We’ve had a busy week behind the scenes at Chicago Bike Report. No, we won’t bore you with the details, but some of it has caused spotty bike report service. We regret the inconvenience.

Anyway, Friday: probably rainy, possibly thundery.

FRIDAY WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

Overall: high 82, low 66, 80% chance of rain with lightning possible

AM: low 70s, mostly cloudy, possibly rainy, with high humidity and winds from the south-southwest at 6 MPH.

PM: low 80s, mostly cloudy, 40% chance of thunderstorms, wind from the south-southwest at 10MPH.

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RECOMMENDED RAIN GEAR OF THE DAY:

In light of expected rain tomorrow, consider other forms of pedal-powered precipitation protection.

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LETTUCE CAT WEATHER GIF OF THE DAY:

Or, a lettuce hat sturdy enough to repel rain.

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DIVVY REPORT: All stations online. Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

 

2/4. Watch out for lightning! Enjoy rides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday: not looking too good. Windy with possible thunderstorms. Like, really pretty windy.

WEDNESDAY WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

Overall: high 83, low 70, thunderstorms likely, with wind gusts from the south up to 30 MPH.

Jeez.

AM: low 70s, mostly cloudy, wind from the south at 16 MPH

PM: low 80s, cloudy, 40% chance of rain and thunder, with winds at 21 MPH.

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VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF EXPECTED WINDINESS:

Yes, we only have 3 cat gifs that depict high winds. This is one of them. But the point is, it’s windy.

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Recommended Aerodynamic Gear of the Week:

Highly practical for windy days.

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DIVVY REPORT: All stations online. Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

2/4. Not great. If you’re traveling north in the morning, it’ll be a breeze. If you’re traveling north in the afternoon, it’ll be a nightmare.

Ride your bike anyway! Enjoy.

Tuesday: like Monday, but a little better in every way!

Overall: high 75, low 61, mostly sunny, nice, pleasant, etc.

AM: mid 60s, sunny, wind from the west at 7 mph

PM: low 70s, mostly sunny, wind from the southwest at 9 mph

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Feline Representation of Expected Windiness:

Honestly, it’s probably not even windy enough to knock a clover off a cat’s head.

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A harrowing tale from the road…

While riding west on Main Street in Evanston today, I pulled up to a red light at Chicago Avenue. My route was to take me 50 feet down Main Street, where I would take a left onto Custer Avenue. I followed standard, safe procedure and took the lane. I was the first one to the light. A couple cars lined up behind me. All very mundane stuff.

The light turns green. I go. As I cross Main I hear a car revving its engine, swerving in and out of the lane behind me. What’s this person’s problem? I think. I was going 20, about the speed of traffic, and there was a stop sign not too far ahead. I wasn’t holding anything up. I look around and see an angry-looking light blue Honda CR-V. I give a “calm down” hand signal, because come on, I was turning off of the road in literally 20 feet. I was following all traffic protocols to a t! I understand certain motorists’ irrational response to law-abiding cyclists, but of all moments to get pissed off at a cyclist, why now?

The driver floors it. She sidles up next to me and yells that I should get out of the road–you know, standard angry driver stuff. And then she swerves the car towards me, as if to ram me. I swerve out of the way. If I didn’t I’m confident she would’ve hit me.

She speeds away. In between profanities I think to shout out her license plate number to help me remember it. I chased her for a bit – she had a car, so it didn’t work out. Then, out of breath and defeated, I called the police to file a report.

Luckily the shouting trick worked, and I was able to provide the license plate number, vehicle make and model, and a description of the driver. The police dispatcher sent a cop to take my statement – who then actually tracked the driver down. (I got lucky that this took place in Evanston, not Chicago.) The officer gave the driver a stern talking-to, which was the best I could hope for considering the lack of witnesses or videotapes.

The driver, the officer told me afterwards, seemed “high-strung.” (Yes, that was my impression.) She conveyed her apologies for yelling at me but denied swerving towards me. She also explained that she didn’t know cyclists were allowed to ride in the street. So you can see why she tried to murder me – an honest mistake!

All things considered, this was a pretty good outcome. Thanks, Evanston Police and Officer Bagnell (I think I have that right) for treating my complaint with appropriate seriousness and doing the legwork. And as always, please watch out for lunatics.

