CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — DuSable Lake Shore Drive was as busy as usual on Sunday morning, but this time it was jam packed with thousands of cyclists for the 22nd annual Bike the Drive event.
Tom MacFadden, who belongs to the Evanston Bike Club, was wiping the sweat from his brow after completing the 30-mile course when he stopped to chat with WBBM.
“It was great,” he said. “It was a beautiful day, a perfect day. Beautiful sights all up and down the lakefront. [It’s] a once-in-a-year opportunity to see the city from the lake view.”
Another rider, Susan Zuber, said she biked the course with three friends — all of whom came from out of state.
“What’s awesome is we get a chance to see all the buildings and the bridges that we just can’t take the time to see in a car,” said Zuber, of Fort Wayne, Ind. “We get to see it now on our bike.”
Carol Frank brought her electric bike from Elmhurst.
“I feel a little guilty about [it], but that made it a little easier,” Frank said.
The ticketed event, which cost adult participants anywhere from $64 – $84 to enter, raises money for Active Trans, a nonprofit that bills itself as an advocacy organization for improved walking, biking and public transit throughout Chicagoland.
Officials estimated that nearly 15,000 cyclists participated in the 2023 event. That would be a decrease from 2022, when over 16,000 people braved rainy weather to participate.
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