Lakefront Path

Went on a bike ride on the Lakefront Path here in Chicago. It's maintained immaculately, runs up and down Lake Michigan (obviously) with a number of places to stop and check out, and is easily accessible. But I gotta be honest, I'm not a big fan.

I've been on it quite a bit and have done all 18.5 miles of it many times. Yes, there are some nice sections to the north and south, but the middle 10 miles is infested with walkers, runners, bicyclists, skaters, and dog walkers. No big though, what do you expect in a big city? But it's the people themselves.

You've got bicyclists who treat the Path like their personal training grounds, rocketing along and around corners at 30 mph without warning. Groups of joggers ignore the drawn lanes designating directional traffic, line up across the already narrow path, and bitch at you when you try to squeeze through them. The oblivious cut across the path without signaling or looking. Others react unpredictably when you warn them of your presence, as if they're on a path that's not supposed to have people on it. And the fucked up thing is that it's not the tourists, it's the residents who don't seem to know any better. Congestion is expected, stupidity is not.

That said, it is in itself a beautiful and nicely maintained path. If you show up early enough or during the off season, it is a fantastic little ride to take.


Casual snap of racked bikes. Notice the ubiquitous pink Nalgene.


Enjoying the view during one of our breaks.


Ramps, ramps, ramps.

Sauce

Saucey

Some of Me

There really aren't many pictures of me here, so I decided to try to dig a couple up but realized I don't have many of myself taken with my own camera (for obvious reasons). These are ones that Mike took of me from a couple hiking trips from way back in the day. Check them out.


From South Manitou Island, went with Mike and Mark. On one of our days here, we dropped our packs and took a day hike across the island, through a forest of gigantic cedar trees, up and over some vast dunes, and culminating in a lengthy and hurried hike along the beach back to our campsite. Shortly after this photo was taken, I realized I misplaced my favorite headlamp. Since I'm an idiot, I decided to backtrack solo with only a little Maglite. After an hour or so of randomly shining the Maglite around in the dark (the sun had set long ago by now), I somehow found it, completely soaked from the ebbing waves. I started hauling ass back. Our camp was hidden in the forest right off the beach, and since I was exhausted, hungry, and shivering, everything looked pretty much the same. But with some more luck, I somehow figured out where the camp was, made myself dinner, and happily passed out in my tent clutching my headlamp.


This is from one of the hikes I already talked about in a previous post. Great vistas, lots of solitude, and interesting terrain. Despite being one of my less extreme hikes, it was one of my favorites.


Interesting terrain. Half the hike was elevated above the lake by about 50-100 feet, providing lots of opportunities to really soak in the view. The weather took a turn for the worse towards the end of the hike, and you can see the moisture really starting to roll in here, totally washing out the sky. On this hike, Mike and I got lost trying to find our next campsite. Basically, someone (that wasn't me) took way too long do anything, eventually forcing us to hike in the dark and miss a trailhead. Usually I'd just say fuck it and find a place to setup and wait until morning, but this park had designated campsites - no open backcountry camping. Ended up going in circles, but slowly did the math and made it safely to our spot.

Old River Walk Pic

Bike Ride Through the Lagoons

Cathy and I went to the Skokie Lagoons for a bike ride on the North Branch Bicycle Trail during the week to finally stretch out her bike's legs a little bit. It was a relatively short and leisurely 13 mile bike ride. It meanders through a forest preserve which provides abundant shade, it stops at various clearings with lagoon access, and we had a couple close encounters with some deer grazing mere feet away around the corner. It's a paved path, so it's more suitable for road bikes and joggers, but it was such a nice day it didn't even matter. Get ready for lots of green:


Cathy practicing the mechanics behind low and high gear in this clearing.


Panning shot of Cathy on the path. All smiles.


Our bikes, the path, and Cathy. Halfway through, decided to take a break in this clearing to enjoy the weather.


And of course the custom pink bottle cage on Cathy's bike, complete with pink Nalgene bottle.

Did You Know...

that there's a Pocky for Men? An American equivalent to that is like a Snicker Bars for Women, or Cheetos for Men. Not too sure why, but I find that funny.


Seriously. Found it in some random Chinatown snack shop.

Cathy's Hair

Albert: Why did you get your hair cut?
Cathy: I wanted a change in style. I was bored with my long hair.

Albert: So do you miss your old hair?
Cathy: It's too early to tell. I'm having fun with my new hair style, but I do miss ponytails.

Albert: Do you think this hair interview is stupid?
Cathy: Unnecessary but not stupid.

Albert: By unnecessary, do you mean awesome?
Cathy: No, I mean unnecessary.

Albert: Awesome it is. Thanks for talking with me.
Cathy: ...

Pre-haircut Cathy:





Post-haircut Cathy:

Flash, Hair, Fruit

Flash: I haven't had too much time for photography, but I recently acquired an external flash. I have no idea how to really use these things properly as I always preferred natural light over artificial, even in dark situations. Still, it will be handy to have one of these things around for certain occasions. Will post some results whenever I get around to it.

Hair: Cathy chopped off a significant portion of her hair. She was a little uncertain about it, but I think it looks great. I'll post those results too whenever I get around to it.


Fruit: A lot of it is in season. Delicious.

(blank)

Recovering Q

Quentin's surgery went well and he is being cared for by his grandparents, who are Grade A certified professional dog caretakers. I don't think anyone has taken care of Q as well as my parents.

This weekend has been quite warm and humid. Went to some BBQ's, where we mostly sit around, drink beer, and complain about how hot it is. As hot as it is, it only means that it's time to start biking, hiking, kayaking, climbing, swimming and all that other good stuff.

Random photo from the archives:


I don't like scary movies, but not because they are scary. I'm not sure why, but I find them boring or at best, mildly funny. Personally, I find some of Shel Silverstein's children's poems to be creepier than most scary movies.

Finals

It's that time of year again. Finals. Cake finals.

These are from Cathy's final cake decorating class. She graduated.


Very impressive basket weave cake. We took this to my parents' house to eat - it was a hit. Pictured cake platter was bought from some random antique store in Evanston.


Nice little batch of flowers on top.


Second cake. Cathy made this Tiffany's & Co. inspired cake. This second pictured cake platter was also bought from that same store in Evanston as a complement to the first.


Flower arrangement.

Praying for Q and Climbing an Old Wall

Quentin goes under the knife this Thursday, wish him well and pray for a speedy recovery. I hope the little guy doesn't get too freaked out.

I've gone back to rock climbing. I've also realized how stiff my body has become due to not climbing for two years, and not really doing any sport/activity that requires flexibility in the meantime. I'm on the wall, past experience tells me how to move, I assume I can make it, and I fail in an epic fashion. Just can't correctly gauge my skill right now. It'll come back though. Fast, I hope.


Old building front near Logan's Square. I bet someone used to be proud of that sign.


Q smelling the air on an overcast morning.