A little dull & dreary along the lakefront this morning… nice & warm, but a bit on the gray side. Sure, there was a glimmer of hope over Navy Pier… but it quickly dissipated and moved back to cloudy grayness. At least I got a moment or two of color… and another fun bike ride to start my day!!!

A serene skyline with a pastel sunrise shimmering on the calm morning lakefront.

Early morning light working its way through the Ferris wheel & carousel at Navy Pier today… streaming through the rides of Pier Park.

Early morning skyline moments.

Blue skies & amusement rides at Navy Pier!

Morning sunrise through the palm trees of Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier. Not quite a tropical getaway… but if you imagine really hard…

Another beautiful sunrise ride… although I’m thinking I might need to pull out the heavy Winter gloves soon?! It was pretty chilly this morning… colder than I expected. I love Fall, but I’m not a big fan of frozen fingers while riding so soon. Can’t we hang on to the warmer weather for a few more weeks… please, oh please, oh please?!

Remember a few days ago when I posted about the cool cement carvings along the lakefront?… well, apparently this is “a thing” here in Chicago…. who knew?! Thanks to Matthew for letting me know about this history of carved cement art along the lakefront in Chicago.

For more details… click here for the article & photos!

After too many mornings of rain, it was great to have finally see the sun… and a “dry” bike trial along the lakefront. Sure, the clouds were still shrouding the skyline, and it was a bit chillier than I expected… but the sun finally made an appearance & brightened my day!

Always a special day when the Chicago Marathon works its way through the neighborhoods for 26.2 miles of fun! The weather may not be ideal with some gusty wind & a little drizzles of rain, but all of the runners were off to a good start. So fun cheering them on close to the start as they crossed the Chicago River for the first time. Fun to see the Elite Runners, the parathletes, the “normal” runners… and even cheering on the last one! Give it your all… you got this!!!

And remind me again why I felt compelled to add long swim & an even longer bike ride BEFORE my full marathon last weekend?!