Year end wrap up.

Who knew a digital camera would make such a difference in how and what I take pictures of. I'm rarely without my camera these days, much to thank to this outlet of expression. Not since my college radio show have I had so much fun being creative. In many ways this blog is a kin to my radio show. What I write here is the same banter that would go out on the airwaves, instead of music I have pictures to accompany my meaningless rambles and comments substitute for call in requests.

I did some pretty cool stuff this year and Chicago never ceases to amaze me. In February I committed myself to bicycle commuting every day and stopped making excuses for using public transit. By my first snow filled commute I was hooked.

I then realized a dream of mine since I began traveling in life post college. I freakin went to Australia and New Zealand and what a ride it was. The best mountain biking I've ever done was out there and I hit the local trails all the more this season because of it.

The Homer-Hopper exhibit came to town and I think the entire Midwest came with it. By far the most crowded exhibit I've been to and the best in regards to artworks.

Summer was filled with weddings and baseball and Tour de Fat. The pinnacle had to be the century ride that I shared with the best friends around.It was a slow Autumn for climbing but still managed to progress my skills. I hit the single track hard though and finally learned the Palos trail network.

Some gazebo action and a ton of commuting bring us all up to date.The Podcast was great so look for more to come I'm working on one more now and how 'bout some Midwest ski hills too. Stay tuned its all out here you just have to look a little harder.

Snowy Commute

Chicago got hit with our biggest snow of the season and it came just in time for the evening rush hour. The streets were horrible and four wheel traffic took hours to get anywhere. As I crossed Lake Shore Drive on Monroe st some one in a car that hadn't moved for two lights gave me the thumbs up and a fist pump. Its nice to have a cheering section. The lake front path wasn't plowed but the skinny tires cut like a knife through powder drifts anyway so it rode pretty nice. I followed one other track for most of the ride and it belonged to a guy I work with that lives in my neighborhood. I finally caught up to him and we cruised as a pair for a while but I had to keep a faster pace in order to stay upright so we split once we got on the city streets. All in all I think it took me an extra 20 to 30min to get home and my cruiser was a snow covered badge of honor. Enjoy the pics.

Frightful, Frigid,Freakin Freezin.

Holy crap its cold out there. I pedaled in today and to my amazement three other people biked in too. Im so proud of my work bike rack. I wish I could say the same for the city streets. For those who don't know in an order to save money this year public works (or should I say public "works") is not salting any side streets in Chicago and my block looked like the Blackhawks could have played the winter classic in Pilsen instead of Wrigleyville this morning. The attire for riding in consisted of fleece lined cycling bibs, two layers of socks, and my Dickies over it all from the waist down. My torso was covered by a cycling jerzy a long sleeved t-shirt and a fleece jacket while my ski coat covered it all. Neck gator, beanie and gloves keeping their respective parts warm. I cant wait to pedal home.

Winter Biking

We have snow today. Not much can make you feel more alive that sliding on the snow and avoiding city traffic. Today marks the first day of cycling on city streets in the snow. In previous seasons I was situated on the Lakefront path which surprisingly is plowed regularly. This year I live a few miles inland and the snowy commute is very different. Most notable being the wetness factor. The whole point of plowing and salting is to achieve the slurry mix that keeps snow-melt from turning to ice. This makes for a wet ride. On the path there was no slurry so my feet kept dry. Not the case while in the presence of cars and buses. I knew I had it good on the path.

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Old Route vs New Route
map is interactive

A Collective of Inspiration

Its no secret that the most influential time in my life was spent bumming around a town in Summit County, Colorado. Breckenridge is still a place that I retreat to, at least in my mind I haven't step foot in the town in since I made a few recordings of some fellow ski bums. That was in 2005. When I'm in need of some inspiration or motivation I revisit these recordings. I know them inside and out. There are 3 different versions that have been edited each reflecting my state of being at the time. The friends that I were able to document for this piece share a collective experience and their stories are powerful enough to stand alone. The fact of the matter is I've listened to them a lot and Nick's story is so good that I found myself repeating his contagious laugh on occasion. I'd like to give a special thank you to Nick Bohnenkamp, Richard Walford, and Amy Geers for yapping in front of a mic for me. Thanks and enjoy. (Approx 14min)

