Moving to Chicago/Hyde Park - where to ride, bike shops to visit
 

I am moving to Hyde Park, near the lakefront, next week. Any popular routes? How do I deal with the winter?

I will also be shopping for a new bike; what are your favorite shops in the area?

Thanks!

I don't ride in the city, but as bike shops go it doesn't get better than Village Cycle, they are a Trek store. The other good ones I have experience with are in the suburbs.

Welcome.

You can ride the lakefront path north or south. I'm not sure if you're within biking distance of any other trails. They have been adding miles of bike lanes throughout the city, some of which are barrier protected so you can check those out. You could also ride in a SE direction and try to avoid getting shot.

Winter is pretty bad. I think they plow and maybe salt some or all of the lakefront trail in the winter, so as long as it's clear you can ride. You'll probably spend much of winter on a trainer or spinning at the gym.

Kozy's for bike shops. They have five stores in the area and carry about anything you want.

Ah yes, a priority would be staying alive. I had figured I would probably be confined to the lakefront.

Lakefront trail is a mess downtown during the winter. Lake washes up and it freezes. You'd need a fat bike.

Rollers or a nice trainer.

Get a Fat Bike. At least you'll be riding.

Palos Heights is good for mountain biking and just a short drive away.

A few shootings in the middle of the afternoon near Hyde Park. Stay safe my friend.

Woman shot dead while pushing baby in stroller near elementary school - Chicago Tribune

I have had good experiences with this shop. Bike Lane Chicago ? Chicago Bicycle Shop | Bike Lane in Chicago | Bikes in Chicago | Bike Lane Chicago
While I don't live in Chicago, my sister does and I always bring my bike and ride while I am there. They have always treated me right every time I have stopped in.

If you don't mind taking a little drive, you can get into some nice open roads out in the country.

This is a safe and scenic route from Wisconsin to Indiana that I've ridden on my bike many times: 70 miles Wisconsin to the Indiana Border in Pleasant Prairie, WI, United States | MapMyRide

And this map takes you from Chicago to Michigan across Northern Indiana, I've also ridden most of this route: 67 miles Illinois to Michigan in Whiting, IN, United States | MapMyRide

Stay safe is right. But that's the case for everyone in Chicago. My mom had surgery at Northwestern downtown and as we were leaving the hospital, someone got shot two blocks away near Navy Pier.

Regardless, I love Chicago. Congrats on the move, OP.

Blackstone Bicycle Works in Hyde Park is one of the coolest bike shops in the city. They are doing really good work for the community there.
Blackstone Bicycle Works

Hyde Park is basically a wealthy bubble on the South Side. You should not be worried for your safety. The University of Chicago is hellbent on making the neighborhood as economically and culturally isolated as possible from the surrounding area, no matter the cost to the non-student/faculty residents.

Only trails i'm familiar with near that area.. Lakefront and the 606.. but the 606 is hardly a trail. If you drive north a bit the Northbranch trail is pretty nice.

I'm in Plainfield. Anything south and west of me is open farmland with some good rollers and decent elevation changes considering you are in Illinois. Look at google maps the areas between Joliet/PLainfield/ Yorkville/ Morris and you will find fantastic roads to ride. Again, considering you are in Illinois.

You can also go to the recently opened Cal-Sag trail and that connects to the I&M Canal and Centennial trails. You can easily do a Century there with ZERO traffic by connecting those trails. Lots of services along the way.

Other then a nice leisure ride on the weekends or during business hours the Lake shore trail is a mess. Tourists, dog walkers and people not paying attention makes it impossible to carry a decent steady ride. Be prepared to stop lots and go slow n the busy areas. But on a nice sunny day its very pretty.

There's tons of riding and tons of riders. Welcome.

If you can make it out to Crystal Lake, check out Wheel Werks. They're awesome and the owner, Bob Olsen is an expert bike fitter and includes a pretty comprehensive bike fit with the purchase of every bike he sells. They sell mostly Cannondale, Salsa, Cervelo, Surly, and Seven bikes but can get other brands for you if you ask. They are pretty much the only bike shop I go to anymore.

Up in Zion is another good shop called Zion Cyclery. They're a Trek shop and they have pretty cool people as well. Decent prices and open 7 days a week. If Wheel Werks isn't open and I need something right away I'll make the trip out to Zion to these guys.

Seriously, you're recommending a guy to go to Crystal Lake or Zion from the south side of the city for a bike shop?

Seriously, did you actually read the first part of my post? Something about "If you can make it out to...."

It's a good bike shop and it's not exactly like he would have to travel half way across the state to get there.

Other than rush hour trains you can take your bike on the metra out into the fringes of the metro area like Harvard, Elgin, Fox Lake, Aurora, Elburn etc and there is nice riding there or you can take the CTA red line to purple or yellow to Evanston or Skokie and ride north from there. Sherridan Road from Evanston to Great Lakes Naval Base or even all the way to Waukegan is nice.

There is a Chicago cycling club. I ride with the Evanston and Elmhurst bike clubs. I don't know too many specifically south side or south subburbs.

The Lake Front trail is fantastic, but only early in the morning as it gets very crowded and is hard to ride at a pace where you can get a workout during the day. I live in Oak Park which is just west of the city I generally start here and ride south west or north west. When I lived in the city the challenge was always to find roads that are a little wider but don't have crazy traffic. From Hyde Park I'd probably head south toward Indiana, Then into the southwest burbs. The lake from trail ends around 65th street but you can at that point ride on 41 (lake shore drive) and keep going south, it is a pretty nice ride and I see lots of riders down there. I wouldn't be to concerned about your safety, I've been riding in the city for over 20 years and I'm fine, one of my most common routes takes me through the westside and I've never been bothered. The people who are making trouble have targets in mind and it's not you it's the guy standing on the corner they are supposed to be standing on.

As to your question about winter:
This should be an interesting acclimation for someone coming from warm and sunny Socal to winters in Chicago where the skies are gray much of the winter and it is often cold, wet, and blustery. Fall transitions into winter fairly quickly and it seems like Spring is always late to the party. Spring and Fall, even if short, are fantastic for riding. It can get hot and muggy in Summer. I managed to ride all year, even when the temperature reached zero but it took a lot of layers to keep warm and it wasn't that much fun. I know this well, having spent two decades in the Midwest with 7 years in the Chicago suburbs. I loved living there at the time. I always had bike no matter where I lived. It's not a bad idea to have a beater bike for use when the roads are wet and salty. No sense in ruining a good bike. You might take up cross country skiing. You can do it anywhere as long as there is enough snow and it is a great way to stay in shape – much more interesting than using indoor rollers.

It would be helpful to know how you've been riding and want to continue to ride. Do you want a road bike w drop bars? Ride in groups? Or are you more of a hipster commuter type? Or what? Budget for new bike?