Sunday was equally amazing. As it became our tradition, when Lena comes in summer, we do Loop activities on Saturday and Rogers Park activities on Sunday. And once again, it’s great that she enjoys the same activities as me.
We started the day with a bike ride. In the past, Lena was way slower than me, and she said she didn’t do much biking this season either, but somehow, this time she kept pace with me without any issues. If I only knew, I would suggest her to wake up earlier, and we could bike all the way to the Field Museum. But even a relatively short (15 miles) ride was great!
Of course, it had to be on my friend’s departure day! On Thursday evening, their return flight was canceled, and new tickets were issued. We wondered why, and then, in the morning, I heard the news! Only then we realized how lucky they were to get an alternative flight!
Other than that, it was a perfect last vacation day for them. The weather was ideal; they went to the beach in the morning while I worked my half-day, then I went on a bike ride with Roma, and then we all went for ice cream across the street at Charmer’s.
And at the last moment, I remembered to make some hot chocolate for them to sample before departure!
We went on a long (3-hour) bike trip on Sunday. The weather continued to be perfect, and the sightseeing was gorgeous as usual. I couldn’t take any pictures during the ride because we kept going :), so you just have to trust me! These ones were at made at our turning point.
We biked to Ikea yesterday, using a new route that Boris found instead of the one that is half in an under-construction zone. As usual, biking in Finland is amazing, and I can’t stop admiring its convenience and safety. The big portion of the route was through the forest and meadows, with the smell of the blooming flowers and the sounds of the birds chirping following us.
Ikea was just a destination, not like we needed anything specific (although I got some non-essential things, can you avoid it?). And we had lunch there. I do not know anything about other Ikea stores in their native territory, but this particular Ikea in Espoo never spoke any language other than Finnish, so I always struggled to communicate with the staff, including the restaurant. Boris had to utilize his Finnish 🙂
Tuesday was, as it was, the most stressful day of the past week. Tuesdays are typically my “biking before work” days. Now that we are in this short period of early sunrises, I am trying very hard not to miss any of these opportunities. However, that meant going to work a little bit later to make a longer bike ride, and I was debating with myself whether I should cut some time off my already congested day. Finally, I decided that the weather was too nice to miss and that I would get both more energized and more relaxed if I went. So I did.
There is a 2.5-mile ride through the streets before I get to the Lake Front Trial, and when I was almost there (I was just about to make the last turn towards the lake), I suddenly saw a message on my watch: Your keys are no longer near you. Last seen on Farewell… It was a little bit chilly at 5 AM on Tuesday, and I put on a different biking jacket and didn’t pull a zipper all the way up after I got out of the bike room, so somehow, the keys fell off. I didn’t even realize at first that I was already very far away from the keys, and started to walk back, looking down at the road. A minute later it registered to me, that the keys were lost on Farewell, and that ten minutes on the bike on the empty streets would take you very far from your starting point.
I got back on the bike and biked back to where my phone was saying the keys were left, and was imagining all sorts of things that could happen if somebody took them. The phone was showing the keys at the same location, but no guarantee it was the whole case, not just the AirTag. Finally, I reached the turn to Farewell, and when I turned left i immediately saw the case with the keys in the middle of the road! It was a relief, and for a moment I started thinking whether I should go back for a bike ride :). Then I decided that I do not have enough time for anything more than just reaching the Lake Front, and that I can go down to the gym for 20 min.
So I continued my ride home, put my bike back to the bike room, climbed up to my apartment and took the apartment key out. It won’t fit into the lock! I took a look and realized that at least one car went over my key case! The key was badly bended. Several people have my keys, but no one whom I would dare to disturb at 5-40 AM!
i was desperate. I stepped on the key trying to straighten it, and I did it – a little bit. And then, I managed to push it all the way in, and the door was unlocked! I was even able to pull it out, but that was it – I was unable to push it in one more time. Fortunately, I had several extra copies of the apartment key, so I just replaced it.
… when the day started like that, it was very difficult to convince myself that it’s not the end of the world, and the rest of the day will be fine! (spoiler alert – it ended up well!)
Nothing special happened last Sunday, but the whole day was amazing. I enjoyed each moment, and once again, I couldn’t stop thinking how fortunate I am to live in Rogers Park—there is no other neighborhood like this!
I started my day with a long bike ride. We are at the start of two months of early sunrises, and I do not want to miss any of these mornings!
Monroe Harbor
Even though I left the house before sunrise, a long bike ride was indeed long, and when I came back, it was already 7-15. I just had time to shower, and got out of the house. My plan was to have breakfast at the Common Cup just because I wanted to try it for a while, and I never did. I was not sure how crowded it would be in the morning right before opening, so I ordered in the app while I was on my way there. When I entered the coffee shop, I found that:
They were just finishing my order.
There was nobody inside. except for myself.
I sat down with my cappuccino and my quiche and enjoyed. My next stop would be at Glenwood Sunday Market, and I still have some time to spare. Several customers would come in and out, both for takeaway and dining-in, but the place was still far from being crowded. I walked to the counter to ask were is the garbage – I could not spot it around me. A person at the counter was taking an order, and just as I started asking, a customer turned to me, and I saw that it was our Alderwomaan Maria Hadden! It was unexpected (her office is just the next door, but it was Sunday!), so I was like: Oh, hi, Alderwoman Hadden! And she was: Oh, you are looking for a garbage? Let me show you! And she led me to the opposite side of the caffee, where the garbage can was. I asked her: are you going to the same place as we all are going? And she said: yes, of course, to the market!
I walked to the marked fifteen minutes before opening. Everything was set up, and nice, and fresh, and the sun was bright, and it felt like a holiday.
Shortly, the opening ceremony started, and all of the officials talked about how our Glenwood market is a thing they are bragging about, and how it is a center of community, and people get together there, etc.
And then the ribbon was cut, and the bell rang, and people disbursed to their favorite vendors. I went to the south corner of the market to check in with my favorite all-natural popsicle makers:
And then got my flowers!
Now until the end of October, I have no problem having fresh buquiets every week!
That was enough to make it a perfect day. The rest of the day just rolled!
I planned to take my bike for maintenance when Boris was in town even before I got a flat tire last Sunday, and then I had to take care of both. On Saturday, I called the bike shop to check that they were open and started walking in their direction. It would take about 20 minutes because I couldn’t walk fast when I was walking my bike along, and I dreaded the situation. But just when I exited the alley and turned to Jarvis Square, I saw a Curbside Bicycles pop-up – it was so timely, I couldn’t believe I was so lucky!
The repair person said she could change the inner tube, but she kept looking down at my bike and asked: is it all you want to do? I admitted that I needed a full checkup, and I had concerns about the chain as it started to fall off too often. She measured it and said – yes, you need a chain replacement and probably a cassette replacement as well. It was 10-30, and I said that I needed to go somewhere at 3, so she said she would be done by then.
She texted me at 2-30, and I went down to pick up the bike. She gave me a complete description of what she noticed and what she had done, and that the brakes would still be noisy, but there was no technical concern there. She described the thorn she pulled out of my back wheel and how it almost looked like a nail!
The time saving and the level of service were not even close to what I would get otherwise, so I consider this business competition to be won by Curbside Bicycles!
Hettie's Reflections 