If you haven't been pedaling since before winter, now is the time to dust off your frame, grease the chains and hit the streets. more ›

Lady bikers of Chicago are finally getting--to heavily paraphrase Virginia Woolf--"a ride of one's own" in the new women and trans-only monthly bike ride, Chicago Critical Lass. more ›

• The sentence hearing for Sandra Vasquez, guilty in a 2007 drunk driving crash that killed five teens, was held today. As of post time, her sentence had still not been announced.
• The delivery of Boeing's long-awaited 787 Dreamliner has, once again, been delayed.
• The Chicago Park District is taking a look at the lakefront paths and their traffic in what could lead to efforts to ease congestion.

• Rep. Mike Quigley got a Congressional resolution honoring the Blackhawks passed, though there were five 'no' votes.
• Interesting story from LAist in the wake of our post on the latest Critical Mass mess here: the L.A. Critical Mass group held a ride the LAPD and all went well.
• Mark Kirk, still apologizing.

Over the weekend, we received numerous reports from readers of a clash between riders in Friday's Critical Mass ride and Chicago Police officers. The clash took place at the end of the ride near Grant Park where police were on duty for the annual Taste of Chicago event. According to eyewitnesses, the mass had reached the end of its route when it turned on to Lakeshore Drive where they met up with police. A confrontation occurred between a rider and an officer which resulted in the officers using force to arrest the rider. It's still unclear what the original provocation was for the first incident, though some witnesses have said the rider may have been kicking over traffic cones. Things escalated when another biker tried to film the police subduing the first rider, which is technically illegal when done without consent in Illinois and 11 other states. Police then subdued the second rider. An eyewitness named Anne wrote in, saying, "A police officer was spraying pedestrians and cyclists with pepper spray," a claim backed up by another rider involved. Another eyewitness, Blair, told us via email: more ›

This Friday saw the latest edition of the always interesting monthly Critical Mass bike ride, but this one was a bit more special because there was love in the air. more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out... more ›

Let's be clear: Friday night’s Chicago Critical Mass ride will not be the last. No matter what the veteran masses staffing the ad hoc “Grand Finale Committee” decree, cyclists will keep coming to Daley Plaza the last Fridays of October (Halloween Mass!), November and, barring a citywide emergency or SWAT-style police crackdown, every month after that. Want us to prove it?... more ›

So in 2000 a dude gets hit by a New York City Bus (Bear with us; the story has roots in New York, and eventually makes its way to our city) and decides he’s going to make something positive out of the experience. What does Brendt Barbur do? He creates a Bicycle Film Festival (BFF), featuring films celebrating the bike. And all forms of bikes: Tall-Bike Jousting, Track Bikes, BMX, Alleycats, Critical Mass, Bike Polo, Cycling to Recumbents--if it’s a bike, BFF has probably screened a movie about it. more ›

Here’s what you missed while you were thinking about giant ketchup packets: August is supposed to be a slow month? The dance community didn't get that memo. Aside from the Jazz Dance World Festival, next month sees Dance for Life, a gala for AIDS-related charities; Mark Morris Dance Group presented by Ravinia at the Harris Theater; Chicago Dancing Festival at Millennium Park; and the conclusion of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Summer Festival. The Berwyn... more ›

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA... more ›

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making... more ›

Del Taco has a restaurant in Oak Lawn now. Researchers at UIC did a medical study that shows that smoking in workplaces increases the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers. Critical Mass is planning shenanigans at the Chicago Auto Show. Chicago Wonk is a website that offers a daily poll on Chicago, Illinois, or US policy. Readers vote yes or no each day. A Fresh Squeeze is a company devoted to making it easier... more ›

If you were looking for a Halloween party this past weekend, you didn’t have to look far. We saw some cute costumes – Paris Hilton, an Oompa-Loompa, Superman and a cowgirl – and those were just the dogs. more ›

Anyone who's been reading all of the posts on Chicagoist about bike riding and just how cool it is will be excited to know that this Friday is again a happy Friday, time for Critical Mass. The massive monthly ride will start some time around 5:30PM at Daley Plaza, mark your calendars. If you stick it out for the whole route, you'll probably be out until 10PM so plan accordingly. An Oktoberfest themed route is planned to celebrate Chicago's German heritage. The best way to do that is of course by biking past places that serve or are involved in the history of delicious beer. For a nice narrative introduction to just what critical mass is check this video from Inside Chicago (partially NSFW.) The crowd is usually very diverse and energetic so you are bound to find some like-minded people to ride with. more ›

In the nearly ten years that Critical Mass has had a presence in Chicago, hundreds upon hundreds of area cycling enthusiasts have shown us a glimpse of the world they envision: one where cars aren't the main source of transportation on the landscape. A self-described "visual demonstration," CM's monthly rides - held on the last Friday of the month - are considered to be a sign of the strength of the city's biking community. more ›

Torontoist immediately wins our heart by using the word "Jackass" in a headline. In fact, we love their use of it so much that we're going to use it as much as possible throughout this post. For example, it looks like there are Toronto-area jackasses besides those who misuse the sidewalk: look at the crap on sale on Toronto's craigslist. But it looks like Toronto doesn't contain the kind of jackasses who pee in public... more ›

Friday's Critical Mass photo via wvallen. more ›

You'd better practice your track stand. Apparently Chicago police officers are watching for bicyclists in the Lakeview neighborhood that don't stop at stop signs or traffic signals. Right now they'll let you off with just a warning, but next month they'll issue you the same $75 ticket they give to drivers that violate the laws. We think this month's Chicago Critical Mass route should definitely wind through Lakeview at some point— more ›

As a court hearing on the fate of Double Door commences this afternoon, a new website is trying to organize the venue's fans into a critical mass. more ›

So depending on which paper you favor, Kanye West either cast a long shadow over the rest of the Grammy nominees or was overshadowed. more ›

Since iPods are threatening to reach critical mass (thanks in part to the minis), it’s time for Apple to crank up the exclusivity factor again. And that means new features, a new paint job, and a ringing endorsement from the biggest band in the world right now. The big announcements out of Cupertino this week that Apple would be selling a U2 signature version of the iPod as well as iPod Photo only confirmed a rumor that quickly evolved into a foregone conclusion within the Apple community. Which is cool and all but Chicagoist is pissed we’ve got to wait until November for the iPod Socks (iSocks?) pictured above. more ›

contemporaries are John Mayer and Ben Harper, the Danish Teitur (nee Teitur Lassen) has more in common with old-schoolers Donovan or Cat Stevens. Chicagoist first became aware of Teitur (say it loud and there's music playing say it soft and it's almost like praying) when we were randomly accosted by some girl in the Borders on State who claimed the album Poetry and Aeroplanes to be fantastic before she selfishly scooped up the last copy they had. And comparisons aside, she was right. more ›