Chicago Sports & Outdoors Tips by Dabs Top 5 Page for this destination

Boulevard Lakefront Tour (BLT) Individual Sports: Biking, Golfing, Jogging, Turtle Racing, etc. Review

Sunday August 28, 2011, in 2010 the starting location changed from the University of Chicago Campus in Hyde Park to the University of Illinois-Chicago campus at Morgan and Taylor streets, in 2011 renamed from the Boulevard Lakefront Tour (BLT) to the Four Star Bike Tour

2011 was the 5th time we've done the Four Star Bike Tour/BLT, it's one of my favorite organized rides because it goes along along the many once grand boulevards in Chicago, most of which the normal visitor or even locals don't get to see because there aren't any tourist attractions along much of the route. There's a $30 registration fee that goes to the Active Transportation Alliance, you get a nice tshirt and some snacks along the way. If you pre register, you can save a few dollars.

Some of the boulevards with the most interesting things to see are located in neighborhoods that you might not want to ordinarily ride your bike through but I figured there's safety in numbers with a couple thousand people riding through. I've been through most of these areas in a car but I thought it was really cool seeing it from a bicycle.

The routes this year were 12, 21, 35 or 66 miles, we usually do the 32-35 mile ride although we did the shorter 21 mile ride in 2011 due to some health issues and extremely strong winds. Until 2010 the ride started at the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park, the past two years it started near the UIC campus on Taylor Street. Although I would have preferred to see this event stay as a southside event, the routes still take you through the southside. And I get to have yummy Mexican food afterwards at the Maxwell Street Market.

The route travels along Chicago's boulevards and a stretch along the lakefront, every year the route changes slightly. One year we went down Prairie Avenue, sometimes through Chinatown, another year through Bronzeville. The route usually goes through some of Chicago's fabulous parks and always through interesting neighborhoods and along the lakefront, in 2011 we went through Pilsen, Kenwood, and Hyde Park before heading back along the lakefront. We were just a block away from Barack Obama's home in Kenwood at one point.

There are several rest stops along the way with healthy snacks, toilets and water and there are folks along the way to help out with flat tires. Since we ended at UIC, we walked over after the ride and went to the Maxwell Street Market for some steak quesadillas and churros.

Equipment: You must bring your own bike and helmet.

Address: UIC Campus

Directions: Taylor & Morgan Streets

Theme: Biking

Website: http://fourstarbiketour.org/

North Branch bike trail Individual Sports: Biking, Golfing, Jogging, Turtle Racing, etc. Review

The North Branch trail is probably the nicest, best maintained bicycle trail in Chicago/Illinois. The 20 mile trail starts at Caldwell Woods on the city's northwest side (Milwaukee and Devon) and travels north to the Botanic Gardens in Glencoe (the gardens are free if you arrive by bike), going through many wooded areas and forest preserves and past the Skokie Lagoons.

A map of the North Branch trail can be seen at the website below as well as some of the other bike trails in the Chicagoland area.

Theme: Biking

Bobby's Bike Hikes Individual Sports: Biking, Golfing, Jogging, Turtle Racing, etc. Review

I've now done two of Bobby's Bike Hikes, the 1st was the Lakefront Neighborhood tour that I took with a few VTers back in 2004. I thought that as a native Chicagoan that I might find this tour a little dull but the tour actually took me by a few places that I had heard of but had never seen (Playboy Mansion, Cardinal's residence, Abraham Lincoln statue) and a few hidden corners that I had not explored. The pace is very slow, perfect for casual riders.

The 2nd tour was done in conjunction with the Great Places and Spaces festival and this time we did the Obama tour that started from their downtown location, around 20 miles in length. There is a shorter tour but you have to get yourself to the southside location. We started off down the lakefront path, stopping only for a couple of equipment malfunctions before going under Lake Shore Drive at 63rd Street. From there we rode past the Statue of the Republic, through the Wooded Isle and by the Osaka Gardens, the University of Chicago Campus and then up to Obama's current home which is blocked off by cement barriers and patroled by Chicago police. The tour ends up at the Hyde Park Art Center. The Obama trivia wasn't the highlight of the tour for me, the stops seemed almost contrived to make it so they could call it an Obama tour-the place he played basketball, where he taught law school, an apartment building where he lived and his current home. But I would recommend it for those of you who want to see a different slice of Chicago than downtown, the Hyde Park and University of Chicago area is quite beautiful and the lakefront path is delightful. The 20 mile tour was very moderately paced, if you are a speed demon you may find the pace a little slow.

Equipment: The cost of the Lakefront tour is $32 which includes a fat tire bike complete with a bell but you can bring your own bike and get a $5 discount on the price of the tour. The Obama tour is either $32 or $43 depending on which one you choose.

