Your Memorial Day Biking Roundup

By Kim Bellware in Arts & Entertainment on May 25, 2012 9:20PM

With the long weekend just a few hours away, it's time to gear up for three days—and a whole summer—of biking adventures. 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.

Tonight
Critical Mass Monthly Ride
Critical Mass gathers up for its monthly ride through the city streets, celebrating biking and disrupting a little four-wheeled traffic along the way. Free and open to the public, but be prepared to get honked at by a few irate drivers.
The ride starts at 5:30 p.m. in Daley Plaza (Dearborn at Washington)

Saturday
Historic Uptown Bike Tour With 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman
Neighborhood active transit advocate Bike Uptown hosts a tour with Ald. James Cappleman of historic Uptown sites. Participants are ensured a "leisurely" pace, with stops including the Hutchinson Street Historic District, the Peace Garden, Montrose Peninsula and dock, and the Aragon Ballroom. You can also view a map of the route.
The tour starts at 3 p.m. at Uptown Bikes (4653 N Broadway) and lasts one hour

Sunday
Bike The Drive
The annual ride benefiting the Active Transportation Alliance shuts down Lake Shore Drive for the morning and lets cyclists go nuts along a 15-mile stretch where bikes are normally verboten. The best part of Bike the Drive are the views of the lake and skyline from an elevated (read: superior) perspective (the bike-friendly Lakefront Trail is seated lower than the Drive). Registration closes at midnight on Friday the 25th, but participants can also sign up day-of.
Lake Shore Drive is open to participants between Bryn Mawr and 57th St, on the lawn of the Museum of Science and Industry from 5:30 a.m. (zoiks!) to 10:15 a.m.

Monday
Chicago Kidical Mass
The wee ones get their own ride on Memorial Day, ending just early enough so as to not disrupt mom and dad's BBQ/day drinking plans. The group meets on the South Side in Hyde Park for an approximately hourlong slow-paced group ride. Helmets are a must all around.
Chicago Kidical Mass starts at Harold Washington Park (S Hyde Park Blvd at 53rd) at 10:30 a.m. to noon