Last year I was able to participate in Friends of the Parks’ Chicago late ride. It was great; a midnight to 6am (no it didn’t take me that long) ride around the city. 22 miles of skyscrapers, neighborhoods, bridges, and strangely enough… lots of traffic.

This year’s event is being offered at $35, which is $5 less than last years fee. Yea, you might be wondering “Why in the world should I be paying for a ride around a city I can bike every day?” I know I had my reservations last year… but in reality its a pretty big deal.

When you first get there, you meet up at Buckingham fountain with 8-10,000 other cyclists. There’s live music, free food, bottled water and even a Starbucks trailer. Yep, thats free too… though the drinks are served in cups that are pretty freaking small.

When you embark on the ride, you’re let off in waves of 2,000 people each in an attempt to alleviate congestion. Of course, there’s always a bottleneck or two along the way, but its basically a straight shot. The Chicago Police teamed up with the ride coordinaters as well, and as a result the major throughfares are monitored and directed by traffic officers.

It’s worth the $35. You’ll be falling asleep on the ride home, thats for sure, but it’s a blast. I’ll be going this year again and will do a write up in the next week or two of how it went. Any of you in the Midwest who haven’t tried this out: do it! Some people drive hundreds of miles to do this every year… but luckily its right out my back door.

Go here for information about the event.