On Sunday, I biked downtown to see the Joffrey Ballet in a gorgeous performance of Swan Lake. Bicycling is certainly the most civilized way to travel, I decided, while listening to my Tchaikovsky ballet album on my iPod and sailing along the lakefront trail in the sunshine.
Of course, I am no stranger to bicycling to the ballet:
And one of my favorite non-bike related posts, Simplicity lessons from a 95-year-old ballet dancer.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of bicycling downtown to see the Joffrey Ballet’s Othello. The ride was about 7 miles each way, along the lakefront trail. The theatre is close to south Grant Park, which looked very nice on this beautiful day.
And at my destination, here is the view from my regular seat in the front row of the balcony.
What these photos fail to show is the wind. It was really, really windy – even by Chicago standards. This resulted in a super fast bike ride down the lakefront trail on the way to the show (I arrived 10 minutes earlier than I expected) and a strenuous bike ride back home with the wind in my face. I popped Betty into an easy gear and focused on spinning. I got quite a workout!
Also, the photos don’t show the black spandex shorts I wore under my dress – necessary, as the wind blew the light silk around like crazy. :-)
Did anyone else have a fun ride this weekend?
On Sunday, I biked 20 miles in a Zac Posen dress and four-inch high-heeled ankle boots. My day was full, including a trip downtown for a Joffrey Ballet performance and to the Logan Square neighborhood for my friend Sara’s Oscar party. Getting ready in the morning, I considered throwing on jeans, flat boots and a wool sweater, but decided to stay strong and dress appropriately for the occasions.
The (second-hand) dress conveniently zips all the way down the back from both ends, allowing me to create more leeway from the bottom while on my bike.
The weather was sunny and 30 degrees. For the ride, I threw on a cardigan, trench, cashmere scarf, gloves, and winter helmet. The trench coverage was helpful because the dress did ride up a bit while biking.
Once I got downtown, I was able to take the Dearborn protected bike lane for the final mile and a half. The city has a special snow plow to use for protected lanes and the lane was plowed, but sloppily and some areas were more clear than others.
And look! An SUV parked in the lane. This was the second one I saw. The city needs to: 1) create better signage; 2) build real barriers; and 3) ticket these drivers.
Okay, back to my happy place…
The ballet, American Legends, was beautiful and thought-provoking as always, as was the view from my first-row-balcony season ticket seat. (Thanks, Groupon!)
Leaving the ballet, I mounted my camera on Betty Foy’s handlebars and made a video of my ride on the Dearnborn protected lane and the connected Kinzie protected lane. I’ll post the video soon.
The Oscar party was fun (despite the host’s lame “jokes”) and I enjoyed biking home on empty streets at the end of the night, 12 hours after I left. My dress and heels were fun for the day, but I was happy to change into flannel pajamas. :-)
{Our Roll Models series will return next Tuesday, after the holiday. In its place today is a little story about a beautiful night out in Chicago. Have a great Independence Day, Americans!}
On Wednesday, I enjoyed a free showing of the ballet Giselle, performed by the Paris Opera Ballet, in Chicago’s amazing Millennium Park. The performance was a live telecast from a nearby theatre and the acoustics in the pavilion were wonderful.
The advantage of seeing a ballet on the lawn instead of in the theatre is laying out a picnic blanket and enjoying some wine and cheese in the fresh air.
A picnic is more fun when shared, so I gathered together my friends Sara and Jerry, Gigi and Chika, Maria and Seth (and Glenn, not pictured :-).
As the sun set in time for the second act, and the 90 degree heat lifted, the pavilion took on a magical feel, with shining city lights all around.
The group of us biked home together up the Lakefront Trail under the night sky. A beautiful end to a beautiful night. Jumping on the L train just would not have been right. :)
Let's Go Ride a Bike 