Address: 465 N. McClurg Court

Directions: Ogden Slip at River East Docks, just south of Illinois Street between Columbus Drive and Lake Shore Drive

Theme: Biking

ESPN Zone/Dave & Buster's

ESPN Zone in Chicago closed for good in June 2010, there are still locations in California

ESPN Zone and Dave & Buster's are similar entertainment venues that are filled with young kids and us old folks who like to pretend we are young kids. Both visits we went with my niece and nephew, EPSN Zone back in 2005 and more recently in December 2008 to Dave & Buster's. Both are filled with video games and interactive games, it seemed like ESPN Zone had more of the interactive sports games and Dave & Buster's had more of the ones that looked like gambling machines.

ESPN differs in that it is filled with TV screens playing every sort of sport imaginable (I can just imagine the number of people here during NCAA finals or the Superbowl!), there is also a restaurant and a bar serving drinks which plenty of people were toting around with them, the crowd here is a little order because of the sports watching. Dave & Buster's also has a restaurant, we ate here and the food was OK, similar to Chili's but not as good. But the meal here came with card options, I got a $20 card and my meal was only $3.99. The clientele here was mostly young kids.

At Dave & Buster's we each had our own $20 card, the kids had a $30 card and they finished up before us. They were more interested in racking up tickets so they could trade them in for prizes, my husband and I got sucked into blasting T Rexs and velociraptors on the Jurassic Park game and we used a good chunk of our card on getting to the end of that.

At ESPN Zone we shared a $25 card for 125 points of video games. 125 points doesn't go all that far when split between 4 people, the games seemed to range between 4 points for shooting hoops and 12 points for hockey where you shoot goals against a wooden goalie. In between is every kind on interactive video sport you can imagine-bowling, golf, boxing, wave runners, NASCAR, white water rafting, foozball, air hockey, etc. Not a big video game fan myself, I actually found a lot of these to be fun as they are a little more interactive than the ones the kids are so entranced with. A 2nd $25 card got us through, stayed about 1 1/2 hours in total.

Directions: ESPN Zone 43 E. Ohio, River North
Dave & Busters, 1030 N. Clark, Gold Coast

Other Contact: http://www.espnzone.com/chicago/

Theme: Other

Website: http://www.daveandbusters.com/

Bike the Drive Individual Sports: Biking, Golfing, Jogging, Turtle Racing, etc. Review

2010-May 30, 2010, held on the Sunday before Memorial Day annually

We are usually out of town Memorial Day weekend but we were in town in 2003 and 2006 so we signed up for Bike the Drive, one of the funnest Chicago area bike rides. Bike the Drive, sponsored by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, is a 15 or 30 mile ride on Lake Shore Drive which was closed off to traffic from 5:30 am to 10:00 am. The course goes south to the Museum of Science and Industry and north to the end of Lake Shore Drive at Bryn Mawr.

It may not look like it from the attached photo but approximately 18,000 cyclists attended this event in 2003, attendance was over 20,000 in 2006.

There are several rest stops with healthy snacks and water. The registration fee includes a t-shirt although they often run out of the size you want at these events.

Although many Chicago bicyclists thought closing Lake Shore Drive to cars would be great permanently, the most they can hope for is that this will be an annual event. But Chicago is still a very bike friendly city and the city sponsors many biking events during the summer months.

Equipment: You must have your own bike and helmet.

Directions: Starts at Grant Park

Theme: Biking

Website: http://www.bikethedrive.org/

Charity runs/bike rides/walks Individual Sports: Biking, Golfing, Jogging, Turtle Racing, etc. Review

In the warmer months, there are a bazillion 5k runs, walks, triathlons and bike rides benefitting every charitable organization you can think of. Registration fees are usually $20-30 that mostly benefit the charity and you get to get a little exercise in while seeing a part of the city.

We usually do several during the summer, some of the ones we do include:

Breast Cancer 5K held on Mother's Day, over 25,000 people show up for this one

Bark in the Park 5K, benefiting the Anti Cruelty Society, you can bring your 4 legged friends with you for this one :-)

Jim Gibbons 5K, benefiting the Leukemia Foundation

Late Ride, benefiting the Friends of the Park

BLT, benefiting the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation

Theme: Other

2005 World Series Champions BASEBALL - Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field Review

Last visit July, 2008

The last White Sox game I attended, before today, was at the old Comiskey Park and the only real memory I have from it is driving through the neighborhood trying to find parking and being chased by a guy with a baseball bat!

The White Sox started playing at the new Comiskey Park in 1991 (renamed US Cellular Field in 2003, a name that I will never call it) but we never seemed to find time to go to another game. My interest, along with many other Chicagoans, was renewed when playoff fever spread in 2005 and the Sox chewed up their opponents, the White Sox eventually swept the World Series 4-0 over the Houston Astros. Chicagoans, most of whom were not alive in 1908, the last time the Cubs won the World Series, or 1917 when the White Sox won their last World Series, went crazy!!!!

