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Chicago is made up of neighborhoods rich with history and character. Chicago is a many-layered city. While you have to work hard to not find great spots while aimlessly wandering about, some of the most special places require a tip from someone “in-the-know.” Hop on your bike and see interesting neighborhoods at a pace that lets you take it all in. We’ll lead you around and show you the parks, landmarks, and business establishments that make a neighborhood great while also pointing out residential buildings and properties of interest. Treasures abound. There’s a lot of Chicago to love! Big Shoulders Realty Winter Cycling Series 2 /
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Uptown/Andersonville
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| Oct. 31 |
Big Shoulders Realty, West Town Bikes and Ciclo Urbano Tour of West Town 10:00 AM Free Humboldt Park Meet at the intersection of California and Division by the West Puerto Rican Flag on Paseo Boricua. Por la interseccion de California e Division a lado de bandera Puerto Ricaña por el oesta en el Paseo Boricua. It’s Halloween! Esta es Halloween!! A narrated architectural and historical tour on bicycles and in costumes. Un recorrido arquitectural e historical por bicicletas llevandose trajes. This tour is Free for all to attend. Please bring and wear your helmet and dress for all-weather cycling. We ride rain or shine. This is not a sales or marketing event and in no way promotes the sale of real estate or any commercial services. Es un recorrido gratis para todos. Por favor traiga su casco y sea preparado para cualquiera tipo de clima. Vamos al paeo si soleando o lloviendo. Esta no es un caso de venta o mercancia y no esta prometando la venta de bienes raices o otro servicio commercial. Donations to West Town Bikes and/or Ciclo Urbano are however appreciated and encouraged. Donaciones para West Town Bikes y/o Ciclo Urbano seran agradecidos. Visit http://westtownbikes.org or www.bigshouldersrealty.com for more information. Visita http://westtownbikes.org or www.bigshouldersrealty.com para mas informacion. The chainlink event page is here: The event on Bike Winter is here: The meeting place is here: tinyurl.com/tourofwesttown |
| Sept. 26 | Tour of North Park
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| August 30 | Lincoln Square
Chicago Community Area #4 sits 7 miles northwest of the loop. The community area was a construct of a 1920s University of Chicago project to categorize different areas of the city, but it is also a neighborhood within the community area, as are Ravenswood, Bowmanville, Budlong Woods and Ravenswood Manor. Previously this entire area was known as Ravenswood, and many residents still think of it that way. Formerly a farming community for celery and pickles, the area developed as the transportation access to the area increased. Families used to cart their goods to the city along Little Fort Road, today’s Lincoln Avenue. In the 1890s, street cars created a new wave of development. In the 1900s, it was the Ravenswood elevated line and it spurred even more development. Utilizing the river and developing an industrial corridor on its banks was a further boom leading into the Great Depression. The area is filled with wonderful examples of bungalows, brick-flats, courtyard apartments and various Victorian houses and a number of requisite works by Clarence Hatzfeld, Dwight Perkins and Louis Sullivan. Come join Big Shoulders Realty and thechainlink.org as we bring you a tour of Lincoln Square. |
| July 26 |
Sunday July 26, 2009 |
| June 28 | VOTER'S CHOICE! AND THE WINNER IS: AVONDALE! AvondaleSunday June 28, 2009 at 1:00 PM Avondale, Chicago Community Area 21 sits 6 miles northwest of the Loop. Once part of a vast expanse of prairie, the installation of the Old Northwest Plank Road, today’s Milwaukee Avenue, helped spur business and development and ushered in many years of prosperity. Avondale was annexed to Chicago in 1889 and grew rapidly as city improvements such as paved roads, electric street car lines and the Logan Elevated line contributed to a population that swelled to almost 50,000 by 1930. Due to an abundance of clay in the pits near the river, a brick industry developed and the working class residents built some of the most sturdy and beautiful examples of masonry construction in the city. As a result, the area is ripe with rich examples of architectural beauty. To learn more about the area, take a virtual bike tour of Avondale (PDF). Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
| May |
Big Shoulders Realty is honored to partner with the Active Transportation Alliance to present a bicycle tour of Austin on Chicago’s west side. For a start location, click here. |
| April |
Plan your own your or see the route at Map My Ride. |
| March & April |
Meet at the parking lot for the Indian Road Woods Forest Preserve on east side of Central Avenue just north of Indian Road Woods and a half-mile south of Caldwell Avenue. Plan your own your or see the route at Map My Ride. |
Big Shoulders Realty Winter Cycling Series 1 |
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| February |
Our final installment of the Winter Cycling Series ends with the Vuelta a Albany Park. Each tour was designed to represent a famous European Cycling Classic…Tour de France – Portage Park, Giro D’Italia – Logan Square, Rund um Köln – Irving Park and of course, this final entry based on the Vuelta a España – Albany Park. Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
| January |
This is a winter ride repeat of our Irving Park tour from this past May. It is our third of the Winter Cycling Series. Last month we had about 22 riders brave the warm, but immensely rain-soaked ride through Logan Square that claimed all but 9 riders by the end. This time around, we are hoping for some actual, real, honest to goodness snow….ok maybe it is a bad thing to ask for snow these days in Chicago, but at least one of these has to be a snow ride! We will meet at the southwest entrance of Horner Park, at the intersection of California and Irving Park Road. Bring your bike and a helmet. If you need to borrow a helmet or a bike, please let us know. Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
| December |
For a virtual tour, click here. For more information on the Logan Square Bike tour, click here. Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
