Chicago has an awesome bike scene, with tons of opportunities to get involved in everything from 'cross, to fixed-gear shenanigans, to road racing. However, riding in the city SUCKS. People drive like maniacs here, which unfortunately, is how you have to drive in this city if you want to get anywhere reasonably quickly. I hate driving through the city, which I do more than I like to admit – I swear, the way some of these people drive (read: taxis), I feel like I could be seconds from snapping into a fit of road rage.
While there are tons of streets with bike lanes, those streets are often full of drivers who use the bike lane as a place to park or pass. The LFP is nice, but by this time of the year, its clogged with runners and strollers from Montrose to Navy Pier – plus, riding that thing over and over for training got old a long time ago. Thank god for my iPod and good friends. Besides Elston and Sheridan past Evanston, there are few places that are reasonably good places to ride, with few stoplights and stop signs.