beaches on bikes

Ahoy,

I'd been wanting to go on a beaches on bicycles tour of Chicago because nostalgia, and because it was hot. We started out scrambling to get enough bikes because my brother let his bike get stolen in Madison. I say this because I suspect he would rather it "get stolen" than have to deal with bringing it back home or trying to sell it, and maybe because it was a little tall for him. But also, I suppose you would think it would be safe in your parking spot in your parking garage in your building. The nerve of someone to steal from a fellow tenant! But also, it wasn't locked to anything. 

Our bicycle gang started from Chinatown after eating a massive brunch of dim sum because my mom has no control regarding ordering food. Our first beach was 31st Street, one of the newer ones that also features a brand new dock and harbor and playground. One of my favorites because it is so easily accessible from my neighborhood and is typically less crowded. We skipped 12th St beach because it was just a little out of the way, but in retrospect we probably should have just zipped by. It's one of my favorites because it's less well known and smaller, so typically less crowded. The views from Solidarity Drive and the Planetarium are amazing. It's a good beach for thinking deep thoughts.

Our next stop was Oak Street beach, just past Navy Pier. It's typically one of the more popular beaches because of its convenient location from downtown and Navy Pier, but still small and intimate. The gradient is not very drastic at all so you can walk pretty far out but it still wouldn't be very deep. Fun to just dip your toes after touristing downtown. And you get a great, intimate view of the skyline going North.

Our next stop was Ohio Street beach, which is massive. There are a bunch of volleyball courts you can play on. The view is pretty stellar. I did not frequent this beach often growing up, mostly just zipped past on my bike.

My favorite and ending point of this tour was to jump in the water from the deck. Between Ohio St beach and before the turnaround for North Ave beach are usually lots of people jumping into the water right from the path. You can just set up next to a ladder and you and your friends can just dive/jump in. It was super refreshing and fun, definitely a highlight. I highly recommend. Make sure your friends aren't wimps and only watching you have fun.

We stopped at North Ave beach only to use the facilities because this is probably my least favorite beach. It is always super crowded despite how enormous it is. It is probably the most used, and thusly - the dirtiest. I never have any interest in coming here, and going past is usually a challenge because there are always people walking every which way not paying attention.

We ended in the Lakeview/Belmont neighborhood to see E's apartment and gorge on korean chicken wings. Not my choice, but I was outnumbered because it was all boys. Usually the case.

enamorously recommended,
jt