10.19.2013

Chicago by bike

It’s been a dream of mine to live in a city where all you need is a bicycle to get around. 

So, when I moved into my apartment in Wicker Park and saw a Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 road bike leaning against the living room wall, that simple dream came true.     

Now, the streets–with all their bumps, pebbles, potholes and cracks–are like new friends I’m learning to love. 

There’s a chocolate factory on my daily commute that releases invisible plumes of Wonka wonder. For blocks, I ride with my mouth wide open and breathe in chocolate air. 

Biking around has made me feel like a kid again, returning to the days when pedaling transported me to the ends of the earth as I knew it. With every city block there’s a new offering, a world within a world, culture shifts, ethnic food smells escaping their kitchens, and sound that never stops. 

Cross rusty metal drawbridges and become miniaturized below the Loop’s towering stone giants. 
Lose the sound of your own voice in the rumble of trains overhead. 
Play a cat and mouse game with cars, bikes, and buses. 
Feel the thrill of impromptu races with cycling strangers. 
Accelerate the wind to your face. 
Break free at any speed your legs can muster. 

Chicago streets are living, and on a bike you’re joining the life-flow that’s moving through its veins, adapting to its rhythm every time you push off the curb. 

A simple dream of relying on a bike for transit has come true. It's a dream that's been compounded with a sense of fresh wonder and cocoa-infused air.

...bike on...

1 comment:

  1. Biking is so liberating! I feel freedom every time I start pedaling.

    ReplyDelete