Bikes on a train!

In the world of public transit, our train line Metra gets some things really right and I hope, is catching up on some of the other things.  It's very cool that they have searchable schedules online, and you can get emails to your phone telling you if your train is running late.  At most times of the day, you can bring your bike on a train too!  I took mine down to Chicago last week to hang out with my sister, and we both brought ours back up to Waukegan.  It did take me a while to figure out where exactly to lock it up, but I got it.

Biking in Chicago is awesome.  Yeah, cars are always terrifying, but life is so much better with bike lanes and in a place where drivers are used to looking out for cyclists.  I'm sure another reason they do it is cost - we biked past a gas station in the City where some kind of gas was $4.97 a gallon!  Good grief!!!  I came across this article from TIME called "We Pay More to Drive Than We Spend on Taxes" and it makes some great points that you've probably already heard, but read them again and think about it.  Could you take public transit to work?  Could you get a job closer to home?  Could you get a more fuel efficient car, or give it up altogether?   How much does driving cost you? 

There's an amazing organization called Active Transportation Alliance that works to improve cycling, walking, and transit options in the Chicago area, and we're working with them on some ideas for Waukegan too.  I still can't get over how awesome it was seeing hundreds of people biking in the streets, talking to people at the bus stops, and making friends carrying bikes onto the train.  I really believe my city's headed in that direction too, so thank you to all those of you helping make it happen by taking public transit and working to reduce our reliance on cars.