I’m not even sure where to begin with this topic because I have so many things that I want to mention, but not sure I will get them all into this post. Let’s first start with the basics…

What is Critical Mass?

I decided to go directly to the Critical Mass website and I’m taking this paragraph right from their “About” section:

“Critical Mass is a bike ride plain and simple. The ride takes place on the Last Friday Of Every Month (in Chicago anyway). A Critical Mass is created when the group of riders comes together for those few hours to take back the streets of our city. The right of the people to assemble is guaranteed in the Constitution, and Critical Mass helps people remember that right. The Mass itself has no political agenda, though, no more than the people of any other community do. Critical Mass is open to all, and it welcomes all riders to join in a celebration of riding bicycles. Why? Because bikes are fun!”

I wish that this is what this event actually was… “a bike ride plain and simple.” Unfortunately, it turns into the following:

1. A severe traffic jam on some of Chicago’s busiest streets during the evening rush hour
2. An excuse for people (pretending to be cyclists) to act inappropriately, break traffic laws, and sometimes cause damage to motor vehicles and property
3. A reason for everyone that didn’t already hate cyclists in Chicago, to REALLY hate cyclists.

The Critical Mass website also mentions that the rides are “free and fun.” Free? Yes. Fun? Well, maybe for those involved, but definitely not for anyone else.

My Experience

I’ve never actually participated in this event, but I didn’t have to. Seeing it from the sidewalk was enough to let me know that I did not want to be any part of it. I happened to be walking down North Avenue towards Wells street in the late afternoon when I heard a lot of yelling and then cars honking. The honking seemed to stop as people in their cars realized what was going on, but as the honking faded I started to hear pounding. The pounding happened to be cyclists riding by and slamming their fists on the outside of a CTA bus stopped in the intersection of North Avenue and Wells Street. Cars that were trying to make it through the green light were also blocked as hundreds of bicycles clogged a large stretch of North Avenue. Cars that were stuck partially in the intersection also got their hoods and roofs pounded on as cyclists rode by. I stood there for twenty minutes watching bicycles ride through the intersection, ignoring traffic lights and causing a traffic jam that probably took another twenty minutes just to clear once all the bicycles were gone.

Why This Bothers Me

I’m a cyclist, and I ride a lot in the city of Chicago. I ride to and from work every day and on the weekends I will do longer rides along the lake and north along the many bicycle paths around Chicago. I love to ride and one of the things that bothers me most is when I hear people talking about how terrible cyclists are on the city streets. Pedestrians hate cars and cars hate pedestrians, but ask both what they hate most and I guarantee you that the majority will say they hate cyclists the most.

The reason for this is because so many cyclists are careless and they don’t follow traffic laws. I’ll admit, that it’s annoying to make a full stop at a stop sign when on a bike, but I always slow down and if there are people crossing or cars at a stop sign, I will ALWAYS stop. I’ve seen cyclists ride right through stop signs, almost hitting pedestrians and cutting off cars that have the right away.

Critical Mass just makes this situation worse. Every idiot on a bicycle that participates in Critical Mass and breaks traffic laws while being loud and causing damage to buses and cars is just making my life as a city cyclist even harder.

As cyclists, we share the road with cars and with pedestrians as well. We need to stop thinking we own the road and follow the laws that everyone else has to follow. There should be no reason to “take back the streets” in the city of Chicago. Every year they are improving roads and adding bicycle lanes so that cars and cyclists can share the streets.

Some More Fun Reading

While writing this blog post I came across a site that posted an article about Critical Mass in Pittsburgh. The author of the article actually wrote about how they enjoyed participating in Critical Mass. One of the readers added their own comment to the discussion. I enjoyed it so much that I included the link in my post. The comment starts out with, “Critical Mass is a bunch of misguided fools.” The last paragraph is my favorite. Enjoy.

OK, back to the bicycle riding… Let me first say that this is a big deal for me. Anything that involves the cold weather and me being in it, that’s a big deal. In most cases I’d rather have someone punch me in the face repeatedly than go out in the cold. I know, if I hate the cold that much, then why am I living in Chicago? I don’t know, I still haven’t figured that one out yet. I’m pretty sure I curse 95% more during the winter months than I do during any other time of the year. Although in Chicago it some times feels like there’s 8 months of winter, 3 months of summer and a couple weeks for each of those other seasons… spring and whatever.

