This morning was more clouded than yesterday with a chance of rain later today.
So I took the opportunity to ride further south to get more miles in before the rain.
You could feel the change of wind & temperature as my ride continued… nice tailwind though!

A nice, dramatic view of the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier.

Low-flying clouds with a dramatic glow.

Nice sunrise ripples refelcting the morning sun at 31st Street Marina.

Clear skies this morning with no clouds for the sun to play with.
Luckily, the lake was pretty darn smooth so the reflections were pretty darn amazing!

And then the sun came up… and reflected pretty darn nice too!!!

Okay, so to see the real perspective of the crazy “column” of clouds…
here’s a couple panorama shots that shows it much better!

Nothing makes my friend Pam happier than BACON!!!… okay, maybe Chapstick?!
So I thought a quick bite to eat at Kaiser Tiger might be the perfect spot before going to see Cirque du Soleil. Oh, I don’t know why?… maybe because practically EVERYTHING on their menu has bacon in it, on it, or as part of it!!! As you can see, she didn’t mind it one bit as our meal started with a flight of four different kinds of bacon!!!

For dinner we shared some Bacon=Wrapped Meatloaf and a Bacon Burger. Yum.
But the real piece-de-resistance was dessert – Bacon Bread Pudding!!!
And yes, I was one VERY small step away from licking the plate clean!!!

So if you need some bacon… or a really great backyard, outdoor seating area with live music
on Wednesday nights, stop by Kaiser Tiger in the West Loop.

Kaiser Tiger
1415 West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601 – (312) 243-3100

With a little bit of fog early this morning, the Chicago skyline looked pretty amazing as it reflected in the lake. Good thing… it was the closest we got to a sunrise of any sort this morning. Dark & cloudy. Okay sure, if I didn’t start out so early it wouldn’t be quite so dark, right?!

A new predator has invaded the Chicago Lakefront.
An annual event where the lakefront gets infested with huge green dragonflies. Thousands of them!!! Everywhere you go along the Lake there are dragonflies. They seemed to “arrive” on the Lakefront just a couple days ago. If you look closely, you can see them in some of the sunrise photos!

So it was no surprise to find them all over the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival today. They’re pretty bold little buggers. Swooping. Swarming. Dive-bombing. But I’m more than willing to put up with them as they as also eating all of the mosquitoes and gnats. So much better to have some huge, cool-looking bugs than the little blood-sucking annoyance bugs!

And yet as soon as they appear they will also disappear.
Give them a couple days… and then they’re be gone for another year!

And one was even so bold as to land on my elbow. He hung on for quite awhile
eaving plenty of time for a little dragonfly selfie!

This morning was pretty dark. Darker than normal… and cloudy too! But it was still dry so I hopped on the bike to pedal downtown and to work out some of the kinks from this weekend’s Triathlon.

I made it down to Navy Pier for a very sunless morning. But then there was a shift in the wind. A quick change in the smell… rain? Looking north towards home it was pitch black. Uh oh.

So I pedaled as fast as I could… and made it inside my door literally 3 minutes before the big crashing storm hit and the rain came plummeting down. Whew. Safe.

Beautiful day today in Chicago.
And a wonderful bike ride to work out some of my Triathlon kinks from yesterday.
Love when you find random acts of creativity along the way.

And ready for a patriotic Fourth of July today… the City is definitely ready!!!

It feels great to be home. It was a long stint in Dover, Delaware. The concerts were great. The music festivals were a success. But still… my own bed is wonderful. My own shower. My own kitchen. It feels great to be back home and back on my “real” bike. A bike that is NOT covered with mud!!! Unfortunately, the misty cloudy sunrise seems to have followed me home?!