{"id":7743,"date":"2016-04-25T15:07:12","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T22:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=7743"},"modified":"2022-09-23T10:08:39","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T17:08:39","slug":"bike-commuting-through-chicagos-neighborhoods-with-novara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/bike-commuting-through-chicagos-neighborhoods-with-novara","title":{"rendered":"Bike Commuting through Chicago’s Neighborhoods with Novara"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you ask somebody where they\u2019re from, and they say, \u201cI\u2019m from Chicago,\u201d chances are they\u2019re not from Chicago. They\u2019re from St. George or Wilmette, Illinois, or Gary, Indiana, or one of the other hundreds of towns and villages with names as diverse as the people who settled them, that were slowly eaten up by Chicago, to form something greater: Welcome to Chicagoland.<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

Elliot lives in Edgebrook, on Chicagoland\u2019s North Side, with his wife and two kids. A bike technician at the REI store in Northbrook<\/a> eight miles away, he\u2019s a year-round bike commuter. His garage is dedicated to his bicycles, and to his fledgling bike bag company. In other words, he\u2019s a bike guy. On the muggy day in September, we gave Elliot a Novara Barrow<\/a> and let him show us Chicagoland on two wheels.<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

First, coffee. Rolling through sleepy neighborhoods filled with townhouses, we make our way to the Other Brother Coffeehouse where pastries and a cortado start us in the right direction, on to Winnetka.<\/p>\n

Winneka: the\u00a0second richest town in the United States. Don\u2019t be surprised if you feel like you\u2019ve been here before\u2013”Home Alone,” “Ferris Bueller\u2019s Day Off,” “Uncle Buck” and “The Breakfast Club” were all shot in and around Winnetka. Coasting down the street you begin to understand why. Mature oaks line generous avenues, the smell of fresh-cut grass fills the air, all manner of dogs are being walked. We pass French chateaus neighboring Prairie-style modern mansions, classic Tudors and small estates, some perched atop lazy berms, others half obscured behind heavily wooded driveways.<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

We visit in\u00a0September, with highs in the low nineties. It\u2019s hot out. But not that hot: Two months ago, it was one hundred and ten degrees, with eighty percent humidity. And in the dead of winter, it wouldn\u2019t be unheard of for temperatures to dip to negative fifty degrees, factoring in wind chill from the harsh gusts whipping off Lake Michigan. If you\u2019re keeping track, that\u2019s a 160\u02da swing!<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

Sure, it\u2019s bike-friendly here, with nearly 100 miles of protected bike lanes and a non-existent topography\u2014but that\u2019s not the problem, is it? \u201cWeather is the number one challenge to riding in Chicago. It\u2019s four seasons with a vengeance out here,\u201d Elliot says. And yet, he bikes through it all. \u201cI know it sounds clich\u00e9, but my garage is a toolbox, and my bikes are the tools. I have a different bike and a different setup for every riding condition.\u201d From the slush of salted roads in winter to the unrelenting heat in summer, a couple different setups are key. \u201cI\u2019m riding a roadie most days, but I\u2019ve got a bike setup with fat, five-inch tires for when it freezes, fenders for when it\u2019s wet out. Good lighting, always. And just give yourself time, if you\u2019re going to be a daily rider here, you have got to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Normally, Elliot would continue east to work at REI. But for the sake of today\u2019s ride, we continue on, taking the long way around.<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

Leaving Winnetka, we enter the North Branch\u00a0Trail, named after the north branch of the Chicago River along which it winds north-south for 17 miles. We head north six miles, toward the Chicago Botanic Garden and the trail\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

Glassy-smooth, the paved trail meanders through old-growth forest. Coasting in shade, the sounds of our Novaras whirring beneath us, we find ourselves quiet. \u201cWhen you\u2019re riding, you just get on and forget. It\u2019s meditation. All your stresses go away,\u201d Elliot says. The fact that when he\u2019s not being a bike mechanic at REI, Elliot is a stay-at-home dad with his two kids, aged 9 months and 3 years, probably has something to do with his zen approach.<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

Reaching the trail\u2019s head we turn east and continue along lightly trafficked suburban streets before reaching Lake Michigan. It\u2019s not the ocean, but it sure feels like it. The lakefront is busy with bikers, joggers, inline skaters, sunbathers, dog walkers, hacky-sackers and picnickers. It\u2019s crowded compared to the trail, but the bike lanes are moving, and so are we, with\u00a0the promise of food and drink in our near future.<\/p>\n

\"Novara<\/p>\n

Chicagoland has a long and storied history of beer making, and beer drinking for that matter. So it\u2019s no surprise that its craft-brewing scene is thriving. Elliot takes us to Smylie Brothers Brewing Co., known for their pale ales and their smoked meats. The wood-fired pizza looks good, but the smoked turkey sandwich looks better. Add to that a double dry hopped IPA, and we end up full, talking about the day and looking over pictures we\u2019ve taken. Riding back to Elliot\u2019s, we take our time, enjoying the sun as it hangs low in the sky. Again, we coast, bellies full, legs tired\u2014the perfect way to end our day in Chicagoland.<\/p>\n

Shop Novara<\/a> bikes only at REI.com.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you ask somebody where they\u2019re from, and they say, \u201cI\u2019m from Chicago,\u201d chances are they\u2019re not from Chicago. They\u2019re from St. George or Wilmette, Illinois, or Gary, Indiana, or one of the other hundreds of towns and villages with names as diverse as the people who settled them, that were slowly eaten up by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[578,577,25,389,1056,306,579],"internal-tag":[1675],"class_list":["post-7743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cycle","tag-bike-commuting","tag-chicago","tag-cycle","tag-illinois","tag-midwest","tag-novara","tag-road-biking","internal-tag-pre-redirect-cycle"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/bike-commuting-through-chicagos-neighborhoods-with-novara","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Bike Commuting through Chicago’s Neighborhoods with Novara","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/bike-commuting-through-chicagos-neighborhoods-with-novara","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/cycle\/bike-commuting-through-chicagos-neighborhoods-with-novara"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/04\/Motofish-100215-6618-copy.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/04\/Motofish-100215-6618-copy.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Cycle","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["bike commuting","chicago","cycle","illinois","midwest","novara","road biking"],"dateCreated":"2016-04-25T22:07:12Z","datePublished":"2016-04-25T22:07:12Z","dateModified":"2022-09-23T17:08:39Z"},"rendered":"