When I started out on my bike this morning it was just dark. But as it lightened up a bit, I started to see the clouds all around me. Who knew that there were going to be storm clouds in the area?! Not me! So I pedaled on… seemingly dodging the storms as they blew in around me. There were some gusty winds, a little drizzle here & there… and many sections where you could see that it had already rained harder! I made it home safely… and dry… with just minutes to spare. About ten minutes later… a HUGE downpour!!!

That was this morning… as I think we are starting to see some of the smoke from the western wildfires blowing over our way. A great start to the day as I made it home a big sweaty mess!!!

Meanwhile, back over the City skyline…

Buildings were being obscured by a dark & thick layer of clouds. The clouds over the lake were beautiful & colorful… the ones hovering over the City not so much. I kinda love when the tops of the skyscrapers disappear into the clouds!

A beautifully clouded morning with fun colors changing as the everything was blowing south through the City. The first half of my ride was great fun with a strong tailwind… I felt so strong… until I made it down to Navy Pier to turn around and got slapped in the face with a new headwind!!! Head down, pedal hard, suck it up… but keep admiring the sunrise!!!

Just a little warm & steamy this morning… and I don’t think I’ve stopped sweating yet, even after my shower?! But it was well worth it with a beautiful sunrise to start another sweaty day!

Not a lot of clouds, but a good amount of hazy colors.
Shimmering reflections on perfectly still water. A very serene morning on my bike.

Layers of clouds. Layers of colors. Layers of places for the sun to hide behind. Another beautiful morning for a bike ride along the lakefront.

A lot of clouds this morning… enough that I was questioning if were even going to see the sun at all this morning? And we did… flying low & showing off in crazy colors! But only for a few minutes… and then back behind the clouds!

Another quiet morning without a lot of sunrise drama.
Just a few simple clouds floating quietly along the horizon.

With gently breezes blowing in off the lake, the clouds were spotty
& catching the colors nicely as the sun continued to rise