OK, this time I’m actually getting back to the bicycle riding (you see, because in the previous paragraph I said I was going to but actually didn’t). So here I am riding my bike on November 1st. In September (when I usually stop riding), everyone else was still riding around the city wearing t-shirts and shorts. I had already started wearing pants and a jacket, along with gloves and earmuffs when the temperature dipped into the 50s. Yes, the 50s. That’s cold when you’re on a bike. Now that the temperature is in the 40s and some times in the high 30s in the morning, I’m in full “keep warm, but stay flexible” gear. That includes: undershirt, thermal, zip-up sweatshirt, jacket, long underwear, pants, thick socks, gloves, and earmuffs. For the most part, I’m warm and surprised I’ve been able to ride this far into the colder months. I may be able to keep going as long as it doesn’t snow, but I guess I’ll see how I feel when it drops into the 20s. Ugh, that sounds terrible.

Why is this year different than previous years?

In previous years, I always rode to work along the lake shore. For the most part, in September along the lake you have have colder weather, stronger winds, and more of a chance of getting hit by huge waves. Yes, I said waves. Don’t believe me? Well take a look at this video of the waves along the lake shore path from 2011. This year, when it started getting colder, I took to riding my bike on the streets more. Advantages: less wind, not as cold, and more of a direct route. Disadvantages: stop lights and crazy drivers.

The alternative to riding my bike is riding the bus. Right now, this is a mess. The last time I took the bus home from work it took me 45+ minutes to get home. On my bike I can be home in less than 20 minutes. The buses are a mess because right now there is construction going on at two different sections of the bus route. They’re fixing the bridge at Fullerton and Lake Shore Drive, which has been going on all summer, and they also have the ramp closed from Michigan Avenue onto Lake Shore Drive. If they don’t fix both of these soon, I have a feeling I’m going to be riding my bike right through to next summer. Unfortunately, I don’t know how many layers I can add before it’s impossible for me to actually to pedal my bike…

So, we arrived on time, signed in (signed our life away), got our numbers written on our foreheads (I guess in case we lose our head they can identify us?), and then walked around waiting for our start time. This year was a little different than past years… They had different color wristbands for the different start times. You also had to climb over a wall just to get to the start area. I guess that allowed them to slow people down and check their wristbands. They’re getting smarter every year.

I started the race wearing a knee brace, which lasted all of 3 miles until we hit heavy mud and it fell around my ankle caked with mud. I wasn’t sure if my knee would bother me, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to protect it if I could. My knees didn’t bother me, but the lower part of my legs, from my knee down, started to bother me about 4 miles in. I kept going and even though it would hurt the more I ran, if I stopped every once in a while it would feel better for another mile or so. Luckily, you pretty much have to stop for each obstacle.

We had a pretty smooth run through the majority of the course and we made really good time before reaching the final two miles. There was a long stretch (probably about 3 miles) where we were just running and there were no obstacles. In the last mile and a half we ran into long lines as there were four obstacles in a row. I understand that the organizers are placing these four obstacles at the end so that spectators can easily walk from each obstacle to the others, but it also allows for a lot of congestion for the participants. You see a lot of people trying to run after waiting on line at an obstacle, and they’re cramping up and stretching on the side of the trail. I tried to keep moving and stretching, but it’s tough. At least a lot of the waiting happened at the end and there wasn’t a lot of running after most of the obstacles.

One last thing I need to bring up about the Tough Mudder obstacles is the one they refer to as “Electroshock Therapy.” I just don’t understand the reasoning behind this obstacle. All of the other obstacles are about strength and mud and teamwork, but this one is just torture as you run through a a twenty foot stretch of mud/water with live electrical wires hanging down ready to shock you. I’ve done this obstacle twice and this last time I decided to not go through it. Why? Well… The first time I barely felt anything (maybe a couple zaps) as I ran through some mud on my way to the finish line. It could have been because I was too cold to even feel anything. The second time I ran through and got a few zaps and just as I reached the end I got a very strong jolt (not even going to call it a zap) that made my entire body tighten up and forced me to clench my teeth together very hard. It certainly made my teeth hurt, but I could have easily bit off part of my tongue if it had been in the way. Luckily it wasn’t. So, no more “Electroshock Therapy” for me.

