teadoggg

hey hey. I’m new to this place. I moved from Columbus Ohio to Chicago in July. I have been reading through this message board for the last few weeks and am making to move to an active poster. I’m a student (or will be one again soon). I love riding in the city (traffic makes me happy). It’s fun to wiz by cars that are stuck in traffic. It just feels good to be on a bike.
I’m saving my pennies right now for a new fixed gear frame. I’m leaning quite heavily towards a IRO markV. That’s a sexy sexy frame.

I’m looking for good routes/loops. Let me know if there’s a list online somewhere. I’m in the River West neighborhood (Grand Ave, near the chocolate factory) and don’t have a car.

Looking forward to exploring Chicago on a bike,

Tristan

hubs

The local city bike map, sponsored by some bank, Bank One, I think is in most of the bike shops. Ask, they usually have it in a pile behind the counter. It's a pretty good start for which streets are better for bikes, and it has whatever trails are around. It is just a start though. I have found many different ways through some neighborhoods which I prefer. I haven't gone wrong going somewhere new based on the map.

Good luck and welcome to Chicago!

Guest

Welcome to Chicago! I don't know how you can live by that chocolate factory! The first few times, it smelled so dang good, but now... the smell seems to make me feel a bit queasy in the stomach. You're strong, boy... strong!

There are definitely a few places you can go to. A lot of folks like Yojimbo's Garage on north Clybourn. Marcus is the guy who runs that shop, and it's a one man show. He has very good service, and is an all around, good guy. I bring my Bike Friday and my Specialized Sirrus to him.

You can also try Mission Bay Multisport over on West Randolph. That's more in your neighborhood. It's a great store, a bit bigger than Yojimbo's but still the feel of a small time LBS. I like going there because they specialize in foreign bikes, so they usually can service my bike well.

There's a great bike shop called Rapid Transit on North Avenue. It's right at Damen, North, and Milwaukee, at the big intersection. I like to go there and hang sometimes. They have great salespeople, and it's a great place to stop in on a rainy afternoon and sit on the couch and talk to the folks there... assuming they have time to chat, though! I sometimes get my hard-to-find Bike Friday stuff from them, but once I did bring in my Specialized, and they fixed it up right quick.

I know there is a cycle shop on west Chicago (like by Chicago and Milwaukee). I didn't have much of an impression of them. They used to have a woman working there I liked talking to, but she's gone now. They have a decent staff, but I thought they were a bit stand-offish when I stopped through there, and I wasn't satisfied when I brought my bike in for an adjustment that didn't solve the problem, yet they charged me anyway. Bleah. Others had positive experiences, though.

Finally, I still go to Performance whenever I want something cheap, or when I want something like clothing. I think their staff for the most part is pretty friendly, they have great sales sometimes, and they do go out of their way with returns and exchanges. They're over on Halsted and Diversey.

For bike maps, there are plenty. I think the one recommended by hubs is great- the Bank One maps are a dime a dozen. If you go by the www.biketraffic.org, you can view the Chicago Bike Federation to read more about cycling in Chicago (if you join, you also get a discount when you purchase at Yojimbo's too!) and find out where you can get the Bank One map. If you're looking to do a lot of cycling and you want to go to a lot of places, you may want to get your hands on the Illinois Official Bicycle Map. Specifically, you'll want to get Map 1, which is the Chicago/Northeastern Illinois map. That will show TONS of great routes, especially the routes to Wisconsin and the routes to get to the western suburbs. It goes pretty far south too, all the way to Joliet. With this map, you can probaby fill up your cycling schedule for years. The Illinois Department of Transportation sponsors that map, and they can be reached at 217-785-2932. It's a free map too.

Welcome to Chicago.

Koffee

pitboss

Get ready for a White Hell of Winter. Enjoy. I know I did!
Welcome and stay warm. Come check out the Fixed Gear Forums here when you get a chance. Quite a few Chicagoans about...

teadoggg

koffee, hey!

i've been reading your posts for a while and i'm deeming you the bike goddess of chicago. you posts are tremendously helpful, thanks for all the time you're spend on the forums.

i've been to yojimbo's. it was july or something, when i was up here looking for a place to live. i heard about it from a buddy of mine and checked it out. the place is rad, i loved it. Marcus was totally helpful and hooked a friend of mine up with a badass surley. i'm going back there later this week to talk to him about getting me a fixie. i'll have to start checking those other places out you recommended.

once i get my bearings and my bike all set up, maybe we can ride sometime. I need to re-build my biking possee. in ohio i worked as a wrench in a LBS for a year or two and had a bunch of people to cruise with. i need some riding partners.

also, this spring i am planning on riding my fixie (that i don't yet have) back home to columbus.

thanks for the warm welcome.

Impoliticus

https://www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/STATE.HTM

These are the IDOT maps that koffee brown mentioned. Might as well get all of them, they're free! They have the all the designated bike paths on them and they rate how cyclis t friendly the roads are.

velowolf

I miss Chicago!!!

Gardener

welcome to Chicago!!,, it is a great city to ride around. don't forget riding south chicago too,,

i'll have to check out yojimbo's sometime, i hear a lot. Boulevard Bikes on Kedzie and Milwaukee is good as well as Uptown Bikes on Broadway. Also, don't know what you're building for a fixed gear, but down on Western is the Working Bikes Coop which has a huge warehouse with thousands of bikes, mostly older of course, but some very rideable stuff exists there.

anyway, welcom. oh, if you're looking for riding buddies, you probably already know about the monthly critical mass.

ciao,
gardener