Today was sunny, hot & steamy… with a side of gusty winds & stormy clouds with a quick deluge of a raining downpour!!! Not quite ideal… but another fun day at the 2021 CHICAGO TRIATHLON!!! Sure my finish time might not have been my best, but we had a great time swimming, biking & running with friends!!! It felt so good to get back to a little slice of “normal” during these crazy times! Luckily, we were all outside with plenty of fresh… err, make that thick & humid air!!!

With this being the hottest weekend of the summer, I’m tagged & ready for another Chicago Triathlon tomorrow! It’s going to be a sweaty race… as I’m currently in the studio sweating & racing to finish a new batch of oval vases. We’ve had no air conditioning on the second floor of Lillstreet for over a week now!!! Not good during the heat wave hitting Chicago this week! Just trying to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate…

Like walking on sunshine… whoa ho… and don’t it feel GOOD!!!
– sing it Katrina & The Waves!

So I decided to go for a bike ride today… seemingly through the hottest & most humid part of the day! Why?… who knows?!

I was a big sweaty mess… but so happy to find this secluded “rock beach” down on the far South Side… as I had the entire place to myself?!!! No one else to be seen!!! It was such a welcome respite as I took some time to play on the beach & take a dip in the lake to cool off before pedaling home!

The pre-dawn Chicago skyline!
Moody & dark with gentle shimmering reflections.

After what seemed like a week of rain & gray skies, it felt great to not have the rain today! Sure, the sky was still a bit gloomy, but I’ll take it. It just felt great to be back out on my bike this morning!

Not much sunrise drama this morning… because all of the morning drama was hanging out low over the City. Low clouds shrouding the City’s skyline as the humidity blows through.

Big sky drama over the lake calls for a big panoramic photo! From the colorful clouds to the Chicago skyline off in the hazy distance.

Lots of clouds, lots of potential. I was really hoping for some fun bright colors to splash across these clouds. But instead we just got drama… dark clouds, drama & wind… and a few sunbeams streaming through towards the end. Okay, I’ll take that!!!

And yet, as much fun as it was to travel again… it always feels great to get back home. Always exciting to see the Chicago skyline as you’re flying back towards the City. The buildings, the lake, the beaches… beautiful signs to welcome me home!