Koyaanisqatsi: life out of balance

On Sunday, my friend Maria and I went to a screening and panel discussion of Koyaanisqatsi at indie theater Facets. Koyaanisqatsi (subtitled “life out of balance), a sequence of images set to a score by Philip Glass, is described as such:

An art-house circuit sensation, this feature-length documentary is visually arresting and possesses a clear, pro-environmental political agenda. Without a story, dialogue, or characters, Koyaanisqatsi (1983) is composed of nature imagery, manipulated in slow motion, double exposure or time lapse, juxtaposed with footage of humans’ devastating environmental impact on the planet. The message of director Godfrey Reggio is clear: humans are destroying the planet, and all of human progress is pointlessly foolish.

Sounded wonderful in a beautifully depressing way – sign me up! For a better understanding of the film, watch the short trailer below:

For me the film displays an overwhelming grimness and hopelessness for the human species. City life is portrayed as absolutely Kafkaesque, with a focus on endless streams of cars and people being sucked into and spit out of public transportation like so many hotdogs on an assembly line. By the end, I felt ready to flee Chicago for a quiet country cabin in the middle of nowhere.

However, this feeling of oppression lifted as soon as I stepped outside and started riding my bicycle home. Nothing seems so grim while bicycling down tree-lined streets in the sunshine and fresh winter air. I really think I would not have lasted in the big city this long (6 years and counting!) without my bicycle, because being stuck on a crowded subway train or in car traffic every single day is oppressive. Bicycling allows me to break away from all that.

(Here is what I wore on my bike, before piling on the winter layers.)

You can watch all 1 hour and 26 minutes of the film for free on Hulu. Warning: if you watch, be sure to have some kittens, puppies, or bicycles nearby afterward to cheer you up.

Has anyone else seen Koyaanisqatsi? What did you think?

Biking vicariously

For once, I’m glad that I know most of you only virtually: For the last month and a half, I’ve been sick to various degrees. I’ll spare you the detailed explanation of what’s been wrong with me at what points, but suffice to say that other than a few short neighborhood rides and a handful of commutes, I’ve not been on the bike much this year. Like Dottie, I’m not interested in biking when it doesn’t feel right and am happy to cede the hardcore title to others when necessary (I have biked four whole winters at this point, after all.). And chest colds and biking in the cold air don’t mix! Good news is, I’m finally feeling better and had my first commute in a while yesterday.

While I was off the bike, I’ve been biking vicariously via some interesting reading material. Bikes and Riders, by Jim Wagenvoord, was one of my flea market finds last month. The book was originally published in 1972, and much of it reads completely of the time—would that today’s cycling advocates adopt the fashion sense of Harriet Green, who wore “a brushed suède riding cloak over dark-blue hot pants” (sadly, not pictured) to a demonstration in New York City.

On the other hand, some of it has the feeling of “the more things change . . .” Like this passage on media coverage of bike rallies.

From the press’s standpoint it wasn’t so much the bike-lane demands that had drawn them but the fact that bikes—just about anything about bikes—had with relative suddenness become a story.

Isn’t this more or less where we are now? The press coverage is all well and good, but will bicycling still be something of a novelty story in 40 years?

Speaking of things that date the book, Futura is pretty popular these days–but its use in longform text definitely screams ’70s.

The back cover copy on this book cracks me up—once again, 40 years on, the same concerns about people being stuck in front of the TV.

But on to the content! Bikes and Riders focuses mostly on urban cyclists, which was obviously of interest to me, but it also includes a pretty comprehensive history of the bicycle’s development and use throughout history. Did you know bikes were used in combat?

Photographs of early cyclists are always of interest, and there are plenty here. Here’s a little reminder that riding in a suit has been the rule rather than the exception in the history of cycling!

I was tickled to discover this twin of Le Peug in the book’s pages. And the rider is a woman to boot! I might have to recreate that shot.

I want to do a little research on Jim Wagenvoord. If the flap copy is to be believed, he’s some sort of Renaissance man, so surely he has more of a legacy than this book, The Violent World of Touch Football, How to Surf and Flying Kites. After all, “[t]here have been witty writers, good researchers, and fine photographers before, but never within one 6’2″ frame.”

