Justyna Frank and Ira David Levy/Photo: Pedal America

By John Greenfield

As a sustainable transportation devotee, sometimes I have to remind myself that not everyone in this country is as fanatical about biking as I am. But “Pedal America,” a new travel series on PBS created and produced by Chicagoan Ira David Levy, aims to spread the gospel of cycling to the unconverted. “I think that with a lot of bike advocacy, we tend to talk to each other, people who are already enthused,” he says over drinks at a Gold Coast café. “But if you’re going to reach the masses you need to find a way that does not come across as overly political. So I work in a little bit of advocacy in each episode but I try not to be too preachy.”

During the seven-part series, which airs on 356 public-TV stations nationwide, Levy and co-host Kati Lightholder explore bicycle-friendly cities and national parks all over the United States, checking out the best rides, events, bike infrastructure and tourist attractions. Each thirty-minute episode covers a different destination, including Austin, Texas; Napa Valley, California; Sedona, Arizona; Savannah, Georgia; Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania; Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida and, of course, the Windy City. In the process, they showcase cycling as a cheap, healthy, fun and green way to get around a new locale. “The whole premise of the show is to educate and inspire people to ride their bikes,” he says. Read the rest of this entry »

By Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In one of your past lives, I think you must have periodically done something like stick your tongue out or thumb your nose at pretentious tyrants—and gotten away with it. At least that’s one explanation for how confident you often are about speaking up when everyone else seems unwilling to point out that the emperor is in fact wearing no clothes. This quality should come in handy during the coming week. It may be totally up to you to reveal the truth about an obvious secret or collective delusion. Can you figure out a way to be relatively tactful as you say what supposedly can’t or shouldn’t be said? Read the rest of this entry »

From COMIENZO to FIN, this year’s Cinco de Miler (relocated from last year’s Soldier Field location to Montrose Harbor) was a demonstration in how a well-run race can become a full-fledged event. From a five-piece mariachi band that made two appearances along the five-mile course to a grassy post-race space where a live band played and chips and salsa, burritos and churros (not to mention a free Modelo for those over twenty-one) were passed out to well-spaced waves that kept the course from ever becoming crowded, RAM Racing managed to create a race atmosphere that both encouraged competition and reminded runners to have fun. Read the rest of this entry »

The start of the 5th annual C4 Miles four-mile race was delayed by about ten minutes because, as announcer (and K-Hits DJ) Gary Spears remarked “Some people slept in a little late this morning.” Luckily, the time was used wisely, with a trainer from Phenomenal Fitness leading the small crowd through a “three-dimensional” workout in which he repeatedly entreated runners and walkers to “Feel your booty!” After the warm-up, participants gathered at the start/finish area, placed a bit awkwardly to the south of the base-camp. For this size race (around 175 runners and maybe 200 walkers) pace-groups were almost a non-issue, with walkers simply lining up behind runners. Read the rest of this entry »

Following the distant sounds of bagpipes along the fog-engulfed lake-facing side of Soldier Field is a good race-day introduction to a race’s basecamp. The 8th Annual Run to Remember took up its traditional starting post on Museum Campus Drive directly in front of the Gold Star Families Memorial and Park where the names of officers who gave their lives in the line of duty are etched. Recently wounded officer Del Pearson was present to thank participants for their support and to help kick off the race. Read the rest of this entry »

By Tony Fitzpatrick

All through grade school, lunch time was ruled by the lunch ladies. They were usually the mothers of our fellow students, but once in a while, depending on the school, they hired a professional lunch lady. Her job was to break up fights, make sure kids cleaned up after themselves and head off any smoking or finger-banging sessions in the bathrooms.

They were pretty much a miserable lot who couldn’t wait to rat you out to the nuns, (who, in turn, ratted you out to your parents), all of them slapping the shit out of you each step of the way.

The mothers of fellow students made the best lunch ladies. They were a little nicer, though not always. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: John Greenfield

By John Greenfield

A local ordinance requires that all new developments along the Chicago River include public access to the waterfront, so eventually there could be a network of riverwalks to rival the Lakefront Trail. But for now it takes a little detective work to navigate the waterway by bicycle. I’ve researched a few “stealth routes” along the North Branch, connecting bits and pieces of riverfront path with quiet side streets—you can read about them at tinyurl.com/stealthroutes. Last week I scouted out a fascinating route along the South Branch from the Loop to Bridgeport, but I should warn you that it isn’t completely legal. Read the rest of this entry »

By Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): On the one hand, you’re facing a sticky dilemma that you may never be able to change no matter how hard you try. On the other hand, you are engaged with an interesting challenge that may very well be possible to resolve. Do you know which is which? Now would be an excellent time to make sure you do. It would be foolish to keep working on untying a hopelessly twisted knot when there is another puzzle that will respond to your love and intelligence. Go where you’re wanted. Read the rest of this entry »

The sixteenth annual Ravenswood Run lived up to its billing as “a neighborhood 5k,” raising funds to support the work of Ravenswood Community Services and making ample use of the relatively sleepy streets of the area to provide a wide tree-lined (and car-free) course for the roughly 2,750 participants.

Starting waves were evenly spaced along Hermitage with ample room allowed for each grouping. Runners with strollers or dogs were allowed, though asked to start in the back of the pack. Despite pre-race warnings that “the course is gonna be a little cozy out there” the only real congestion happened at the starting line (heading south on Hermitage at Wilson) and dissipated quickly enough. Runners were also warned to look out for several speedbumps on the long straightaways down both Hermitage and Paulina, but flag-waving volunteers and shiny orange tape made them easy to spot. The mild weather (partly cloudy and in the high forties) brought out the occasional sidewalk spectators, adding an additional feeling of community to the proceedings. Read the rest of this entry »

Thirty minutes before start time, with the temperature hovering in the mid-forties, the light rain that had been falling all morning has the courtesy to cut off, allowing everyone huddled under awnings and sponsor tents to take off their raincoats (and plastic bags) and do some stretching. This may be the cause of a brief backup in the gear-check line, but it also lets runners at the FirstMerit Bank Lakefront 10 Miler (previously known as the CARA Lakefront 10 Miler) to start on a dryer note, making the slightly chilly temperature feel a lot more amenable.

Starting in the middle of the street on Simonds Drive just north of Montrose Avenue, the elaborately structured ten-mile course (thankfully, not just an out and back) heads north to Foster Beach before heading back toward Montrose Beach and taking a bit of a winding path in order to incorporate Cricket Hill into the course and earn its cleverest tagline (“the hilliest course in Chicago”). The course transitions from streets to lakefront-trail pavement to park trails and even grass on Cricket Hill, providing a variety of running surfaces and plenty of turns. It’s a course that looks unnecessarily confusing on a map but plays out nicely with volunteers as guides, though some sections had runners going out next to runners coming back for a bit too long. Read the rest of this entry »