Any good Chicago bike/cycling forums? (neighborhood, buy, shops)

[dewthedru]

i'm new to the city. moved here from michigan where the cycling community is fairly well organized and there are tons of online resources for many of the different parts of the state.

i'm struggling to find the same here. is chainlink the best resource for riding in/around chicago?

thanks!

[SJaye]

We have The Chain Link. I'm not sure if it is as well organized as your Michigan forums, but there are groups, events, etc. here.

[dewthedru]

thanks!

[surlycue]

LOVE the Chainlink. The site was actually started by a touring cyclist though now most of the events uploaded to the calendar are casual city rides. It's completely user generated so all you have to do to create your own events is register as a member.

The downtown CM is this Friday and the smaller Wicker Park and Pilsen CMs are next Friday. They all meet at 5:30 pm.

[dewthedru]

i've set up an account there and will peruse it over the next couple of days. i'm mainly looking for good routes in the city that i can hit and ride hard w/o having to stop every block for a light or stop sign. i also do most of my riding at night so i'm looking for good routes for that purpose as well. i've ridden over to the lakefront trail and love it. there's nobody on it in the middle of the night and i can just cruise. looking forward to doing so when it's warmer. btw, does the trail close at night? will i encounter any trouble from the cops riding it late at night? i'm not overly worried about being mugged since i'm moving at a pretty good clip.

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by dewthedru

i've set up an account there and will peruse it over the next couple of days. i'm mainly looking for good routes in the city that i can hit and ride hard w/o having to stop every block for a light or stop sign. i also do most of my riding at night so i'm looking for good routes for that purpose as well. i've ridden over to the lakefront trail and love it. there's nobody on it in the middle of the night and i can just cruise. looking forward to doing so when it's warmer. btw, does the trail close at night? will i encounter any trouble from the cops riding it late at night? i'm not overly worried about being mugged since i'm moving at a pretty good clip.

Ride the City - New York City is a good route planning site. the bike application for google maps is still mighty buggy so i have more confidence in ridethecity. the boulevards are also very safe to bike where automobile safety is concerned though a few of the westside and southside boulevards should be avoided at night due to neighborhood safety concerns.

boulevardhist

I believe the whole system is 28 miles. Here's a blog from someone who biked the route in a day and took some good photos of points of interest.

The Boulevard System of Chicago

The PDF Chicagoland bike maps I have are too large to upload but here's a link so some city sponsored maps: City of Chicago :: Bike Maps

I've also attached a jpg map of area natural areas, many of which offer trail cycling, both paved and dirt.

[paytonc]

There's a separate Chicagoland (metro area) bike map which shows the various trails in the metro area; you can buy it at bike shops. As far as not-stopping goes, the Prairie Path in the west burbs is good but my favorite is the Green Bay in the north suburbs.

Lakefront at night: you will be fine as long as you do not stop and loiter. Also, do be aware of your surroundings (e.g., don't wear headphones and look around), since there have been cases where people have been knocked off their bikes.

[Janinele]

I can highly recommend the North Branch Trail - starts at Devon and Milwaukee Ave and goes up to the Botanical Garden - its a nice loop and you really feel you're out of the city!

enjoy!