Have you read any good books on biking lately?

Winter Bicycling Is…

Winter bicycling is more than temperatures and forecasts and wool layers and hand warmers. Winter bicycling is when the world brightens as the wind whips and my mind clears as my cheeks flush.

My fingers and toes may be numb, my nose may be running, my eyes may be watering – but I am the happiest and calmest version of myself, bicycling on a crystal clear winter day.

Today I experienced a rare winter treat: leaving the office early enough to catch the sun before setting. The late afternoon light painted the sky with an ombre splash of color, inspiring me to record a video that I hope conveys some of the joy of the ride.

The accompanying song is “This Winter I Retire” by Said The Whale.

(Hello, there!)

What is winter bicycling to you?

 

Bicycling on “Call the Midwife”

Call the Midwife, a BBC show now broadcasting on PBS, is the story of independent young women working as midwives in 1950’s London.  The portrayal of these women (the opposite of something like Grey’s Anatomy) is refreshing and I’m especially charmed by the shots of them bicycling around the city to and from jobs.

Love the bikes, love the outfits.  :-)

There is even a storyline about one of the midwives learning how to ride a bike as part of the job.

Here is a fun behind the scenes look at the role of bicycling in the show.

Watch Behind the Scenes – Riding Bikes on PBS. See more from Call the Midwife.

“I find it really freeing. It makes you really happy, riding a bike…I really loved it.”

Anyone else enjoy watching Call the Midwife?

Bike Bits: Lionel Shriver, women on wheels & more

Happy Monday! Here are a few bike-related links I’ve discovered and enjoyed over the past few days.

HerStoria magazine has a piece on the early days of women and bikes. Though there’s nothing groundbreaking here, it’s a good overview of the questions that cycling raised around the turn of the century—and a reminder that a backlash for challenging norms is nothing new.

Would these  ‘free’ or ‘new’ bicycling women become sexually outré and masculinised , turning their backs on traditional family values and undermining the natural authority of men? If so, such daring women were nothing short of a threat to the well-being of the race and of the nation as a whole.

_________________

Shriver

The July issue of the Atlantic has a piece on the London cycling scene by one of my favorite authors, Lionel Shriver, who tackles the subject with her typical contrarian charm.

Cycling was once my little secret. While the clueless lavished fortunes on train tickets, car repairs, and taxis, I saved a bundle. I got my exercise, while the proles, after a prolonged, miserable journey home, had to face another trip, to a stuffy, jam-packed gym.

My secret is out.

But she’s not rejoicing about this: for Shriver, cycling hell is other cyclists. More specifically, London cyclists, whom she says are more “cutthroat, vicious, reckless, hostile, and violently competitive” than those in America or Europe. If you’ve ever contemplated the dark side of achieving critical mass, and then felt guilty for it—read this piece.

_________________

Also in the gloom-and-doom department: this piece on the Atlantic Cities blog on the failure of the latest transportation bill.

Lawmakers had the opportunity to achieve transformative change. They didn’t seize it.

(Surprise, surprise?)

_________________

And finally, Lovely Bicycle had a thoughtful post on women and food. Though I’ve never counted calories, this disconnect between hunger and the need for nourishment that begins when you get older—and the anxiety it can cause—struck a chord with me:

At age 12, feeling hungry simply meant I needed to eat something. But by age 22, this connection had become severed. There was nervous hunger, cravings for comfort food during all the endless studying, emotional eating.

What links have you enjoyed this week? Share in the comments.

p.s. Our e-newsletter is delayed this month, but we promise delivery later today!

The Kid with a Bike

On Monday, I watched a movie that may particularly interest readers here, The Kid with a Bike.

The film, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, is “about a child, abandoned to the elements, learning to become good.”

The bicycle is prominent throughout the film, both as a practical prop (it’s how the boy gets around) and at various times as a symbol of innocence, betrayal, violence, forgiveness, and kindness.

Here’s the trailer. Go ahead and try not to get teary-eyed.

This is a film I’ll be watching a second time, for sure.

The city too busy to care?