Really, anyone can participate in these events and if you don’t believe me, just go to one as a spectator and see what types of people do these events. Oh sure, you have the super fit athlete types (men and women) and the navy seal guys, but for each one of those people you have two average or out-of-shape people. I’m not sure how many people start and actually finish, but it seems like most do finish. I mean, there’s a lot of people walking around after with an orange headband and a beer in their hand.

Interested? Well, Tough Mudder is expanding to new states and countries all the time. Check out the events map and find a Tough Mudder event near you.

Have you participated in a Tough Mudder event? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!

This was the longest one day ride I’ve ever been on and my second century ride. My first century ride was earlier this summer before my RAGBRAI trip. This century ride to Wisconsin I did with my friend and fellow cycling enthusiast, Allison Wagner (There you go Allison, I gave you a name in this post instead of just “friend” like my last post). Allison was brave to join me and trust that I actually knew where I was going… when I obviously didn’t. I mapped it on Google Maps and had a few print-outs with me… Oh, and my trusty GPS (my phone). Either way, we were ready for an adventure.

The Original Plan: Chicago to Milwaukee

A big thank you to Amtrak for ruining our original plan. We really wanted to ride from Chicago up to Milwaukee, get something to eat, and then take Amtrak back to Chicago in the afternoon. Allison actually called Amtrak and found out that you can take a bicycle on the train, but it’s not as easy as just walking on the train with your bike. There are some things you need to do:

• Get to the train station 1 hour before the train departs
• Pay an extra $15 for a bicycle box to store your bike
• Bring tools so that you can remove the pedals from your bike

With only a couple days to plan this out, there was no way were were going to do this. Plus, it would have cost us about $50 each just to get back to Chicago. We will bike from Chicago to Milwaukee at some point (possibly this October), but we’ll skip Amtrak and see if it’s cheaper to rent a car and do this trip.

The Mapped Bike Route and the Actual Bike Route

I had been looking at Google Maps for almost three weeks and finally a few days before our trip I planned a route that I wanted to take. The original bike route took us north on our usual route through the Cook County Forest Preserve via the North Branch Trail and then all the way north to the Wisconsin border via the Robert McClory Bike Path. It then headed west for a few miles along the state border and then picked up the Des Plaines River Trail and headed south for 30+ miles through more parks and forest preserve. It was a large loop that totaled 117 miles and brought us back to a point close to where we started. The great thing was that there was very little overlap, so we wouldn’t be bored with riding the same trail on the way back home.

Well, things didn’t quite work out that perfectly, but the route we ended up taking was still pretty interesting (The mapped route is not exactly accurate because we had a couple detours… explained later). We had quite a bit of overlap on our route, but it was actually nice because we knew exactly where we were going on our way back and where we could stop for lunch as well. Our route changed because the Des Plaines River Trail was crushed gravel (which we knew), but it was a lot harder to ride on with our road bikes than we thought it would be. After about 4 miles of riding on the trail we decided we would take the first decent looking road that headed back east to the trail we were on before.

At the next crossover street we stopped and took a look at the map. An older gentleman pulled up next to us and just as we had decided to cross the street and continue on the trail until we found a better street headed east, the older gentleman got on the road and headed east. I said, “Forget it, follow him!” Unfortunately, he was only on that road for about 1/4 of a mile and then pulled into a parking area where I’m assuming his car was parked. There was no point in turning around, so we continued on that road. It wasn’t the best road to be biking on, but it had some decent shoulders at times that gave us plenty of room to bike. The only obstacle we hit on this route was that the bicycle trail we were trying to get back on was not accessible from the road we were on… the trail had a bridge that went up and over the road. We had to get off our bikes and walk up this little side hill and around a fence just to get back on the trail. We were headed south and back towards Chicago in no time though.

A Biking Adventure

I’ve already told you about how our bike route changed leading up to the trip and also during the trip, but here’s a summary of our biking adventure.

We actually started at 6am, which meant that I was up at 4:45 that morning, packing and getting my bike ready for the trip. It was actually a perfect morning for biking… nice and cool with hardly any wind at all. We took our normal route north towards the North Branch Trail through the streets of Chicago with bike lanes. I don’t think we had ever been on the North Branch Trail so early before, and even though it was pretty empty, there were quite a few deer just standing next to the path… I think we counted 10.

