Best Bike Route from Downtown Chicago to the North Branch Trail

Chicago North Branch Trail sign

What is currently my favorite bike trail to ride in Chicago? Definitely the North Branch Trail. If you’re someone that likes the Lake Shore Path, but can’t deal with the crowds of people that make it nearly impossible to ride your bike, then you need to venture north of downtown. The North Branch Trail starts about 11 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, and it winds through parks and forest preserve while crossing low traffic streets a few times along the 15 mile trail. At the northern most point, the trail loops around and passes by the entrance to the Chicago Botanic Garden. Continue reading »

Completed My First “Century” Bike Ride

Century Bike Ride

No, that doesn’t mean that I dress up in 1st Century attire and bike around Chicago (I’m not even sure what 1st Century attire would be). It means that I biked 100 miles in a single day. It’s actually something that on Friday I decided I wanted to try to do. The most I’ve ever biked in a day is 60 miles, so I wanted to push myself and make sure that I could ride the longer distances. After today I feel like I should be able to complete the longer 80+ mile days during RAGBRAI. Continue reading »

55 Mile Bike Ride to the Chicago Botanic Garden

Holding my bike at the Chicago Botanic Garden

This past weekend my friend and I took our first bike ride to the Chicago Botanic Garden. Someone had mentioned the trail to her, so we decided to check it out Sunday morning. From the start of the North Branch Trail at Devon and Caldwell, to the northern most part of the Botanic Garden is about 16.5 miles. It’s an amazing trail, which twists and turns through parks and the forest preserve… oh, and it’s nicely paved! Continue reading »