| November |  Tour de Portage Park This is a winter ride repeat of our Portage Park tour. Every month we explore a new Chicago community by bike, and this winter we are repeating 4 of our rides from the 2008 season. Meet at the entrance to Portage Park at Irving Park Road and Central Avenue. Bring your bike and a helmet. If you need to borrow a helmet or bike, please let us know. For a virtual tour, click here. For more information on the Portage Park Bike tour, click here. Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
2008 Season |
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Jefferson ParkJefferson Park, Chicago Community Area #11 is 10 miles northwest of the Loop. Nicknamed, the “Gateway to Chicago”, farmers once came from far and wide to sell their goods in Jefferson, named to honor Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s ideal location began as two Native American trails, grew to include the area’s earliest toll plank roads, and was thereafter augmented by rail and commuter lines. Today the area has a population of over 40,000, a tremendous amount of green space, historical homes and buildings throughout, and a namesake park on the National Register of Historic Places. Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
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AvondaleAvondale, Chicago Community Area 21 sits 6 miles northwest of the Loop. Once part of a vast expanse of prairie, the installation of the Old Northwest Plank Road, today’s Milwaukee Avenue, helped spur business and development and ushered in many years of prosperity. Avondale was annexed to Chicago in 1889 and grew rapidly as city improvements such as paved roads, electric street car lines and the Logan Elevated line contributed to a population that swelled to almost 50,000 by 1930. Due to an abundance of clay in the pits near the river, a brick industry developed and the working class residents built some of the most sturdy and beautiful examples of masonry construction in the city. As a result, the area is ripe with rich examples of architectural beauty. To learn more about the area, take a virtual bike tour of Avondale (PDF). Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
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Albany ParkCommunity Area #14, Albany Park is located 8 miles northwest of the Loop. In very short fashion, this community grew from rural farmland to a vibrant urban neighborhood that today is one of the most diverse areas in the entire United States. The area became home to many convenient forms of transportation and as a result experienced a significant building boom in the early 20th century. This boom brought to neighborhoods in Albany Park like Mayfair, North Mayfair and Ravenswood Manor a stock of well-built and sturdy brick flats and bungalows, but a ride through the streets of Albany Park will also reveal exciting and unique commercial districts, and well-planned and plentiful green space. To learn more about the area, take a virtual bike tour of Albany Park (PDF). Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
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Uptown/AndersonvilleUptown, Chicago Community Area #5 sits 6 miles directly north of the Loop. Uptown can boast of a rich history that is equal parts ritzy and ragged. The community has thrived during the glory of the jazz age and suffered mightily during the Great Depression. Uptown was once the hub of the early American Movie industry. It’s ornate theaters, grand ballrooms, nightclubs, apartment buildings, mansions and central commercial district are amongst the finest architectural masterpieces in the city. Formerly part of Uptown, Andersonville is now part of Edgewater, which became its own Community Area (#77) in 1980. This neighborhood has been a thriving residential community since the mid-19th century, and is well known today for its amazing housing stock, independently owned businesses and a very comfortable, walkable neighborhood in the heart of north side. To learn more about the area, take a virtual bike tour of Uptown & Andersonville (PDF). Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
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Irving ParkChicago Community Area #16 sits 7 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Prior to being annexed to Chicago in 1889, the suburban communities that make up today’s Irving Park Community Area fell outside the city’s post-fire ban on wood-frame construction. The result is a community rich with some of the oldest surviving construction in the city. After Irving Park joined Chicago, the area experienced even greater prosperity spurring decades of significant architecture development creating one of the greatest built environments in all of Chicago. It features comfortably nestled neighborhoods such as the Villa, (a registered National and City Historic Landmark), Old Irving, Independence Park and Grayland. Irving Park, the community area, is convenient to both public transportation and the interchange of I90/94. To learn more about the area, take a virtual bike tour of Irving Park (PDF). Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
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Logan SquareLogan Square, Community Area no. 22 is located 5 miles from the loop on Chicago’s near Northwest side, Logan Square is a densely populated microcosm of Chicago. Just as it is home to exquisite mansions along its historic boulevards, its side-streets are lined with simple workers’ homes and 2-flats. It is host to homey dive bars and haute cuisine hot spots. A particularly funky strip of Milwaukee forms its main commercial district, immediately adjacent to its quiet tree-lined residential streets. Exhibiting a wide variety of styles and a host of wonderful examples, it is also an architectural treasure trove. To learn more about the area, take a virtual bike tour of Logan Square (PDF). Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
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Portage ParkChicago Community area #15, Portage Park is a thriving residential community and neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest side just 9 miles from downtown. Annexed to Chicago in 1889, Portage Park offers the wonderful duality of city living and convenience with a real neighborhood-based residential community. The namesake park is one of the city’s most beautiful, and several smaller parks dot the community. Filled with an excellent housing stock of reasonably priced and well maintained Chicago brick bungalows and 2-flats, homes in the area sit nestled comfortably amongst the schools, churches, and two main commercial districts of Six Corners and Belmont-Central, where Portage Park meets Belmont-Cragin. To learn more about the area, take a virtual bike tour of Portage Park (PDF). Plan your own tour or see the route at Map My Ride. |
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