The interesting part of the trip was once we got beyond the familiar part of the route. We got off track a couple times, but easily found our way back to the trail. We would usually realize we were off track when the road would start to get a little busier with traffic and the speed limit would go up… time to check the map! You could actually take the bike trail the entire way, but the trail was bumpy at times, so we would switch over to low traffic roads or streets if we could. Plus, the last ten miles of the trail into Wisconsin were so boring. It was just a straight trail with really nothing but trees on both sides. When we got to Wisconsin, we didn’t even realize it at first. We crossed a little bridge, a small sign (that did NOT say welcome to Wisconsin) and the trail became paved. You can see in the picture above that the sign on the trail just said “Kenosha County Bicycle Trail.” It wasn’t until we headed west along the state border that we saw the “Welcome to Wisconsin” sign that I snapped a picture of from a distance.

By the time we went west and then all the way back east after realizing the Des Plaines River Trail was too hard to ride on, I was getting hungry. I thought Lake Forest would be a great place to get something to eat because there’s a nice little main street with shops and stuff. Of course, that was still a good 15 miles south from where we were. Let’s just say we went through some interesting neighborhoods that we had sort of missed on our route north. We were riding a well known and traveled bike back, but I still felt like people were looking at us like we were from another planet. Anyway, to wrap up this summary, we made it to Lake Forest, got some sandwiches at Einstein Bros and were on our way shortly after Allison made fun of me for laying in the middle of the sidewalk to do some stretches. Ok, to be fair, I did look a little ridiculous.

We made it back to Chicago a little after 3pm which added up to a little over 9 hours of total trip time and 8 hours of actual biking time. Not too bad for 113 miles! Next time we do a similar trip, we’ll have a better idea of where we’re going. Next time to Milwaukee!

The Three Bike Trails from this Route

North Branch Trail – You can’t beat this trail, and I say that mainly because it’s paved and it’s a nice scenic ride through the parks and forest preserve. If I were to list the cons of this trail, I would say 1) there are quite a few cross streets, and 2) it gets pretty packed on a nice day in the afternoon.
Robert McClory Bike Path – This bike path starts just north of Ravinia and links up with the Green Bay Trail (which you can pick up at Ravinia, and also heads south towards Chicago). The Robert McClory Bike Path has a few different surfaces along the 30 mile route. It starts as sidewalk, switches to a paved path and ends with quite a few miles of crushed limestone path. The crushed limestone is actually a decent surface for riding on, because the limestone packs down pretty well so it can be flat and not as loose as crushed gravel. It would be nice if it was paved, but I can live with the crushed limestone. This path goes through some “interesting” neighborhoods… some nice, and some not as nice. The last 15 miles of the path are pretty boring, as there’s not much to look at and it’s just a straight shot until you hit Wisconsin. Oh, and once you reach Wisconsin the path is nicely paved… that’s the Kenosha County Bicycle Trail.
Des Plaines River Trail – Great scenery, but not really the best trail for road bikes. The trail surface is crushed gravel which makes it hard to ride on with thin tires. Seems like it would be a great trail for walking, running, or riding your hybrid/mountain bike on.

How to Get to the North Branch Trail from Downtown

It took me a couple trips, but I finally got it figured out. If you read my previous post about how difficult it was to get to the North Branch Trail, well don’t worry, it’s a lot easier now!

First of all, where do you live in Chicago? If you actually live downtown and ride a bike frequently, then you know which streets have bike lanes and which streets don’t. If you have no clue, then go to the City of Chicago website and you can look at bicycle maps online or even request they send you a bike map.

Now that you know what streets have bike lanes, you just need to make it to one of these streets:

• Elston Avenue
• Lincoln Avenue
• Milwaukee Avenue
• Lawrence Avenue

All of these streets have bike lanes going both directions. Elston and Milwaukee bring you right to Caldwell Woods (corner of Milwaukee and Devon) where you can easily find the start of the North Branch Trail. Lincoln and Lawrence are good streets to take in case you live closer to the lake and need streets with bike lanes to get to Elston. Living in the Lincoln Park area, I take Lincoln Avenue north to Lawrence and then head west until I reach Elston.

Let me know if you have any questions about getting to the North Branch Trail, or if you have any additional suggestions on how to get there. Leave your thoughts in the comments, or send me an email. Good luck!