Download Tommy Riley - Breck Documentary

Keep It Going

The temp is dropping out in the mid-west. North west Indiana got hit with snow today and the mercury in Chicago feels like December. Surprisingly the bike rack at work is still being used. Last winter there were four bikes that rocked the house all winter I'm hoping to see two more out there this season. There was a great article in the Tribune about cycling in the winter yesterday. It was a good how-to and talked about what to wear. The main bullet was that the key to cycling is momentum so keep going and stay motivated. I found motivation in a sweet upright bike storage rack. A few months ago I cruised past a garage sale and saw a few bikes littering the lawn so naturally I stopped to check for some suburban gems. The bikes were decent but lying on the grass was an aluminum pole that the guy thought was a coat rack. It had a $3.00 sticker on it. Not wanting to drop $90 clams on a new one I was gonna build one out of 2X4's. Well it just so happened I had 3 bucks and in the back of the truck it went.

Hanging like that they just beg to be ridden.

The City in Photos

The view from 18th St. Bridge on the way home. This bridge is in one of the shots in the latest Batman movie.

One look at the photos in this site and clearly my favorite subject is the city skyline. Come to think of it my entire portfolio is skyline heavy. When I moved from Hyde Park to Pilsen my bicycle commute changed from lakefront views to riverfront views. Along with the river comes bridges and Chicago has the most movable bridges in the world. On my commute alone I can see 5 and use 2, Roosevelt on the way in and 18th on the way home. The movable bridges are mostly cheese greater style but the new ones have a paved bike lane on the side (below).

Roosevelt (12th St) looking north on my way in.

I was thinking the other day that I pass some pretty cool stuff in my city so I took some time to document my daily ride. Enjoy.Looking south from 18th St.

Commuter rail yard.

Soldier Field. Bear Down Chicago Bears.

My cruiser.

On The Road in the City of Big Shoulders

Jack Kerouac's famous novel which has influenced and inspired so many since it was written has graced Chicago with its presence. Kerouac wrote the "On the Road" on a single scroll 50 years ago. I was enlightened to the tour when the manuscript came to the Denver Public Library in 2007. I read about it on my friend's blog: Denver Dirtbagger his personal account of the book is a far better tale than mine ever could be. The novel also gets a nod in his latest article for the Mountain Gazette The Lost Art of Road Tripping. After reading The Lost Art of Road Tripping I was reminded that Columbia College was bringing the scroll to the Chicago Center for Book & Paper Arts. On my lunch hour that day I took a nice long walk to find the building and have a see for myself. Admittedly, the spur of the moment escapade made a powerful experience for myself. I have never read "On The Road", meaning to in college I purchased Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent instead. Still I was blown away by the exhibit. It also came to my attention that there was a unique opportunity in front of me, the ability to read his first non-edited lines. I was able to read until Alan Ginsberg appears before I had to go back to work. The rest of the day was filled with awe. The quintessential road trip book is a few blocks away from where the Mother Road begins. Check it out its at Columbia College until November 30.

The scroll on display is about 50 feet long and under glass. Sorry no photography is allowed.

Gaper Bike

Back in my ski resort days we had a term for tourists with out of date gear, and folks that wore bluejeans on the slopes. That term was "Gaper" and traditionally April fools day was gaper day. This is a day for "locals" to beat their chests in superiority by dressing up as a tourist. The coveted neon one-si made any local king of gaper day. If there were a gaper day for the MTB world this would be priceless of course this yahoo seems to think a couple grand is reasonable.

Beware of the windowless work van

I encountered a first on my bicycle commute to work a few days ago. I got something thrown at me. As of late I've been feeling a tad confrontational on the road. When I got honked at I'd give a stink eye or when a car would purposely gun past me without sharing the lane my tall finger would appear in all its glory. More times than not shouting match ensued and I was swerved at a few times. I decided that all I was achieving was an adrenaline rush and a sky high heart rate so I chilled out and went to my happy place and had a few weeks of zen commuting. The other day in a construction zone in the Loop I got zipped past by a work van. It scared the shit out of me and I gave in to a shouting match and was swerved at then while 2 lanes away a cardboard box was tossed out the passenger window and fell to the street. Really..? I'm going to get crap thrown at me. Ridiculous. Maybe a new route is in order to limit my Loop time travel.

