Wednesday: not looking too good.

Edit, 2:20pm: Afternoon/evening rain and thunder now appear unlikely. Overall commute rating bumped up to 3 stars.

WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

Debuting a new infographic, now featuring much more graphical information.

To break it down:

In the morning: low 60s, big chance of scattered thunderstorms

In the evening: mid 40s, cloudy with a chance of rain, 12mph winds from NNE.

Rain gear suggestion of the week:

:

DIVVY REPORT: All stations operational.

STREET CLOSURES:

Same as yesterday.

OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

1.75/4. Beware of slippery streets and rogue bolts of lightning.

Enjoy your rides, and follow @BikeReportChi for bike condition updates.

An exciting Monday, what with the corner of East Lake Street and North Michigan Avenue closed down in the afternoon because of a scaffolding issue.

As for Tuesday: a dynamic forecast. Cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon–a 27 degree temperature fluctuation! Dress with versatility.

WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

In the morning: high 40s, partly cloudy, light wind from the southeast.

In the afternoon: Low 70s, partly cloudy, 16mph winds from the south.

According to Tom Skilling, Tuesday should bring a break in chilly lake winds. But non-chilly winds are expected to persist.

Approximate visual representation:

:

Windy, but not too windy. (But cover up if you’re a longhaired cat.)

DIVVY REPORT: All stations operational.

STREET CLOSURES:

Nothin’ new.

Mayor Emanuel also declared today “the start of the paving season.” The following major bike-laned streets are set to be repaved:

W. Armitage Ave. from Kostner to Pulaski (.5 miles)

N. Clark St. from Chicago Avenue to the Chicago River Bridge (.6 miles)

Unclear when this will occur, though.

OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

3/4. Pretty good.

In other news:

In light of the recent story on CPD targeting black neighborhoods for bike tickets, Damon Jones tweeted an interesting map. It shows stolen bike reports in 2012 and 2013:

Click to enlarge.

Bikes reported stolen in 2013:

18th district (mostly majority-white Lincoln Park): 449 reports. 15th district (mostly majority-black Austin): 41 reports.

If we’re to take those numbers as a rough proxy for the number of people riding bikes, or the amount of bike-related crime, then the following is really insane:

Bike tickets during 9 month period in 2016:

Lincoln Park: 5 bike tickets. Austin: 321 bike tickets

Enjoy your commutes, and tweet tips to @bikereportchi.

If we go by the forecast (somewhat risky), we’re approaching peak bike commute conditions on Monday.

SUNRISE/SUNSET/SUN LEVEL:

Little cloud hat indicates mostly sunny.

WEATHER:

Morning: High 40s to high 50s. Negligible wind.

Evening: Anywhere from high 60s to high 40s. ~8mph wind from the northwest.

Note the large temperature fluctuation from high 40s to high 60s.

DIVVY: All stations operational.

STREET CLOSURES: Aside from the crossed-out Easter parades and festivals, not much new.

OVERALL FORECAST RATING:

3.8/4. Quite good.

Big temperature fluctuation throughout the day is the only thing keeping us from a perfect score.

In other news…

As John Greenfield writes, black bike advocates are fighting back against CPD’s practice of targeting black neighborhoods for bike tickets. Police have given out a hugely disproportionate amount of cycling tickets in black neighborhoods, as the Tribune reported last month. Example: 5 citations in Lincoln Park and 321 in Austin during the same 9-month period. Wow.

 

Enjoy the pleasant weather, try not to get a ticket, and tweet tips to @chibikereport.

 

In retrospect, Thursday was kinda nice. Unexpected clear skies in the afternoon created near-peak bike commuting conditions: sunny, little wind, and cool enough not to get too sweaty. CBR’s in-house meteorological staff apologizes for the inaccuracies.

For Friday, things don’t look so good.

PROJECTED FRIDAY COMMUTE RATING: 

2/4. Not great.

SUNRISE/SUNSET:

WEATHER:

In the morning: Mid to high 40s, possibility of rain

In the afternoon/evening: Mid to high 50s, thunderstorms likely after 4pm.

WINDINESS: Not your biggest problem tomorrow. Light, from the east.

DIVVY BIKE REPORT: All stations operational.

