John Greenfield – Page 21

Pix from the Gapers Block crits

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The State Line Energy coal-fired plant in Hammond, Indiana, visible in the background, is scheduled to be shut down this spring.

I’m very glad I made the trip last Monday to Calumet Park, 95th and the lakefront, for the Gapers Block Criterium Series, sponsored by one of my favorite local blogs, Gapers Block, and one of my favorite my favorite local brews, Half Acre Beer. Back in February we interviewed race organizer Vanessa Buccella about the female-friendly aspects of this race series.

Running late, I rode my city bike downtown from Logan Square and caught the #26 South Shore Express bus at Columbus Avenue and 11th Street, its last stop before it heading south on Lake Shore Drive, since I bike about the same speed as a bus making stops in normal traffic. The bus zoomed south on the Drive, where traffic was flowing freely, and I got off at the next stop at 71st and South Shore Drive, cutting a significant chunk out of my travel time. From there I pedaled the remaining few miles to the race. I was planning to catch the Red Line home at 95th and State but instead got a lift with a friend who’d rented an I-GO car to get down to the race.

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A sneak peek at the exhibition “Bikes! The Green Revolution”

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Brandon Gobel from Chicago Cargo is one of many local cyclists you might recognize in the exhibit. The photo of Brandon is by Steven.

I’m used to seeing Chicago bicycle culture portrayed in the mainstream media in ways that seem a little off, so it’s refreshing when someone gets it right. Bikes! The Green Revolution, a new exhibition opening Saturday at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum does a great job of celebrating the many facets of the local bike scene. I got to check out the exhibit at a media preview yesterday. They managed to capture most of my favorite aspects of Chicago biking: history, planning, advocacy, youth education, bike shops, messengers and style.

Steven tells me that the museum got plenty of input from West Town Bikes’ Alex Wilson, who’s been a central figure in promoting cycling here for more than a decade, so that may have something to do with why the exhibit hits all the right notes. The Lycra crowd may find it a bit light on bike racing content, and I noticed a few minor errors on the exhibit signs, like a statement that the Lakefront Trail runs from Rogers Park to 75th Street when it actually runs from Edgewater to 71st. But otherwise I think it’s an excellent show that all local bike enthusiasts will want to check out, especially if they have kids.

Continue reading A sneak peek at the exhibition “Bikes! The Green Revolution”

An outsider’s Chicago bike itineraries

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Photo by Alan Scott Walker

This guest post was submitted by Tim Eyre, who crosses the country frequently for his job as a manager with Extra Space Storage. Eyre is a cycling enthusiast and he’s found that exploring the cities he visits via bicycle is a good way to connect with and learn about the communities he visits. He offers the following bike route suggestions for visitors to Chicago, but locals may find them interesting as well.

Chicagoans, don’t take what you have for granted. My weekdays are spent on the road, and it’s sheer grace that I discovered bicycling to keep me sane a few years back. Wherever I’m working, I can always find an escape by cruising the town on two-wheels. As any cyclist knows, the disconnect between the observer and the community that car travel creates quickly fades away when you’re self-propelled and out in the open air. Neighborhoods come alive, and we actually meet other people.

Of all the cities I regularly ride in, Chicago may be the best. The 18.5-mile Lakefront Trail is obviously the heart of this city’s bike scene, and understandably chock-full of locals and visitors like myself taking in the view. Recently, however, I’ve been branching out, taking advantage of the city’s interactive bike map, a tool that urbanites in other metropolises across the globe would drool over. If you’ve never checked it out, it details roads with existing bike lanes, shared lanes, and recommended routes.

With a little pre-planning and my GPS-equipped phone in my pocket, I’ve been discovering new favorite rides across Chicago, from Bucktown to Little Italy. Whether you’ve got an hour after work or a full day to explore, here’s my outsider’s suggestions for a perfect ride.

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Come up and see their etchings: Cycle-Pedia print show at CPC

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“Bicycle Pugilists 1” by Marnie Galloway

Saturday I dropped by the opening for Cycle-Pedia, a new show of prints celebrating cycling and other forms of human-powered transportation at Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, 4642 N. Western in Lincoln Square, 773-292-2070. This very cool space allows print artists to have an excellent work environment for reasonable rent by pooling their resources. The opening included free bicycle tune-ups and featured a plethora of witty images of cycling, skateboarding and more. The show runs until April 30.

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The light, airy space seems like an ideal place to squeegee ink.

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“Bicycle for Two” by Ray Maseman

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“Ascent” by Dan Grzeca

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“Bowl Rider” by Billy Craven. Billy’s working on a new promotional poster poster for Grid Chicago, coming soon to a bike shop near you.

What keeps an El car from falling off the tracks on tight curves?

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1977 derailment at Wabash and Lake – photo by Mark Llanuza

[This piece also ran in Time Out Chicago magazine.]

Q: Since I’ve switched from the straight-shot Red Line to the winding Brown Line, where you often feel like you’re about to ride right off the rails (and right into a nearby condo building), I’ve been wondering: At what speed would El trains hitting sharp curves come off the tracks?

A: A CTA train’s extremely low center of gravity and speed limits allow it to safely navigate the El’s many curves, according to spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski. As a train goes around a bend, like the tight S-curve on the Brown and Purple Lines just north of the Merchandise Mart, the car may seem to sway at an impossible angle, but most of the weight is still directed straight down, Hosinski says. This overcomes centrifugal force and keeps the wheels on the rails. “Also, a train’s speed through each curve is limited by the automated train control system,” she says. “This system enforces a maximum train speed that’s much lower than the speed that could cause a train to leave the rails.”

Continue reading What keeps an El car from falling off the tracks on tight curves?

To ‘L’ and back: a performance piece celebrates the CTA

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Cast members from “EL Stories” – all photos courtesy of Waltzing Mechanics

This piece also ran in “Checkerboard City,” John’s sustainable transportation column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.

Driving isolates you from the outside world, but walking, biking and especially public transit encourage interaction with strangers, which can lead to some unforgettable encounters. The performance piece “EL Stories,” based on real tales from CTA commuters recorded by Waltzing Mechanics theater company, capitalizes on this.

“The Chicago ‘L’ is a shared, communal space that hundreds of thousands of people come together and inhabit every day,” says cast member Eleni Pappageorge. “When you bring that many people from that many places into one space a lot can happen. Some of the smallest, most mundane events on the train can make beautiful stories, but you wouldn’t notice them with your iPod on.”

Continue reading To ‘L’ and back: a performance piece celebrates the CTA