Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, May 16, 2021
A sunny Sunday in Chicago. A beautiful hotel room, right in the center of town. A planned down day—no schedule. Surely I could give Ferris Bueller a run for his money.
It didn’t quite work out that way. I slept late, had a leisurely Trader Joe’s breakfast, worked on my blog, luxuriated in this great suite, checked out the fitness center, and didn’t really get going until mid-afternoon. This would be the biggest city of the trip, a chance to pick up any hard-to-find bike supplies. I took everything off of the bicycle and looked it over, and was horrified to see I had broken another spoke, with a big wobble in the rear wheel. Funny, the same thing had happened as I was trying to leave my fancy hotel room in Cleveland.
Actually, not so funny. A broken spoke is a big deal, if not fixed quickly, the weakened wheel can easily lose more spokes. I had this wheel built specially, anticipating this problem as a heavy guy on a loaded bicycle. I even had a spare wheel waiting for me at home, for Jane to send if necessary. I had brought some extra spokes, but now I had already used two of them. Clearly, the thing to do was go to a bike shop where they could properly tension the wheel. But by now it was 3 o’clock, and the shops close by five. Indeed, the first shop, 2 1/2 miles away, didn’t have time to help me before it closed. The owner, John, did give me gratis an obscure piece I needed for my panniers, for which I was very grateful.
I got to the second shop at 4:15, it was disheartening to see that there was a line at the door, they were only letting people in one at a time as people within the shop left. When it was finally my turn, they said they could have the wheel for me sometime tomorrow. I sweet–talked them into letting me repair the spoke myself on their floor, and then just having them do the truing and tensioning, for which you need a special jig. Russ was very accommodating and helpful. Once again, the kindness of strangers.
I was finally free to see the city at 5:30. The famous Art Institute of Chicago closed at six, I was sorry to miss their big Monet exhibit, but I bought the coffee-table book to send home to Jane, and snapped a few pictures.
Quite possibly the most-visited attraction in Chicago is Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, a.k.a. The Bean. It is a dazzling sculpture, but mobbed with tourists and hard to get a clean picture. At some point they cordoned it off, I’ll bet it was amazing to stand underneath and see your unusual reflection.
My friends had given me a list of “must-sees” but I only had time for a few of them. One of them will only make sense to a few of you. Back in high school I saw a compelling film called Powers of Ten, that really piqued my interest in science. https://youtu.be/0fKBhvDjuy0 Frank pointed out that it was filmed on the waterfront of Chicago, so I had to go find the spot.
And keeping to the theme of obscure spots of grass and trees, I had to take this photograph. This is Grant Park, home of the famous 1968 “Chicago 7” riots, and also Obama’s 2008 election acceptance speech, both scenes burned into my memory.
These are Chicago’s famous “L” tracks, featured in ER and many movies.
Even though everyone says the Hancock Tower has the better view, I had to go see the Sears Tower, which for much of my adult life was the tallest building in the world. The trouble is, when you’re right next to it, it is hard to convey its size in a picture.
I didn’t go up, it was too crowded and expensive. Instead I raced over to the Hancock Tower, arriving right at 8 PM, sunset was at 8:05.
Alas, the guard told me that all the reservations were taken. Nothing to do but head back to the hotel and have my second Trader Joe’s dinner. Two days in Chicago, and the only money I spent was on that coffee-table book. It was also fun to realize that my unloaded bicycle is a great city bike, agile and perfect for the crowded streets of Chi-Town.
Ferris, your record is secure.
Danke schön, darling danke schön…
Distance 12 miles, 1,351 total. Time 5 hours with stops. Elevation gain 246 feet
The Ends of the Earth 
Thanks for reminding me of Powers of Ten. I also was taken by that film in Jr High. I didn’t know that Chicago was the start and mid-point, Sweet.
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