Monday, May 25, 2009

Sound of Silence

Yesterday was the eighth Bike the Drive put together by the Active Transportation Alliance. (It used to be called the Chicagoland Bike Federation but they recently changed the name to incorporate walkers and public transportation riders.) The annual event involves closing down Lake Shore Drive (US 41) to motorized vehicle traffic for several hours, allowing bikes to ride north from Grant Park up to Bryn Mawr, back south to the Museum of Science and Industry then back north to the end at Grant Park (about 30 miles round trip).

I didn't participate yesterday but I have in the past and it is pretty great to bike on Lake Shore Drive - it is a different perspective than the Lakefront Trail even though that trail runs next to Lake Shore Drive. And, you find out that there are some pretty long steep hills on the Drive that you do not feel in a car but are quite evident on a bicycle.

But the neat part is the silence on Bike The Drive morning. It was so quiet yesterday morning that I could hear the el train rumbling through downtown, over a half-mile away, when I took this picture from the Cancer Survivors Park (which is built on the spot that used to be the infamous Lake Shore Drive "S" Curve.).

2 comments:

Sharon said...

I think it would be amazing fun to ride a bike along Lake Shore Drive. What fun!

I loved yesterday's sunrise photos. Pretty amazing "lake effects".

Kaori said...

Look at all those bikers! It must feel great to bike around without having to worry about cars :)