A Windy Ride along the Lake

It was dark and windy this morning when I hopped on my bike to head to Hyde Park at 7:00 am.  I was counting on a strong tail wind to speed me along, and it was there.   It was not really raining, so that was a plus also.  But the strength and majesty of the Lake was something that I had not considered. 

The sky was several shades of gray, mostly the darker ones, with only a little patch of dirty white far out over the Lake.  The wind stirred the waters into a mighty fury, with waves larger than I have ever seen.  They had to be larger than ten feet, pounding on the beach, bringing with its might pieces of logs, rocks, and, I am guessing, some fish, as the sea gulls were scurrying around looking for breakfast.

It was a beautiful sight as I pedaled past Belmont Harbor and the clanking of the moorings of all of the sailboats still there.  Folks were out with cameras and Iphones taking pictures of this demonstration of power. 

But when I reached Fullerton I found the Lake really didn’t wish me to proceed farther on my way along the bike path.  The waves were crashing in an unending rhythm along the concrete pathway, and they were not just coming and lapping over the edifice, but rising above the path and crashing down across its entire width.  This was occurring for a stretch of about 200 yards.  I thought for a milli-second about riding through this turbulence, but quickly regained my senses as I would have been knocked off of my bike immediately.   

So I followed the other biker out then and a couple of runners up to the grass and gravel just next to Lake Shore Drive and proceeded on at a slower speed.  After the 200 yard water hazard was over I returned to the regular bike path and continued along, with only having to keep my eyes open for the lapping style of waves.  When I got to the Oak Street beach and the large retaining wall that keeps Lake Shore Drive from falling into the Lake, I stayed as close to the wall, and as far from the turbid and turbulent waters as possible.  But the Lake wanted to demonstrate its power again and the waves gained strength and height, and soaked me from my waist down.  Luckily the Lake tired of threatening me and receded before I reached Navy Pier.

During the rest of my ride I was able to keep my distance from the raging Lake and could just admire its beauty and majesty from afar.

I completed my fourteen mile trip in 53 minutes, not as quickly or as dry as I had hoped. 

Now I look forward to the return trip this evening and can only hope that the wind and the Lake calm down.

Take care.