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DIVVY REPORT: All stations online. Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

3.75/4. Near perfect! Ride your bike!

Friday: less hot, less windy, but probably the same level of wetness compared to Thursday.

FRIDAY WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

Overall: high 80, low 62, cloudy, 50% chance of rain.

AM: low 70s, ~40% chance of rain, wind from the north-northeast at 9 MPH.

PM: high 70s, mostly cloudy, wind from the north at 7 MPH.

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AUDIOVISUAL REPRESENTATION OF FRIDAY WEATHER:

 

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RECOMMENDED RAIN GEAR OF THE DAY:

Consider a Gripmotoriker® poncho to protect some of you from that early mornin’ rain.

Replete with a cutout for legs, which is very useful for lots of reasons which I won’t go into here.

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DIVVY REPORT: all stations online except for Phillips Ave & 82nd St., which even still remains stubbornly closed. Maybe it’s closed forever? Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

2.25/4. Should be all right, even with precipitation.

Wednesday: wasn’t it nice? Remember how cool, calm, and pleasant it was? Good. Now forget it, because none of it matters anymore.

THURSDAY WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

Overall: high 91, low 69, windy from the southwest with 20% chance of rain midday.

AM: low 80s, partly cloudy, wind from the southwest at 14mph

PM: high 80s/low 90s, partly cloudy, windy from the south-southwest at 17mph.

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APPROXIMATE VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF WEATHER:

Because it’s really hot and really windy.

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DIVVY REPORT: all stations online except for Phillips Ave & 82nd St., which remains stubbornly closed. Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

This rating raises philosophical questions. Extreme heat is bad. High winds are bad. But when combined, is the whole better or worse than the sum of its parts? A windy hot day means you have to exert more energy to go the same speed. But the wind might also cool you down. All of which is to say, you can take this many different directions.

1.5/4. It’s gonna suck regardless. Bring a change of clothes and enjoy your rides!

Just when you thought you were going to spend the rest of the summer enduring a sweaty, humid, wet, lightning-ridden cycling existence, think again!

Enjoy it while you can, because Thursday’s set to be awful.

WEDNESDAY WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

Look at that! Can it get any better?

Overall: high 74, low 68, mostly sunny with modest winds from the east-ish

AM: high 60s, sunny, negligible wind

PM: low 70s, partly cloudy, wind from the east at 10 MPH

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FELINE WEATHER REPRESENTATION:

Here we see A) sunny skies, and B) responsible use of helmets. Protect yourself.

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DIVVY REPORT: all stations online, except for Phillips Ave & 82nd St. Still. Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

4/4. Perfect! What a day! Ride your bike! Or don’t, and regret it.

Tuesday: like Monday, but a little better. Cooler and sunnier, with the rain (we hope) confined to non-commuting hours.

TUESDAY BIKE FORECAST:

Overall: high 77, low 60, partly cloudy, rain 70% likely in the early afternoon. Thunder possible.

AM: high 60s, sunny, wind from the west-southwest at 8 MPH.

PM: high 60s, partly cloudy, rain possible, wind from the southwest at 9 MPH.

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DIVVY REPORT: all stations online, except for Phillips Ave & 82nd St. Still. Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

2.5/4. Hedging, because if it rains, it’ll be worse than this, and if it doesn’t rain, it’ll be better.

Abbreviated post because of big day tomorrow. Gotta prep! Enjoy rides!

An unfortunate start to the week Monday, with scattered thunderstorms expected in the morning and the evening. Oy. But at least it cools down a bit from last week.

MONDAY WEATHER INFOGRAPHIC:

Overall: high 75, low 60. Scattered thunderstorms with an 80% chance of rain.

AM: 70 degrees, mostly sunny, 35% chance of isolated thunderstorms

PM: low 70s, partly cloudy, 50% chance of thunderstorms, windy from the west-northwest at 14mph

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RECOMMENDED RAIN GEAR OF THE DAY:

Biking poncho, available for humans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and felines.

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DIVVY REPORT: all stations online, except for Phillips Ave & 82nd St. Up-to-the-minute updates here.

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STREET CLOSURES

and

PARTIAL STREET CLOSURES

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OVERALL COMMUTE RATING:

1.85/4. Because hey, the thunderstorms are supposed to be isolated, and at least it won’t be 90 degrees. Enjoy your rides!