Wassup guys, For those in Chicago...I am going to move to there next year, just wondering how many months out of the year are suitable for riding. I am going to be living near Hyde Park, and wondering how it is using a bike to get around in the city. Also will it be less of a hassle if I ship my bike there, or sell it in CA and buy a new one when I get there? Thanx in advance.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSintegra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wassup guys, For those in Chicago...I am going to move to there next year, just wondering how many months out of the year are suitable for riding. I am going to be living near Hyde Park, and wondering how it is using a bike to get around in the city. Also will it be less of a hassle if I ship my bike there, or sell it in CA and buy a new one when I get there? Thanx in advance.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Riding in the city is dangerous but people do it. Chicago/Illinois drivers are no where near as aware of motorcyclists as in California. Lane splitting is illegal, and doing it will just **** off people, even if you're just trying to get out of harms way.

As for weather, I took my bike out for the first time in March, and put it away last October. The weather fluctuates so much during the Spring and Fall it's hard to say.

If I were you, I'd probably sell your bike and see if you'd even want to ride around here before buying a new one. You'd end up making more money selling it out in Cali.

You going to school here or what?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iLude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You going to school here or what? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup, for grad. school. Man lane splitting is illegal? That means I will exprience traffic even with a bike.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSintegra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yup, for grad. school. Man lane splitting is illegal? That means I will exprience traffic even with a bike.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep, it sucks. You going to University of Chicago?

 

nope, CTU

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSintegra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nope, CTU</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

haha not extactly

 

i'd say bring your bike.. might as well lately the prices of bikes are jumping up, since the weather is getting nicer... its crazy riding in the city, like ilude says, people here are not as aware of bikes.. my boy commutes with his bike but that doesnt mean he hasnt had his share of scares.

hit me up when u get up here we can show u around the city

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chitownrida &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i'd say bring your bike.. might as well lately the prices of bikes are jumping up, since the weather is getting nicer... its crazy riding in the city, like ilude says, people here are not as aware of bikes.. my boy commutes with his bike but that doesnt mean he hasnt had his share of scares.

hit me up when u get up here we can show u around the city</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea def. When I am in the city I will prob. use public transportation to get around. Maybe keep the bike for leisure. It is bad enough riding in LA traffic or in the city. Too risky.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSintegra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yea def. When I am in the city I will prob. use public transportation to get around. Maybe keep the bike for leisure. It is bad enough riding in LA traffic or in the city. Too risky.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's probably your best bet

 

I would say realistically you have maybe 5mo of riding time in the midwest. In the spring it is too rainy to ride, the summer is often too damn hot, the fall is either to wet or cold and the winter is...........well its winter in Chicago.

I would say sell your bike in Ca (because the market will be the best because of the year around riding season) move to illinois and decide if you want to ride there and then just buy a bike. The bikes will be cheaper as well and with the short riding season you could probably pick one up in the fall for a steal.

Personally I think riding in traffic in Chicago is awful. Without lane splitting I think it is a total waste of time and energy. I would rather be sitting in my car with the AC on crank sitting, than sitting in full gear with no AC on my bike. Once you get outside the city limits there are lots of open roads though, especially if you are willing to ride a bit. I learned to ride in the N.Ill, S.Wi area and once you get out of the big cities it is mostly wide open country roads.

 

yea I heard about the winters in chicago, like -30F factoring in the wind chill. I was mostly interested in taking my bike or getting one there, cuz I can go in and out of traffic, but with no lane splittiing?!?!?!?! i am thinking what is the point. i dunno with only 5mos of riding throughout the year... gotta think about if it is really worth it to have a bike. here in So Cali, i couldnt ride my bike about 4x when I wanted to this year, 3x because it was raining, and once cuz it was too windy. however, riding is my biggest or maybe even my only extreme hobby i enjoy. kind of be a bummer If i have to ditch riding when i move there

 

man that no lane splitting law is really getting to me. i am not too fond of riding in the city, but I am willing to take the risk if it means not being stuck in traffic.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D Day &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would say realistically you have maybe 5mo of riding time in the midwest. In the spring it is too rainy to ride, the summer is often too damn hot, the fall is either to wet or cold and the winter is...........well its winter in Chicago. </TD></TR></TABLE>

+1

The two worst parts about this area is how quickly the weather changes (usually for the worse), and the general lack of fun roads (it's flat out here)

I rode my bike for the first time this year in early March when the temps hit around 60. The weekend before there was a blizzard, and the weekend after the temp dropped below freezing again.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by polishrifle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The two worst parts about this area is how quickly the weather changes (usually for the worse), and the general lack of fun roads (it's flat out here)
</TD></TR></TABLE>

down here is champaign we have "some" decent roads... but nothing like what the OP is probably used to

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ragnaroek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">down here is champaign we have "some" decent roads... but nothing like what the OP is probably used to </TD></TR></TABLE>


hahahahaha, where?

 

about 20 minutes west of town on 72. i forget the name of the town that you have to go into. and don't ask me for directions because i have no clue how to get there... i always follow someone else

there are also some SE of town, but i have never been able to find them

 

out in the burbs it's not so bad, but it doesn't sound like you'll be in the burbs much... i just know that i live in the burbs and ride in the burbs and when i have to go into the city i get in my cage

 

Souther wisconsin has AWSOME roads if you are willing to drive an hour and a half to get up there. And im sure there are some in the burbs that are ok. As far as riding in the city goes, tons of people do it. But it is defnitly dangerous, i am from wisconsin and moved to chicago 2 years ago, and let me tell you, people drive like absolute idiots. I would still ride around here everyonce and a while if i still had my bike, but i definitly wouldnt use it as my main mode of transportation.

 

I thought lane splitting was legal if you are wearing a helmet and doing it in a safe mannor?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ep_Kevin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I thought lane splitting was legal if you are wearing a helmet and doing it in a safe mannor?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've never heard anything about that...

 

its not legal here

 

I thought there was a thread about it and someone linked it to the dmv site. The only thing they put in there was that you must have a helmet on and be doing it safely otherwise it was illegal

 

http://home.ama-cycle.org/amac...te=il


says "not referenced"