Build a Gazebo?....Yeah I can do that.

I was once told a story by a friend's dad that started out "So I was a professional truck driver for 20 years one summer." It has gotten out that I know my way around power tools and therefore I became a professional carpenter for 20 years one year in August. This project was requested by my Grandmother who lives in a small town off I-80 named Marseilles (pronounced phonetically). The town is an hours drive from Chicago and has only one hardware store, closed on Sunday. The nearest big box, Menards, is 30min away clearly this is going to complicate things. A two weekend gig is now a month long job. However despite all the challenges a month worth of quality time with grandma was well worth it. This was the largest project I have completed and I am pretty darn proud of how it turned out.

Of course it had to be placed on the least level spot on the property. Nine holes to be dug and the same number of concrete bags to mix.

With no help on framing day I quickly realized I needed a third hand and with a quick look in the garage eureka! better than human hands to hold it level.

2x6's are heavy when they are 12' long and treated. The 16 year old Explorer was loaded down to the max and then some. Definitely the most I have ever hauled.
Put 'yer dancin' shoes on cause thats one fine platform. I should have taken a picture of the bubble level.
Gazebo time. This is the whole reason for the deck. Luckily it was kit and I just had to put the jigsaw puzzle together. Still it took some 12 hours.
I got some needed help from my Dad when it came time for the roof. I had help with the concrete stage at the beginning too from Dad and my Uncle Eddie.
I was told that the whole project was for a tea party, well any thing worth dooin' is worth dooin' right.It looks pretty good from the street too.
A special thanks to my sister for the pictures.

Jackson Falls

The Labor Day weekend has come and gone. My brother and I got out to Shawnee National Forest for some sport climbing at Jackson Falls. To get to Jackson Falls get ready for a 6 hour drive from Chicago and on a holiday weekend give yourself 2 hours just to get out of the city. With no camping permits or check-in times needed its not a big deal to arrive at midnight so your rested for a full day of climbing on Sat. We weren't the only ones that had that idea either. As we pulled up another car from Chicago was too. I really have to give it up to the climbing community every body down there was really nice and quick to offer their guide book in exchange for good conversation. We met some great people and even picked up a third person for a few routes that allowed us to take some wicked pictures.

Jackson Falls is certainly unique. The only place I know of that you have to climb down in order to scale up. It also caters to horse riders and ATVs in some areas. The camping is open and primitive, which makes for great setting when you need to leave the city behind. The forest canopy is so thick that you can't see stars which is a bummer but if you do like all of us you can turn on the head lamps and hike to the railroad tracks and look up .

Kenny on the Rappel

The climbing is mostly Sport and Trad however we did see some Top Rope. I have yet to venture into Trad climbing I am progressing though. I led my first 5.10a (below) on Spleef Peak. We hit this climb on Sunday and I have to thank my brother Kenny for some awesome pictures.

Kenny hit the shot perfect on this.

Trail Riding Frenzy, Aug 10

Nice Flowy Singletrack.

The trail runners were pulled off the storage hooks yet once again on Sunday. Its funny, my reintroduction to the bicycle as an adult came in the form of mountain biking yet I participate in this of the two wheeled activities the least these days. There is a lot of work that goes into trail riding. Getting to a trail for one requires getting out of the concrete jungle and into the 'burbs. Cook and Will County have a fairly large network of forest preserves that cater to nature hikes and horse trails. There are also some rider maintained single track in the south suburbs with an official network in the Palos Hills Forest area. It is also a social activity (at least it is with the crew I ride with) so getting everyone to the trail can really be the toughest part. Now that wedding season has died down and the major city fests are out of the way, time is ripe to enjoy what lies outside of the city limits. Within a 45min drive lies Sweetwoods trail network in Glenwood, Il and the Pulaski Woods network in Palos Hills, Il. These pics are from Sweetwoods and I consider this trail to be my local XC trail.