I jumped at the chance to go when my brother in law said he had a couple of extra tickets for what turned out to be a warm April day in Chicago. So much has changed, the baseball park is clean and family friendly, the immediate area surrounding the park doesn't seem threatening at all. Our tickets came with a parking pass so we parked in the lot right next to the stadium, if you drive, lots of people seem to leave in the 8th and 9th innings to get a jump on traffic, we waited until the end and got stuck in a jam, exacerbated no doubt by the construction on the Dan Ryan expressway.

If you take the red line el to get to the park, it's a very quick walk from the el station to the park. Just be prepared to wait, stand on the train and be jostled a bit on the way home unless you leave early or hang around the park until the crowds disperse.

We had a chance to go in the stadium club on our last visit, it was boiling outside and the dark green seats were absorbing the sun to the point at which my clothes were soaked. The stadium club is air conditioned, you pay a flat fee just to sit in there (I think it was $5) and have to have a pass that comes with certain tickets, the soft drinks appeared to be included but alcoholic beverages were not.

Address: 333 W 35th St

Directions: Public transportation: Red Line el (subway) to Sox-35th Street station, the ballpark is one block west

Phone: 312-674-1000

Theme: Other

Website: http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com

Lovable losers BASEBALL - Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Review

It's been quite a few years since I've been to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field so when Dee (deecat) said she had an extra ticket for a Tuesday afternoon game I said "Sure thing!" We had excellent seats, practically on the field, and although the weatherman had been predicting rain, it turned out to be a relatively warm sunny afternoon.

Equipment: If you do get tickets for an early season game (April or May), be sure to dress warm as it can be chilly or even snow!

Cameras are allowed, coolers are not.

Address: 1060 W Addison

Directions: Wrigley is right on the red line (Addison stop), I took the #22 Clark Street bus which dropped me off right near Wrigley.

Phone: 773-404-CUBS

Theme: Sports Watching

Website: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/

Bear Down, Chicago Bears FOOTBALL - Chicago Bears at Soldier Field Review

I used to be a huge fan of watching American football, our high school had a great team, I watched in college EVEN when they went 0-11, and the 1985 Chicago Bears generated huge excitement with a team full of personalities like William "The Refrigerator" Perry and the "punky QB" Jim McMahon and a cheesy music video called "The Super Bowl Shuffle" recorded BEFORE they creamed New England 46-10 in the Super Bowl (championship game).

Well, time passes and I've become what's known as a fair weather football fan, I follow the scores, I brag when we win but I don't actually start watching the games until the playoffs. The 2006 Bears didn't have the magic of the 1985 Bears or Mike "Grabowski" Ditka leading the team but they made it to the Super Bowl. The first 14 seconds saw the first opening kickoff returned for a touch down but it was all downhill after that, the Colts beat the Bears 29-17. Well, Chicago fans are used to saying "there's always next year"!

The Bears play their home games at Soldier Field, once a majestic stadium on the lakefront honoring the soldiers who fought in wars but after renovations it looks like a giant toilet seat. Landmark status was rightfully ripped from the stadium in 2006. The stadium is outdoors which gives the Bears a home field advantage over teams in warmer climates especially during the playoffs which are held in January.

Fun facts:
-When the Bears first started playing in Chicago back in the 1920s, they played at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which is how the Bears got their name.
-The orange and blue uniforms came from George "Papa Bear" Halas' alma mater, the University of Illinois.
-The nickname "Monsters of the Midway" originally referred to the football team of the University of Chicago, the campus of which is near the Midway Plaisance named during the 1893 Columbian Exposition.

Tickets to Bears games are expensive, ranging from $60-$340 for a single game so you might want to catch the game on TV should you have any interest.

Address: 1410 S Museum Campus Drive

Theme: Sports Watching

Website: http://www.chicagobears.com

Play Ball!

Which baseball team in Chicago you root for is more or less predetermined upon birth-you grow up on the Northside you will become a Cubs fan, Southside a White Sox fan. Moving to another section of the city rarely breaks the bond and people who root for both teams are an oddity. I'm one of those oddities, I grew up a Cubs fan since I lived on the northside until after college, but I've lived in White Sox territory almost as long so I find I can root for them as well, it doesn't hurt that they won the World Series in 2005!!!!

Visitors to the city are more likely to head to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubbies play. Why? Wrigley Field where the Cubs play is a classic ballpark, the replacement for Comiskey Park known as US Cellular Field has no emotional attachment with its fans or visitors. Cub fans are loyal and fill the stadium even when the lovable losers are doing just that, Sox fans tend to be a bit more fickle although still riding high on the 2005 World Series sweep. And Wrigley Field is in a more appealing neighborhood, fans historically have fle from Sox Park right after the game although the area is undergoing some gentrification, Wrigleyville has many nice bars and restaurants in the immediate vicinity.

If you are just a baseball fan in general and the high ticket prices are discouraging you from going to see a game, you might check out the minor league teams that play out in the suburbs-the Kane County Cougars, the Schaumburg Flyers, the Joliet Jackhammers or the Gary Railcats.

Theme: Other