sublimity

I remember around this time last year I experienced the sublime, while riding a bike over a creaky iron bridge and past an old building that read 'MORTON SALT' in huge painted letters, where concrete walls already too tall to scale were embedded along the tops with shards of broken bottles. I had ridden all over Chicago with my friend and upon returning around dusk, feeling the rush of cold air in my hair but having the lingering warmth of humid air in my nostrils I felt the invincible vigor of youth and the desire to live forever. I contemplated in those few moments the possibility of life as a bum, life as a drone, or life as an artist, and felt sure that I would experience all those in many instances over the course of the next few years. But just as quickly as those thoughts fired through my head did they disintegrate, for my entire being told me to live in the moment, and I pedaled on, and I felt only the blood pumping through my ears along with the rhythm of the street, the sky and the city.

northerly island

The second day of biking was tricky, as there had been a downpour that night/morning and we didn't want to get rained upon, but after checking the forecast for the day (no rain til that night!) we headed back out. I got to experience the hot and humid side of Chicago... gross! Yet as we neared the lake, that amazing cold wind swept in against the moist cloud of air enveloping the city, and biking to Northerly Island, the warm, moist air clung to the right side of my body as the cold lake air refreshed my left - such a strange sensation! Northerly Island is a former airport that the mayor had torn up one night after the Sept. 11 attack, and is now a bird sanctuary/prairie reserve where mostly bikers and segway tourists frequent. It was a great place to view the city from afar, and again be in an area of solitude on the edge of the city.

the lakefront

Polaroids from the first day of biking, last Monday or Tuesday I think - 15 miles through Chicago! Biking along the waterfront, and on this concrete 'trail' for lack of a better name that extended into the water - look at how there aren't any handrails! Dangerously refreshing, because in L.A. code regulations would be all over that. It was my first time ever on a road bike and as I didn't fall over/crash/die like Max feared I would it was a total success. And what a reward to bike and bike and bike, then feel the cold wind whipping off the water all around your body; to find a place of solitude right at the edge of an amazing city.

bulldozing

is what I woke up to my last morning in Chicago.

wednesday

Max had to work Wednesday, so I ventured into the city on my own for the day. After a hearty omelette and some avocado smooshed onto a bagel (SO delicious) I walked to the Red Line and took it all the way to Belmont, where I then went to a funny store called Belmont Army; the first floor had boutique-y, trendy clothing, the second floor was skate wear, the third floor army surplus and the fourth floor vintage. An interesting shopping experience, though I didn't get anything. On my way down Clark it began to rain so I took refuge in a Borders, buckled down and bought an umbrella, and headed to the Threadless store, which was cute in that it was like a tiny t-shirt gallery. Cute, and it was good to see. I wound through used bookstores and consignment shops, stopped at a store called Chicago Comics, as well as the Lakeview Reckless Records, passed by Wrigley Field, and went to the Music Box - a grand old theatre that's been carefully preserved and that shows new and old movies. I didn't want to watch either of the two movies playing, and explained to the guy at the front that I just wanted to look inside. So he let me into the main theater to peek and I was blown away by the size and grandeur of the space. Awesome! After that I took the Brown Line, transferred to the Red Line, and got back to Max's place. I went to Wicker Park for a meal, found some movies for Max at Reckless as a parting gift, then went back to the apartment to wait for him to get back/let him in. Once he got back we bundled up to go to Logan Square, but then, deterred by the cold and nasty slow-falling mist, went back inside, got some beers and watched Jules et Jim.

tuesday morning

Yesterday morning was met with the onset of rain; I had woken up around 6 to multiple peals of thunder that cracked and rumbled right above my head, and this went on for maybe ten minutes until the storm moved north. Luckily the storm raged in the morning and left the afternoon and evening amazingly clear, so we were able to venture out, but no such luck today. We're supposed to ride to Logan Park tonight but if the weather's shitty there's a small chance of that happening. ANYWAY, yesterday Max took me to Wicker Park where we checked out some thrift stores to get shorts for me to wear for biking (Buffalo Exchange, you never fail me), and then we rode back towards the city, out to Northerly Island (which used to be an airport that the mayor had torn down one night after the 9/11 attack) which is a prairie reserve/bird sanctuary. Out by the water you could see part of Indiana, and turning around you could see the grand Chicago skyline. We biked along the edge of the water, which surprisingly had no handrails (refreshingly, and dangerously) all the way back into the city, parked the bikes at the Trader Joe's that Max works at, and walked to the Chicago Public Library to see Frank Gehry give a talk with Tom Pritzker. It was an interesting talk, though Gehry didn't say much about urban life/etc. but, even though I'm not a fan of his architecture I think he's a really cool and humble person, and likable as an architect. Wow! After Gehry, we headed back to the Wicker Park area, went to a bar where I had some 'Bells' and 'Two Brothers', then got a deep dish pizza which I devoured like a pizza machine, and watched Antoine et Collette, and Stolen Kisses, before falling asleep during my second viewing of Bed and Board. Pizza and Truffaut - what a way to end the night.

the hollywood grill

Watched Truffaut's 'The 400 Blows' last night and when it ended it was a little after midnight, and Max was hungry. So we walked 4 or 5 blocks west to the Hollywood Grill, which is kind of like a non-chain Denny's/really crappy Swingers and open 24 hours. Max was blown away by the film and hungry and sleepy too, which made for interesting conversation for this midnight snack. He got the veggie burger and I got some Belgian waffles with strawberries, which tasted horribly of red 40 dye and tinged my mouth a vampirish red. I had to brush my teeth twice to get it all out (shudder). I only ate the perimeter around the mound of red-soaked strawberries which was good but had a sugar rush that I countered by quietly reading Walden before I called it a night.

chicago - millennium park

Prior to my adventures in the Midwest, Max borrowed an old 10-speed from his brother to have me ride, and after practicing up and down the street yesterday morning we embarked on a bike ride to the west lakefront of Lake Michigan and wove through the city, very briefly stopping at Navy Pier, then strolling through Millennium Park and checking out the landmarks and buildings.

1 & 2 - Interior and exterior of 'The Bean' by Anish Kapoor.
3 - Ultra-expensive hideous-ness of Frank Gehry in Millennium Park. It is nice that the structure extending from the concert hall is wide open and allows for the underneath to be open space, but with it, the concert hall, and the bridge (not pictured) all together it's an utter mess with no context whatsoever to the city. Ugh.
4 - The Aqua Tower (new residential/mixed use skyscraper) by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang. It only looks good when you're standing on the site, looking up, as in this photo. And right at its foot is a small park and dog park that flourishes amongst the buildings.

After Millennium Park and Aqua, biked to Olive Park and watched people on the beach, talked of swimming, traced the Chicago skyline, spotted ladybugs and then headed out for a late lunch. Ten miles of biking and my muscles were on fire, but I woke up this morning and I feel good. Max insists I get a bike when I return home, and I didn't get the appeal of riding until yesterday I guess. Time to sell the longboard and put it towards my bike fund...!