly wouldn't move here for the cycling. It is a little different far west of me, once you get to more open areas. Far enough that it's not convenient to ride to from the city, though.

People who want nice cycling go to Wisconsin or Michigan.

twodownzero

Chicago isn't bad, you guys are being way too cynical.

ilovecycling

Chicago sucks for riding. Riding in any big city does for that matter. Way too many cars, pedestrians, stop lights, etc. Chicago is very bike-friendly, but mostly for commuters. If you are trying to race through the streets or plan on doing serious mileage, not only will be it frustrating but it will only be a matter of time before you get doored or hit in an intersection.

I say get a car and drive outside the city into some rural areas. You can get to Northwest Indiana in a little under an hour. I grew up in NW IN. There are plenty of open, low traffic roads to ride on there.

Even that would suck. I left Indiana last February after getting my degree to move to Northern VA for a job. After getting spoiled by riding the beautiful Appalachian mountains here on the east coast, I can't imagine going back to that flat as a pancake state I call home. Just thinking about going back makes me want to cry. I relocate to NC in a few more months and I'm so thankful that the mountains will still be there.

Good luck.

ColorChange

If you can get to the burbs, then riding is pretty good, terrain considered. If you have to live in the city, you're going to have your work cut out for you. To do serious riding, you pretty much need to get out of the city.

thinktubes 

I live in Evanston and ride the hell out of Sheridan road. Things open up a litte more North of Highland Park. There's not a lot of open space before that. At least on Sheridan road it's VERY nice ($$$) residental areas. You can put together some nice 50-100 mile rides.

As mentioned, there are many good group rides that go out on the North Shore. The missing link is a good route from the city to Evanston. Rodgers Park has a lot of goofy one-way streets and is congested.

Urban sprawl has really kill a lot of the suburban cycling in Chicagoland. You probably need to go at least 40 to 50 miles west of the Loop to get to any decent riding.

ICU Doc

thanks for the input. i really have to say that i did not realized how spoiled we are here in Manhattan. Cross the GW Bridge, and the riding becomes really quite amazing.

Machka 

Your choice??

I've been in the Chicago area, and I'm afraid it doesn't leap to mind as a top choice when it comes to cycling.

However, I've cycled in other parts of Illinois, and they can be quite pleasant.

deacon mark

I live in Central Illinois and I complain about no mountains and even very little hills but I better stop. I can hit the road and in about 3 minutes be on a deserted country road with little traffic. I get upset if I have to hit a stop light to get out of town or go through some light traffic. I would just throw the bike in the car and get out of the city if I lived in right the puppy.

Scummer

Come down south to 87th and Burley and hit the 50 degree banks of the 166m velodrome. Lotsa fun.

ruskko

chicago is prolly one of the more friend major cities in the country,our new mayor is a major cyclist and is making major plans for this coming year inculding more bike paths

Looper1477

I was raised in the metro area and have lived on the North shore, Far Western suburbs and west suburbs. I agree that Sheridan Road and area from north Evanston north through Wilmette, Winnetka, and points north is decent but pretty limited as far as options.


From Naperville/Aurora southwest of there it opens up to farmland quickly---about 6 miles out as development is dead in the water there now. Barrington/Barrington Hills is nice and has a few hills.

For real hills one needs to drive slightly northwest of Rockford and ride between there and Beloit WI---can get about 2500 ft of vertical elevation in about 80 miles---but its 1 40 mins from Naperville for example to get there.

Best of luck in your adventure.

Psimet2001 

Huge cycling community here. Tons of places to ride "seriously". If you don't figure it out then your internets skillz iz lacking or you don't want it bad enough. Go to the closest shop and start asking questions.

knucklesandwich

I don't think anyone is saying that there isn't passable riding in Chicago, but the guy is asking if it can hold a candle to what he has available to him right now, and the answer as far as out the door riding, is no.

I grew up in northern nj, and jus moved t lakeview from the dc area, and as nice as Chicago is, you are just not going to get the same terrain and open roads within shouting distance as you would from dc or ny.

I am beginning to appreciate Sheridan road, having so far oly gotten as far as the Wisconsin line, and there are lots of nice open roads, but they areby and large flat and residential, and fairly straight. I've done a little bit of exploring towards the nw burbs and whil it gets quieter, it's not on par with 9w or the potomac/poolesville area of Maryland, which is what I consider easily accessible by bike.

The city has a ton else going for it however, so if you get in the mindset of putting the bike in the big ring and hammering, you will do fine. (your avg speeds will see a nice pop)
The cross scene is good- get a cx bike and make friends with someone with a car- the races are all pretty close by and well organized and attended.

If cycling is the main determinant of whether you move or not, I'd say stay in NYC but if you are looking for a more low key city with good people, bars, restaurants, etc that also happens to have a good cycling scene(terrain notwithstanding) then this might be a good place to relocate to.

wants185s

A lot of good comments already. There are many bike clubs in and around Chicago. Search "Chicago Bike Clubs" and see what each has to offer I'm sure you will find one or two that have rides in their schedules that will fit your desire,ability and schedule.

ICU Doc

i do appreciate all of the replies. cycling is not the determinant of my move....my career is determining things. i've been cycling for 31 years now, and it's the thing the keeps me sane, so i would like to keep going with it.