Sweet Woods Climb.

Climbing in early July

Devils Lake framed by the pines.

Right after Independence Day my brother and I got out for some top rope climbing in Devils Lake state park in Wisconsin. We drove about half way the day before and decided to stare at a campfire for a few hours before we made it to the park. This wasn't well planned on our part because the entire midwest had the same idea. Our regular spots at the park were already being climbed so we set up at a section called "The Pantry". Not a bad bit of climbing for our first time out however we were both glad we hadn't brought any newcomers out. We surly would have made them nervous. It took us a while to get the pre-climb protection perfect. We got three or four routes in apiece. The drive home was the pits. It was like ski traffic on I-70 all the way to Chicago.

Kenny getting prepped.

Kenny climbing.

Here I am getting ready for some quartzite awesomeness.

My climb photo by Kenny.

A Century of Progress

My two cycling buddies and I accomplished a major bicycling milestone on Sunday. The same crew that went to the Midwest Mountain Biking Festival took to the road for our first Century Ride. 100 miles of human power on two wheels in one day. It all began with a train ride on Amtrak from Homewood, Il to Champlain. Il. We picked up our third rider, carbed up and hit the road Sunday morning from Paxton, Il. The time was 6:30 am, just after a brief sunrise that immediately rose into a dark overcast sky. The scene was very quiet with nothing but the sound of rubber grabbing at the asphalt of Rt 9 while the three of us fully woke up on our bicycles. There was a nice tailwind that kindly pushed us to Hoopeston. We turned North at Hoopeston onto Rt 1, Dixie Hwy. Now with a constant crosswind a misty rain began to fall, 'look on the bright side its not hot'. The mist would come and go for the most of the morning, early risers would wave from their porches as we rode by. It all made for a nice start. We stopped every 20 miles or so to fill water bottles chow down some energy bars and of course field questions like "How far you goin'?" and "Where did ya start?" Conversations began to pop in and out, a lot of shop talk about our bikes and poking fun at rural Illinois. Corn on the right, soy on the left. Then a new theme began to appear. Full size trucks, SUV's and muscle cars along the side of the road all of them with "For Sale" written on them. A little surreal watching someone's way of life changing along a hundred mile stretch. The sun came out the wind never let up and little by little roads got closer together and traffic increased potholes became more frequent then one by one our bicycle computers turned 99-100, "I'm there, how far you got?", "Quarter mile", "7 tenths, 8-9, one hundred miles" We all hit the century mark 10 miles from the end point. At just under 7 hours we finished our trek and celebrated with gyros from our favorite fast food joint along with the women that humored us and said we were crazy. The three of us all read the same magazine article about century rides and the author's parting remarks said that it was a nice way to spend a day he was right.


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Shawnee National Forest Photos from May

At the end of May I went camping down in Southern Illinois. Its pretty amazing that after a six hour drive the country can change so dramatically. Southern Illinois is home to the only national forest in the state, Shawnee National Forest. Besides trees the forest is full of giant sandstone cliffs with water features and moss. Some of the best hiking and climbing is found in Shawnee. Most of our time was spent around Giant City State park which has a fantastic exhibit on the Civilian Conservation Corp that was part of President Roosevelt's New Deal. Giant City, with all of its sandstone cliffs and caverns was key during the Civil War as it was on the border of the North and South. The walls literally show their history. Generations have been carving their initials and dates into the sandstone since mid 1800's (earliest I saw). I have some mixed feelings on this. I like seeing the earliest accounts but the later and most recent etchings I could do without. Also the first etchings were certainly left for posterity, made with nice typography the graffiti I saw from this year was 5 min chicken scratch. Lets leave no trace out there and remember to tread lightly. Leave it to our imaginations as to who might have been here before.

This was the beginning of an extremely wet June.

Shawnee from a high point.

A damp foggy passage with my kid sister for scale.

Cave art or graffiti.

Andy in the cavern.

A dripping waterfall for serenity's sake.