This video from filmmaker Casey Neistat is disheartening. Neistat locked up his bike in several different locations in NYC, then proceeded to steal it to see if he would be stopped or questioned by a bystander. No spoilers, but let’s just say the results were not what bike owners would like to see.

Why do you think that people are so reluctant to step in? What would you do if you saw a bike getting stolen?

 

Favorite books of 2011

Continuing with our “Favorite of 2011” series (read about our favorite albums here), I present our lists of favorite books of 2011.  We are both voracious readers and enjoyed our fair share of new books in 2011, especially Trisha, who is a book reviewer—as in reading and reviewing books is part of her full time job—so we put a lot of thought into our picks.  :)

Trisha’s Top 10

Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie
This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Bossypants by Tina Fey
To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Blueprints for Building Better Girls by Elissa Schappell
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Ghost Lights by Lydia Millet

Honorable mentions: Your Voice in My Head by Emma Forrest; Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry; The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht; Boomerang by Michael Lewis; The Adults by Alison Espach; Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson; Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones.

2011 books still on my TBR: Swamplandia!; Zone One; The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach; The Astral by Kate Christensen; The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt; Blue Nights by Joan Didion.

Most overrated book of 2011: I think Dottie and I concur on this one: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Dottie’s Top 10

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Irma Voth by Miriam Toews
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson
A Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate
Gypies by Koudelka/Aperture (photo book)
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (audio book)

Honorable mentions: Most of the best books that I read in 2011 were actually written in 2010 or before and therefore were not eligible for this list.  Otherwise, they would have knocked off all but the top 3 (2010 was an amazing year for novels!).  They are: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart, Room by Emma Donoghue, The Known World by Edward P. Jones, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, Great House by Nicole Krauss, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, Jump at the Sun by Kim McLarin, So Much for That by Lionel Shriver, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, and Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.

2011 books still on my TBR: Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See.

We’d love to hear – what were your favorite books of 2011?

Podcast: What we talk about when we talk about bikes

Our latest podcast is the first one to feature Dottie and me together. It was recorded during my November Chicago visit over what might have been one Manhattan too many. The original idea was for Dottie to interview me, but what it turned into was a long, wide-ranging and extremely informal discussion about our cycling stories and preferences. It’s not available in the iTunes store yet, but you can stream it here or right-click to download it to your computer. Enjoy!

Podcast: Women of West Town Bikes

For the second LGRAB podcast, I talked with three women of West Town Bikes: Kim Werst, Liz Clarkson, and Mia Moore.  West Town Bikes is a non-profit organization with the goals of promoting bicycling in Chicago, educating youth with a focus on under-served populations, and fostering Chicago’s growing bicycling community.  The women I talked with focus their efforts on Women/Trans Night and the Girls Bike Club.

Women and Trans Night is an offshoot of WTB’s adult program, a weekly open shop night that offers a comfortable and welcoming environment to work on bikes and learn more about bike maintenance.

The Girls Bike Club is an offshoot of WTB’s earn-a-bike youth summer program that teaches bike mechanics and safe cycling skills.  They saw a need for a girls-only group and started the Girls Bike Club.

Some of the teen girls from the Girls Bike Club and their mentors joined our Women-Who-Bike Brunch last month. I wanted to learn more about this fun and impressive group.

To hear about the importance of women-only spaces, the challenges of getting girls on bikes, and how bicycling empowers, listen to the interview below or visit our iTunes page to download the podcast.

West Town Bikes is currently raising money to send the Girls Bike Club to a national bike conference in NYC to give a workshop on how others around the country can organize their own Girls Bike Club. You can DONATE HERE. Click on “Donate Online” and then type “Girls Bike Club” in the designation line.

Did I mention you can DONATE HERE? Any amount helps!

Ladies: “Don’t” scandalize yourselves on bikes!

Reader David Pertuz thought LGRAB readers would be particularly interested in a post on the Detroit blog m-bike.org written by Todd Scott, called 1895: Don’ts for women riders.  (Thanks, David!) That’s right – 41 “don’ts” to be exact, from an 1895 article in New York World.  The list is both hilarious and horrifying.  We are lucky to be looking at this from 115 years in the future.

