Biking around Chicago

I must say that I haven't ridden my bike in the city for a couple of months. Living in the suburbs, this means that I have to take my bicycle on the Metra train during the hours that it is allowed. My schedule this semester has prevented this for the most part and coupled with the frigid weather and above-average snowfall we've been having has prevented me from enjoying the city's many bicycle-friendly streets. Spring is closer than it seems (and it isn't it that way every year?) and by then I'll bring myself to ride again. For in Chicago, there is a system of bicycle lanes that are comparable only to Montreal in North America with over 100 miles of them and more to come if Mayor Daley's plans are followed through. His actions have been much criticized in the media, such as the photo-op of him riding a bicycle from Paris's bike rental program that he hopes to bring to Chicago...in the midst of the CTA budget crisis last fall, but this is one of very few things that I can agree on with the man. Riding bicycles in relatively dense areas such as Chicago is to be encouraged as it is both environmentally friendly and cost-efficient. It can also be faster than public transportation. There have been times that I have outrun my friends (who were in a car) to a destination while riding a bike. I once saw a man in a very flamboyant yellow jacket zipping past me near the Monroe Blue Line stop. I took the Blue Line to Western (Bucktown stop) and when I got off I saw the same flamboyant man riding his bike down Milwaukee Avenue. Bicycles will not replace cars in American culture, particularly given how spread out much of suburbia is, but they can be coupled with public transit to curb traffic jams, clean up the air a little and provide Americans with some much-needed exercise...at least when the thermometer rises over 35 degrees.