Texting while cycling is illegal in Chicago, since November 2011. Photo by Eric Pancer. 

#bikeCHI is the Twitter #hashtag to use if you’re talking about riding a bike in Chicago. Here’re two interesting tweets from tonight, both from Dan Ciskey, in order:

Fixed gear girl: "Close call with that door, huh?" Me: "Just another day in the bike lane." #sadstateofaffairs #bikeCHI

— Dan Ciskey (@dciskey) February 25, 2012

One more: I also saw a guy tonight to be friends with Mr. White Light on the Back. He rocks a red blinky on the front. #WTF #bikeCHI

— Dan Ciskey (@dciskey) February 25, 2012

I sympathize with the first one: “just another day in the bike lane” is the new “just another day at the office”. It doesn’t matter, though, if you ride in the bike lane or not, there are hazards everywhere.

On a more positive note, read Dani Simons discuss why #hasthags are a good way to build online cycling communities in cities (follow her @DaniSimons). When you address #bikeCHI, you address everyone who follows that hashtag, thus adding yourself to the #bikeCHI community.

Today, all of those questions and more are being asked semi-anonymously through the #bikenyc hashtag, and many people are offering tips and encouragement using the same.

Consider this tweet (which was retweeted by several others) from @MikeLydon the other morning, the first brutally cold snap of this winter “Dear #bikenyc, you look beautiful all bundled up on the morning commute. Keep riding!”

A few other cities appear to be catching on and using a bike hashtag, I found a decent number of #bikeChi and #bikeLA tweets on a recent search.

It’s a good way to vent, share photos taken when you ride around town, meet new people, or learn about events. You might be able to guess, but I’m the most prolific #bikeCHI tweeter. You can follow me @stevevance and @gridchicago.