A few of my favorites:

• Don’t be a fright.
• Don’t faint on the road.
• Don’t boast of your long rides.
• Don’t refuse assistance up a hill.
• Don’t imagine everybody is looking at you.
• Don’t ask, “What do you think of my bloomers?
• Don’t go out after dark without a male escort.
• Don’t appear in public until you have learned to ride well.
• Don’t ignore the laws of the road because you are a woman.
• Don’t scream if you meet a cow. If she sees you first, she will run.

In his post, Todd makes a good point:

For those who get nostalgic for that 1890s golden era of cycling, it’s important to realize it wasn’t golden for everyone.  Major Taylor can vouch for that.

Yeah, really. I enjoy Tweed Rides, but there’s no way men would have “let” me join them back in the day for a drinking ride from pub to pub, especially with all my fainting, screaming, and bloomer talk.

Full list of “don’ts” at the original m-bike post.

What’s your favorite “don’t”?

Bike Lane Love in the New York Times

It’s too bad that so many New Yorkers still complain about the bike lanes’ contribution to the inconvenience of urban driving instead of promoting them for their obvious role in helping solve the city’s transportation miseries, and for their aesthetic possibilities. I don’t mean they’re great to look at. I mean that for users they offer a different way of taking in the city, its streets and architecture, the fine-grained fabric of its neighborhoods…On a bike time bends. Space expands and contracts.

Check out this beautiful article about New York’s bike lanes, Pleasures of Life in the Slow Lane, by Michael Kimmelman in the New York Times. (Hat tip to reader David B. for forwarding it to us!) As Chicargobike said in her post about the article, the prose will make you swoon.

Reading a glowingly positive article about bike infrastructure in the mainstream media was refreshing and a lot of the author’s optimism can be applied to Chicago or any other city that’s beginning to take bikes seriously. I was especially interested to read that “London has lately turned into a bike capital too.” I’d love to hear what any Londoners out there think about that statement.

Speaking of New York, I found a little bit of NYC in downtown Chicago yesterday.  There is a new Magnolia Bakery on State Street.

I have mixed feelings about this.  On one hand, Chicago already has lots of delicious cupcake bakeries and doesn’t need New York’s second-hand ideas.  On the other hand, CUPCAKES!  :)

Introducing LGRAB Podcasts!

Trisha and I have started a cycling-themed podcast series!  We’ll talk to creators of sites and bicycles we like, other bloggers, each other and more.

I encourage you to subscribe to the LGRAB Podcasts for free via iTunes to stay up-to-date on all future podcasts.  Simply click on the link, then “view in iTunes” and “Subscribe.”

Our first podcast is an interview with John Greenfield and Steven Vance, co-creators and writers of Chicago-based sustainable transportation blog Grid Chicago. Both have past insider experience working for the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Active Transportation Alliance, and their mission with Grid is to be a platform for critical analysis and thought on issues related to progressive and sustainable transportation.

  

{L: Steven Vance, R: John Greenfield.  Photos courtesy of Grid Chicago}

In the podcast I chat with Steve and John about writing Grid, how to make your voice heard by those in power, and the future of bicycling infrastructure in Chicago.  We had such a great conversation, I had to edit almost an hour and a half down to a more manageable 27 minutes.

You can listen to the interview below or visit our iTunes page to download the podcast.

Visit Grid Chicago
Visit our iTunes page

Mary Poppins Effect in the Media

“The Mary Poppins Effect is a matter of humanizing the bicycle rider,” says Ms. Brackett, who co-authors the blog LetsGoRideaBike.com. “It helps drivers realize bicyclists are people too.”

Crains Chicago Business magazine has a little article about the Mary Poppins Effect by Claire Bushey. You can read the entire article here.

Critical Mass in the News

Does Critical Mass help or hurt the cause of bicyclists?  This question is as rife with tension as the big helmet question.  Neither is a debate I’m interested in dredging up here.  Personally, I think Critical Mass in Chicago is great, but I can understand and respect arguments to the contrary, subject to the same caveat I have for any argument: that it be thoughtful and intelligent.