I’m planning a trip from Chicago to Milwaukee in the next couple weeks, so I’m hoping to find the best possible bicycle route in the process. I’ll be sure to blog about my experience!

Total Mileage & Statistics

Cycling Time: 33 hours 22 minutes
Distance: 504.21 miles (includes 11.83 additional miles from overnight towns)
Average Speed: 14.6 mph
Maximum Speed: 34.8 mph
Calories Burned: 22,769
Average Heart Rate: 134 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 171 bpm

Sioux Center to Cherokee

Cycling Time: 4 hours 7 minutes
Distance: 56.90 miles
Average Speed: 13.8 mph
Maximum Speed: 33.7 mph
Calories Burned: 2,752
Average Heart Rate: 134 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 165 bpm

Cherokee to Lake View

Cycling Time: 4 hours 18 minutes
Distance: 66.76 miles
Average Speed: 15.5 mph
Maximum Speed: 26.6 mph
Calories Burned: 3,491
Average Heart Rate: 146 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 170 bpm

Lake View to Webster City

Cycling Time: 6 hours 8 minutes
Distance: 86.42 miles
Average Speed: 14 mph
Maximum Speed: 34.7 mph
Calories Burned: 4,133
Average Heart Rate: 138 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 171 bpm

Webster City to Marshalltown

Cycling Time: 5 hours 22 minutes
Distance: 80.22 miles
Average Speed: 14.9 mph
Maximum Speed: 28.9 mph
Calories Burned: 3,816
Average Heart Rate: 139 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 164 bpm

Marshalltown to Cedar Rapids

Cycling Time: 5 hours 36 minutes
Distance: 88.36 miles
Average Speed: 15.7 mph
Maximum Speed: 32.5 mph
Calories Burned: 3,538
Average Heart Rate: 132 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 159 bpm

Cedar Rapids to Anamosa

Cycling Time: 3 hours 3 minutes
Distance: 41.76 miles
Average Speed: 13.6 mph
Maximum Speed: 33.9 mph
Calories Burned: 1,942
Average Heart Rate: 127 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 157 bpm

Anamosa to Clinton

Cycling Time: 4 hours 48 minutes
Distance: 71.96 miles
Average Speed: 15 mph
Maximum Speed: 34.8 mph
Calories Burned: 3,097
Average Heart Rate: 130 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 159 bpm

This morning I set out for my 100 mile ride, but didn’t actually know if I would complete it… mainly because I wasn’t sure if my body would hold together on a ride that long. I’ve been having knee issues lately, along with neck, back, and hand issues. I figured I would just keep going until I couldn’t go anymore… and that I did. I took my normal route up to the Chicago Botanic Garden along the North Branch Trail, and did a couple loops up there before I headed back home.

Amazingly, everything pretty much held together for the entire ride. I had some slight knee pain and a little pinching in the neck, but nothing that was really holding me back from finishing. Actually, the one thing that was bothering me, was my butt. It was a pain in the ass… literally. I could hardly sit on my seat for the last 20 miles. It started bothering me around mile 70, but I knew I couldn’t give up at that point. I just don’t understand why the saddle on a road bike has to be so uncomfortable. I may switch that out before I head to RAGBRAI… my old bike has a better saddle (can I please just call it a seat? I feel like I’m riding a horse when I call it a saddle).

Anyway, I’ll quit blabbering and just bore you with the details. Yes, that’s right, I’m not going to spare you the details, I’m going to bore you with them. Enjoy:

• Total Miles: 100.39 miles (I was precise in my planning)
• Total Time: 7 hours 45 minutes
• Average Speed: 14.5 mph (I was at about 16, but I slowed down a lot during the last 20 miles)
• Max Speed: 23.8 mph
• Avg Heart Rate: 140
• Max Heart Rate: 162
• Calories Burned: 4,943 (Is that even possible? Seems crazy…)

I also weighed myself when I got home and I had lost 4 lbs. I didn’t know you could lose that much weight in a day. I’m sure I’ll gain it back in a few hours once I have an actual meal. All I ate the entire time was a couple granola bars, two good size cookies, a snickers bar… I got hungry. I brought the granola bars, but then after mile 80 I had to stop at a gas station and get some junk food. Felt good. Felt real good.