Did You Get Caught in the Chicago Storm on Your Bike This Morning?

by on July 11, 2011

We returned this weekend from a lovely family vacation up north where we swam in clear lake waters, slept-in late, rode our bikes and basically enjoyed perfectly warm days, cool nights, and no alarm clocks.  This morning we forced ourselves back into our work routines and made our preparations to head out the door.  Andrew kissed me goodbye and headed down the stairs to grab the Yuba Mundo for his ride to work.   As you can see by the photo below, he made it a couple of miles before BOOM – torrential downpours and 75-mph winds – really, read this article if you think I’m exaggerating – it knocked out power to 850,000 people!

A Yuba in the rain

A Yuba in the rain

He locked it up and went the rest of the way to work by bus.
What about you? Did you get caught in the rain, wind and hail this morning?

Related posts:

  1. Bike to Work Week – Chicago Style
  2. Bike Winter – Go Forth and Conquer That Ice!
  3. Kinzie Street Chicago – Poof! It’s a Protected Bike Lane!
  4. A Great Bike Route to/from the Chicago Lakefront & A Secret Garden
  5. Fall is Truly Here – Time to Dig Out Some Bike Gloves

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  • http://dottiebrackett.com Dream Dottie

    Why yes – yes I did.  Sorry to hear Andrew also got stuck in the storm, but at the same time it’s oddly comforting.  Like, I wasn’t the only goofball out there.  :)  I wanted to lock up my bike and take the Fullerton brown line, but I only had one lower-end u-lock and I was riding Betty, so that was a no-go.  I ended up waiting the worst out at a bank and then biking home before getting on the L.  

    I don’t mind riding in the rain – it’s the wind, thunder and lightening that I mind.  

    • http://dingdingletsride.com Ms. Ding

      Going back home was a good idea. I bet he was thinking about that as he tried to dry off at work (gotta love those hand dryers!) though his schedule isn’t very flexible. And yeah, the rain is not such a big deal, but that thunder and lightening will keep me off my bike any day!

  • http://southernspokes.wordpress.com Nik

    I got caught in the rain down here in Mobile for my ride home.  There was a monster thunderstorm that roared through.  I waited out the worst of it and rode in the tail end of it.  After 8 hours sitting in a cube I quite like riding in the rain.  It’s like a little adventure!  How does the Yuba hold up under the elements.  If I was to get one it would stay outside.  

    • http://dingdingletsride.com Ms. Ding

      You sound like Andrew – he loves riding in the rain and storms.. though not so much when he is on his way to work! But yeah, riding through the rain after a day in a cube can be invigorating. The storms we had this am though were a bit more scary – trees were falling over left and right, gutters came off buildings, and then there was the hail. We’ve only had the Yuba about 2 months , and it mostly stays inside so we can’t comment yet about it’s weather-worthiness. It held up fine today though! We’ll have to keep you posted.