This week, some guy who wants to sell his book on “urban cycling” wrote a highly inflammatory post against Critical Mass, using the horrifying photo of a car driver crashing into (and killing members of) a group of cyclists in Mexico with the caption, “When is something like this going to happen in Chicago thanks to Critical Mass?”  The text of his post is as bad, with gems like this: “Critical Massholes are to fundamentalist terrorists what Islam is to cycling.”  That does not even make sense, but you get the idea.  His book cover is equally awful, a yellow and black graphic of a bicyclist plunging over a car.

I am very tuned in to Chicago’s bicycling scene, but I had never heard of this guy or his blog until today.  I’m not buying what he’s selling and I won’t link to his site from here, but apparently his distasteful publicity stunt is working, because he also got the attention of the press.

Earlier today, Chicago Tonight, a local PBS/WTTW news show that I watch nightly, had a discussion about Critical Mass, featuring this guy, along with Gin Kilgore, a Mass participant and creator of Bike Winter and all-around awesome woman, and Ethan Spotts of Active Trans.  Host Phil Ponce did a great job moderating.  Overall, I thought the segment was a positive piece for Critical Mass.  You can check it out for yourself below.  After the intro, jump ahead to 3:25 for the discussion.

I am not interested in starting a Critical Mass debate, but I do want to share this video and point out that there are ways to argue against the Mass with dignity and respect. It’s a shame for both sides when those who fail to do so get the attention.

Betty Foy in the Red Eye

“I love owning a semi custom bike because it suits me perfectly and, as a result, I enjoy riding my bike even more,” she said.

Read more about me and others who prefer their bikes custom or semi-custom in Pimp My Ride*, the cover story in this weekend’s print and online editions of the Red Eye.

*Betty Foy would like to point out that she is against sex trafficking.

Newcity Cover Story: the Martha Stewart of Chicago biking

Last week John Greenfield interviewed me for a cover story in Newcity, a Chicago news and arts weekly. I enjoyed chatting about bicycling with him over a beer and the story came out quite nicely. Apparently, I am the Martha Stewart of Chicago biking! I want business cards with that title.

One funny thing about the paper layout, though. The Pitchfork bike cut-out is grouped with two photos of me and before reading the interview (which mentions the objectification issue), people may think it’s also a representation of me. My co-workers were joking, Is that you after a few drinks??

You can read the full text and see more photos at Grid Chicago, where John blogs with Steve Vance about transportation issues. If you’re in Chicago, you can pick up a paper copy at any pink Newcity dispenser around the city.

Thanks, John!

Chicago’s “Crackdown” on Bicyclists

Last week, I logged onto the Chicago Tribune website and the headline proclaimed: Police Crackdown on Bicyclists: 240 Warnings, 1 Ticket.

That got the public’s attention. Readers left 340 comments on the article and recommended it on Facebook 1,000 times. The majority of the comments were ridiculously anti-bicyclist and rejoiced at the comeuppance.

And all of that is good. I’m totally cool with it.

Because the crackdown took place at the very intersection where the city is quickly constructing its first protected bike lane and bike box. NYC is experiencing an absurd “backlash” for its installation of protected bike lanes. Chicago is smartly working from the get-go to prevent that.

By conducting this crackdown, the city effectively countered the #1 instantaneous complaint drivers have about providing a safe place for people to cycle: that people on bikes don’t deserve anything because they do not follow traffic laws.

So maybe 1,000 people are cackling about cyclists on Facebook (probably from their iPhones while driving, but I digress). Awesome. I hope they spread the word far and wide that the police are enforcing traffic laws for bicyclists.

And really the “crackdown” consisted of bike cops and CDOT bike ambassadors thanking cyclists who stopped at the red light and educating cyclists who ran the red light. Another difference between NYC and Chicago is that Chicago’s crackdown may actually succeed in improving bicyclist, pedestrian, and driver safety, a difference that Bike Snob NYC noted. Bicyclists should stop at red lights and I wish more of them would.

I highly recommend watching this 1 minute news clip about the enforcement. Then tell me: crackdown? Not really, but please continue using that word with the masses, news media. Your hyperbolic headlines could only help.

What are your thoughts about bicycle “crackdowns” – are they ever a good thing? Where would you draw the line between educating cyclists and unfairly singling them out? Do you think “crackdowns” help with public opinion in support of safe cycling infrastructure?

