Commuting - For those of you in Chicago (downtown)

I am wondering about inner LSD-

I know we aren't permitted to ride our bikes on LSD, but is it possible to ride north from Michigan Avenue on inner LSD? I'm just wondering since the entire north part of the lakefront bike path is f-ed up from Fullerton, and I'm not planning on riding the lakefront until mid-fall anyway.

I'm looking for streets that go northbound that are less trafficked by buses- I don't care about heavy traffic, but I get tired of having to deal with 3-5 buses in a row all constantly pulling off to the side every block to pick up passengers. I took Clark Street back soutth yesterday and got chased and honked by one of the 5 #22 buses all headed southbound lined up behind each other for about a mile, and it was irritating. Add that to the mess these buses make of the sides of the streets- the streets are so torn up, that's it's nearly impossible to stay far enough to the right so that traffic can go around me. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
I know we aren't permitted to ride our bikes on LSD...

People who do not know Chicago might wonder about this acronym. Wouldn't a ride on LSD be intensely "colorful?"

Riding on LSD is a good trip for sure, until you get hit by a bus, what a buzz kill. Seriously, when I lived in Chi I rode on the inner LSD a few times without incident from Michigan to North Ave. Traffic can be very fast on that road, other than that, no problems.

Well, like I said, I don't mind heavy traffic- it's just that loooooooooong line of buses like I was describing. Plus, I just need to know if it's legal for me ro ride on with my bike- not just if you were able to get by riding it a few times, but if anyone knows the rules of the road with regards to bikes on inner LSD (Lake Shore Drive, for those of you wondering if I'm talking about some bad acid trip I'm on!!!).

Anyone have a definitive answer?

Koffee

I'm not local, but in Montréal, I find that most bus drivers respect cyclists. They already have problems with car drivers giving them the "right hook turn", so they know the feeling.

One way I found to get even better respect is to behave like a good vehicle driver. For instance, if the bus is stopped to board 1 passenger and the light is red, I stop behind the bus and to the left so the driver sees me and know I left him start first (they have priority to start after boarding passengers, here). Likewise, I don't play cat and mouse with them.

BTW, you should see du Parc Avenue in the morning when the 8-car suburban train stops at the Parc metro station and empties itself... ito busses heading downtown! It's usually 8-10 #935 busses in less than 5 minutes (plus regular #535 at about 1 per 2 minutes).

Regards,

Michel-

The issue I'm trying to resolve is not being a good cyclist- it's the laws regarding whether or not the bike can be taken on this road.

Keeping that in mind, if you or anyone knows the laws, let me know.

I'll probably contact 311 in about another day if I can't get the answer here.

As a P.S., all buses are supposed to check their rearview mirrors before pulling off and entering the street again. I don't need to go through all that precaution just to ensure I'm seen. I know I'm seen- they just don't like it when I pass them, then they get behind me, and have to respect ME because I'm also considered a member of the driving elite. And when you have 4- 5 buses in a row, trying to figure out which bus is going to stop at the bus stop, and which ones blow off the stop because there's already at least one bus there or now can get pretty frustrating. I find it better to outrun them all and get at least 2 lights ahead of them in order to get away from that riff-raff. I would rather see 8- 10 buses in 5 minutes than deal with 4- 5 buses (or so depending on the rush hour) all in a row, each of them backing up traffic for blocks at a time. It's a mess sometimes. Orderly, timed schedules would do wonders for them all. Seriously.

Koffee

Koffee,
Another thing I'd like to know as a non-Chicagoer, (at least not for a few years) is, what is 311?

211 is the non-emergency number. They set it up for all those fools out there calling for the little things and the non-emergency stuff, like when there's a cat in the tree, or when you want to know if you can take your bike on inner LSD. ;)

Stuff like that. I don't know if every city has one, but it seems like a good idea to have.

Koffee

Koffee-

doesn't LaSalle St have nice wide bike lanes? if you took that south, through the traffic court, you could ride all day. Dearborn has bike lanes run up it as well. I don't know what condition Chicago Ave is in as you go west, but doesn't the L.A.T.E. ride take Chicago Ave. west for a while? I remember taking the Clark St #22 bus and the Broadway #36 bus to and from work when i wasn't riding. Clark St is narrow to begin with and i'd end up gaining weight going to 'Wiener Circle' You could ride north on LaSalle. It ends/runs into Lincoln Ave. I used to ride up Lincoln Ave. quite a ways to where Lincoln, Lawrence and Western meet.

Or you can get on a train from Union Station and I'll meet you at the train up here in the suburbs and we can ride out here.

Or how about

Where are you at again? Maybe I can ride up there and meet you. I'm feeling a little more confident about long distance riding.

PM me.

Or give me some alternatives. I just got back into riding Western Ave. It's one of the best streets in Chicago...

KB

Originally posted by Prosody
People who do not know Chicago might wonder about this acronym. Wouldn't a ride on LSD be intensely "colorful?"

A song used that to effect.

And there ain’t no road just like it
Anywhere I found
Running south on Lake Shore Drive heading into town
Just slippin’ on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound

Yep, sounds like Chicago, all right!

;)

Koffee