A month or so ago – before my back got all weird (I’m finally sort of better) – I made the decision that I was going to buy a bike and start riding to work because…

a) I need the excercise

b) Paying $4 a day to ride a packed CTA train or bus while somebody yaps on their cellphone is becoming old

c) Something about it being better for the environment

Anywho, I scouted out my path via a City of Chicago website that lists “bike friendly” paths throughout the city. I mentioned to my wife and mother in law – she was in town that weekend – I would simply take Lake Shore seeing that I live right off of it for the majority of the trip and then take one of the aforementioned “bike friendly” streets a half a mile or so to work. No issue.

As I “proudly” stated, “the worst thing that could happen is that somebody opens a car door and I have to either collide with it and ruin the bike/my body or collide with it and go head of handle bars but still land in/near the bike lane.” Even then, I thought I would (somehow) be alert enough to recognize how each person in the driver’s seat of vehicles were about to react and could avoid such an accident.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/998873,CST-NWS-bike11.article

Normally, I’m not too taken back by death. It sucks but everybody does it. But, the above is downright creepy seeing that it’s two blocks from where I work.

Worthless Note: The section of La Salle that he was on isn’t listed as a “bike friendly” route.