Chicago’s First Protected Bike Lane + Bike Box

Yesterday, while waiting at a red light on my bike, a woman with a baby on the back of her bike rolled up and stopped next to me. I waved and cooed to the baby until he smiled. Then his mother said, “Say hi,” and he did, flapping his chubby little hand, eyes shining under his helmet. The light turned green, she told me to go ahead and I told her to have a good day.

My friend Ash’s daughter, whom I photographed last week. Not the baby I saw yesterday, but equally adorable.

In an ideal world, sweet meetings like that would happen all the time. In reality, I very rarely see anyone bicycling on Chicago streets with a child. Even as more and more people, men and women, start bicycling for transportation, the venture still seems risky to most. The only way to get a substantial amount of people to bicycle in the city, especially parents with children, is to provide safe, separated infrastructure. Chicago needs protected bike lanes.

For 3 years I have been bicycling in Chicago on a daily basis. During this time, I have seen how easily and cheaply the city’s streets could be adjusted to accommodate protected bike lanes. (Easy and cheap relative to all the other construction projects going on. I know all of Portland’s bike infrastructure was created for the same cost as one highway interchange). This knowledge left me perpetually frustrated, because no one with power in Chicago seemed to care, despite the fact that bicyclists make up ~1/4 of the traffic along my commute route.

This week, Chicago’s disgraceful apathy has ended. All in the past 3 days, new Mayor Emanuel announced the first protected bike lane, CDOT started construction, and the scheduled complete date is next week. The city’s first protected bike lane will be on Kinzie Avenue where it crosses Milwaukee Avenue, leading into downtown. Currently, bicyclists make up 22% of the traffic along this stretch.

There are a few different ways bike lanes can be “protected.”  For this project, the street pattern will follow this order: sidewalk, curb, bike lane, painted buffer zone, parallel car parking, motor vehicle travel lane. While visiting the construction site, Steven Can Plan noticed that they are also building a bike box (where bicyclists can wait in front of motor vehicles at red lights) and a bike-only left turning lane at a big intersection.  Those are also firsts for Chicago.

You can watch the Mayor’s press conference below:

View more videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com.

[You have to sit through a car commercial before watching the press conference.]

Some choice quotes from Mayor Emanuel:

I want Chicago to be the bike friendliest city in the nation.

Speaking of the role bicycling plays in the city, he pointed out three factors for the future:

1) another means of transportation
2) people can do it with safety
3) as we attract businesses to Chicago, an integrated biking system to and from work is essential to the type of workers I want to see in the city of Chicago.

He noted that bicycling is:

Both an economic development essential tool and it adds to a quality of life that is essential to the city.

This particular project is only 1/2 a mile. But the Mayor announced that Chicago will build 100 MILES OF PROTECTED BIKE LANES OVER THE NEXT 4 YEARS!

Yes, you read that right: 100 miles of protected bike lanes.

Obviously, I am excited about these developments. My approval is conditioned on the city following through with its promises here, but for the first time since I started bicycling in Chicago 3 years ago, I’m seeing real and positive change.

I encourage everyone in Chicago to write the Mayor and thank him for his trailblazing support of safe bicycling infrastructure. Also, even more importantly, reach out to your Alderman to state your strong support for protected bike lanes and bike boxes. On June 21, I will attend an Active Trans Social with my Alderman Waguespack to voice my support. You can attend or organize a social in your neighborhood with the help of Active Trans.

{For much more detailed information on the Kinzie Avenue project, check out Steven Can Plan. He’s been doing an excellent job of reporting on this project and others around the city.}

{For more information about cycling with children, check out Kidical Mass.}

Cover girl

What’s the only thing more exciting than Time Out Chicago doing an issue about cycling? Time Out Chicago doing an issue on cycling with Dottie and Oma on the cover!

 

The five creative bike ride ideas are focused on everything from late-night urban assault rides to doughnut shop tours (That one’s in my future the next time I’m in town.). Seeing a mainstream publication do bike-focused issue does the heart good—Chicagoans, prove that bikes on the cover sells magazines and pick one up!