STREET CLOSURES:

Apparently the city won’t tell you which streets are closed tomorrow–just the ones that were closed today. This is annoying, and we’re working on solutions.

Also beware of especially rough roads on N. Damen Ave. north of West Montrose, where a water main is being replaced…. right where the bike lane should be. If you’re on skinny tires, perhaps consider another route.

N. Damen and W. Ainslie.

Ouch.

Thanks to Yasmeen at thechainlink.org for the photos.

Stay dry, and enjoy your rides!

Thursday: Like Wednesday, but not as good.

Crying sun indicates high likelihood of rain.

In the morning: Mid 40s, rain likely, cloudy

In the evening: High 40s, cloudy, small chance of rain

WIND: 7-10mph from the east

 

Recommended outfit:

Remember: to best deal with the rain, wear your sunglasses and leave your shoes at home. Otherwise you’ll look like a doofus.

DIVVY BIKE REPORT:

All stations operational.

STREET CLOSURES:

Nothin’ new.

In other news: A sad report from Twitter: RIP, bike lane on South Marshall Boulevard in Little Village/Marshall Square, which has been ripped out and converted to parking. Though never surprising, anti-bike, car-centric thinking always disappoints Chicago Bike Report. Horace Cleveland planned the city’s boulevards over 150 years ago as scenic parklike drives, and were he alive today–and aware of the existence of cars and bicycles–he’d probably be upset about this.

If you’re a constituent, do a good deed and send an angry message to 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas.

Stay dry and enjoy your rides. And send tips to @bikereportchi.

 

 

Wednesday: like Tuesday, but better.

SUNRISE/SUNSET: 

Yellow eyelashes indicate sunniness.

In the morning: mid-high 40s, sunny

In the evening: high 40s, low 50s, partly cloudy. If you’re working late, beware of a small chance of rain around 8pm.

WIND: Very little in the morning, up to 10mph from the east in the afternoon.

Approximate visual representation:

Note: this is a stationary tumbleweed, signifying a lack of wind.

DIVVY BIKE STATIONS:

Fully operational.

STREET CLOSURES:

In other news, Wrigleyville got a little less awful today:

This land next to Wrigley used to be a parking lot. Now it’s public space for a farmers market, movies, ice skating. https://t.co/8PkYuvyGT0 

— Streetsblog Chicago (@streetsblogchi) April 11, 2017

Enjoy your sunny commutes, and tweet your tips to @bikereportchi.

Did the excitement of thunder, and 23mph winds, and a 30 degree temperature fluctuation today overwhelm you? Boy will you appreciate this unremarkable Tuesday.

SUNRISE/SUNSET:

TEMPERATURE: 

Morning: Mid 40s, overcast, slight chance of rain

Evening: Low 50s, overcast, even slighter chance of rain

A return to seasonally appropriate temperatures.

WIND: 10mph from the west. North Side, South Side, West Side–we’re united: wind from the west is generally okay, at least in the morning. Unless you commute somewhere out west.

Approximate visual representation: 

(Sorry.)

STREET CLOSURES:

Yep–the 11500 block of S. Marshfield has a 15-day long street festival.  Perhaps a carnival, according to internet sleuthing.

In other bike commute related news, you may have heard the following shocking headline from Chicagoist or elsewhere:

It’s Official: Chicago Has The Worst Commute In The Country https://t.co/1ayDvYtEks pic.twitter.com/z9sDk6Rusv

— Chicagoist (@Chicagoist) April 7, 2017

Yes, It’s Official: according to a shocking new study by the noted statisticians at autoaccessoriesgarage.com, Chicago has the longest commute time in the country at 32 minutes. Of course if the eggheads at autoaccessoriesgarage.com would get down from their ivory tower, they might realize that we don’t have the worst commute, just the longest. Experience the cardiovascular benefits of riding a bike 32 minutes each way,  foureyeses.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DAY:

You can now easily report “Vehicle Parking in a Bike Lane” online through Chicago’s 311 system: https://t.co/6IdceR9VZM

— CDOT (@ChicagoDOT) March 31, 2017

That’s all for this edition. A pretty unremarkable commuting day overall: fine temperature, little risk of sunburn, and a light breeze to cool your sweaty appendages.

And as ever, tweet tips to @bikereportchi.