bike the drive 2017 -- the drama

so many possible dramatic themes to this year's bike the drive in chicago (the sunday before memorial day). the absence of holli, and the last-minute substitution of my mom. the threat of severe storms. waking up the morning of the ride to discover that the sun had been extinguished (or it was 4 am). the treacherous betrayal of barb's front-tire tube. the heroic efforts of max during his first bike the drive, and the constant, inextinguishable power of liam during his second. the effortless, let's call it grace, with which i smoothly dispatched the 30 miles of the ride. but what about the blueberry mini-muffins, you ask? what about the muffins?

sunrise just south of the chicago river bridge

we were set to do bike the drive this year, with liam making his second ride and max his first. unfortunately, holli was hit with a severe sinus infection that knocked her out for almost three (!) weeks and left her with an epic pile of work to negotiate, so we needed a substitute. barb (my mom) was ready and willing to take her place, and the boys and i crashed at her and kevin's house the night before. after a delicious dinner of grilled italian sausages and various fixings, we all went to bed early and got up before the sunrise. there's a 4 in the morning too?

storms had been predicted all week for sunday morning, and a line developed late saturday in eastern iowa and advanced toward chicago. forecasts called for its arrival anywhere from 9 am to noon, which might have put a damper on the ride. thankfully, the storms headed north of chicago until later in the afternoon, so we were treated to a beautiful day, if somewhat chilly during the early miles.

the caravan downtown was uneventful, but after parking and unloading the bikes, we discovered that barb's front tire was totally flat. seems that the 20-year-old tube had decided to give up the ghost sometime between the night before when i inflated it and our arrival downtown (liam, who rode with barb, reported hearing air escaping during the drive down, which made it extra cruel). so mom was out, and our merry band of warriors was down to three.

we pressed on, and it was a good ride. the city was beautiful, as usual, despite a certain name on a certain building along the river ruining an iconic view of our magnificent city. liam was unstoppable, of course, and max was a champ, devouring bagillions of chocolate chip cookies at every rest stop.

the mural at the bryn mawr underpass, muffins and cookies await at the nearby rest stop

max enjoyed watching the many sit-down bikes and trikes, and he was very happy to see that bike the drive wasn't a million bikers packed handlebar-to-handlebar for all 30 miles. we were all surprised at the dude doing the ride on roller blades, however. wish i got a picture of that.

heading south, just before the michigan ave. exit

after the northern leg, which consisted of many hills (overpasses), i was worried that max would want to call it a day and skip the southern leg (grant park to the museum of science and industry, and back again), but he was game to try. liam, of course, was anxious to press on already. that kid is a titan.

so it was a good ride at bike the drive, despite holli's absence, barb's exploded tire, impeding storms, and uncertainty at both home and abroad. not to mention how much it cost to park in the grant park garage (way too much). i'm already looking forward to next year.