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Thinking of moving to Chicago...good for road biking?

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Old 07-29-17, 11:02 AM
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Swede1
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Thinking of moving to Chicago...good for road biking?

We've caught the biking bug real bad, and believe it or not, as we are deciding whether or not to move from Grand Rapids to Chicago, the access to good trails is playing in to our decision.

Grand Rapids and west michigan is amazing...how is the chicagoland area...good/safe trails to take longer rides on??
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Old 07-29-17, 11:53 AM
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If you did move to within the city limits you might be reversing a trend https://www.mail.com/news/us/5060666...age-related1-2. I lived in the suburbs a long time ago and have ex-residents among my friends. They were pretty enthusiastic about the trail system outside of the city. Their system of parks is first rate. It's pretty easy to find links to the many trails: https://www.traillink.com/city/chicago-il-trails/ and a couple of the trails on this list are in or near Chicago https://www.railstotrails.org/trailb...s-in-illinois/

The tax situation in Illinois would be enough to keep me from ever considering moving back there. It's also nice to have a state government that is not in a state of constant crisis. Summers were warm and humid and winters cold and wet. If you are from Michigan, that might not be much of a change (I lived in MI too for 3 years).
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Old 07-29-17, 12:41 PM
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Michigan to Illinois for bike riding? I'd aim farther south personally buy I'm sure you have your reasons. Seems that months out of the year will be cold and snowy, but good luck
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Old 07-29-17, 12:52 PM
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Chicago has an old and active road biking community. There's good urban riding within the city, and great suburban, fading to rural road biking on the roads to the north and west.

But, I don't know the extent of any trail network, either in or around the city. So, if you'd asked about road biking without mentioning trails, I'd have said it's great. If trails are of importance to you, you might phone some of the shops in the area to get some details about what's there.
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Old 07-29-17, 02:03 PM
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There are great networks of trails that you can chalk up big miles on. I live by the Fox River. That trail is 65 miles long and connects to many other trails along the way.

There are lots of organized supported rides in the area as well as many suburban bike shops that do group rides. The city proper has amazing bike paths along the lake.
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