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Bicycling Again!
Apr. 13th, 2016 06:24 pmI biked down Chicago Avenue to the start of the Lakefront Trail, then most of the way to Navy Pier. I decided I was slowing down after ten and a half miles and turned back north. I took Lawrence west to the south end of the Channel Trail, but stopped on the way to investigate Shake Rattle and Read. It's a used book and music store in the Uptown neighborhood that's been there for 50 years, and I was surprised and sad to see it going out of business. There's a write-up about it over here: https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151207/uptown/demise-of-shake-rattle-read-adaptation-of-ric-addy
Anyway, all books are half price, and vinyl is 25% off. I stopped in and left with a textbook on architecture photography and an art book of bridge photography. He still has a decent selection of sci-fi and fantasy; might be worth stopping in if you're in the area.
The channel trail passes under a handful of viaducts where the path is somewhat constricted and curves around blind corners. I always ring my bell as I make the turns to alert people who might be in the way of traffic. A couple of young boys were walking under one of them, but were most of the way through the tunnel so I had plenty of warning. They were walking in the same direction I was riding and were in the left lane, so I rang my bell some more so they knew I was there and began to pass by on the right. Just then, one of them dashed to the right, directly in front of me too quickly to avoid. We both ended up on the ground and my helmet absorbed a whack to the back of my skull as I fell onto the concrete.
The first thing both of us did was to ask the other if we were ok, which in retrospect makes me feel pretty good about the ability of people to get along. I felt bad about the incident, but both of us seemed to be unharmed. It's a lesson reinforced for me about the unpredictability of young kids. Unfortunately, one of the screws holding my cargo rack on must have been pretty loose already because it popped out in the collision and I couldn't find it. I had to keep stopping on the way home to adjust the support for the rack that kept finding its way into the gears on the back wheel.
I rode a little short of 25 miles all-in-all, and I can tell I'm not as conditioned as I was because my legs were pretty tired and rubbery at the end. But that will improve over the spring and summer.
Then I washed the kitchen counter and dining room table, did some dishes, picked up a prescription for Danae, and made a grocery list for shopping after I pick her up. Productivity!
Anyway, all books are half price, and vinyl is 25% off. I stopped in and left with a textbook on architecture photography and an art book of bridge photography. He still has a decent selection of sci-fi and fantasy; might be worth stopping in if you're in the area.
The channel trail passes under a handful of viaducts where the path is somewhat constricted and curves around blind corners. I always ring my bell as I make the turns to alert people who might be in the way of traffic. A couple of young boys were walking under one of them, but were most of the way through the tunnel so I had plenty of warning. They were walking in the same direction I was riding and were in the left lane, so I rang my bell some more so they knew I was there and began to pass by on the right. Just then, one of them dashed to the right, directly in front of me too quickly to avoid. We both ended up on the ground and my helmet absorbed a whack to the back of my skull as I fell onto the concrete.
The first thing both of us did was to ask the other if we were ok, which in retrospect makes me feel pretty good about the ability of people to get along. I felt bad about the incident, but both of us seemed to be unharmed. It's a lesson reinforced for me about the unpredictability of young kids. Unfortunately, one of the screws holding my cargo rack on must have been pretty loose already because it popped out in the collision and I couldn't find it. I had to keep stopping on the way home to adjust the support for the rack that kept finding its way into the gears on the back wheel.
I rode a little short of 25 miles all-in-all, and I can tell I'm not as conditioned as I was because my legs were pretty tired and rubbery at the end. But that will improve over the spring and summer.
Then I washed the kitchen counter and dining room table, did some dishes, picked up a prescription for Danae, and made a grocery list for shopping after I pick her up. Productivity!
