Bike Trip: Northwest Indiana breweries

Join us for an all-day bike ride along the lakefront to NW Indiana, where we'll visit breweries in Whiting and Hammond. There is a ton to see along the lakeshore including, parks, beaches, bridges, marinas, a casino, heavy industry, breweries, the national mascot museum, lakes, marshes, and much more.

The route is about 60 miles (~5 hrs actively biking) round trip OR 35 miles (~3 hrs actively biking) and a 30 minute train ride back to Chicago. The pace we aim for is a casual 12 mph with breaks along the way in parks or other points of interest. There may be swimming break opportunities along the way at Promontory Point, or an optional water obstacle course (WhoaZone at Whihala Beach).

To make the group manageable, we'll have to limit the number of attendees to 15.

Schedule / Itinerary

Start: Wicker Park 10am

- Breaks at various points of interest

- Brewery 1: Bulldog Brewing Co - (lunch stop)

- Brewery 2: Foreign Local Brewing Co

- Brewery 3: 18th Street Brewing Company

- (optional end) South Shore Electric (Metra) - 1:57 pm, 4:40 pm or 6:30 p.m. departures to Millennium Station (downtown Chicago)

- Breaks at various points of interest

- Dip in the lake

End: ~7:45 p.m. back to Wicker Park for those who catch the 6:30 p.m. train. If you want to do the full return trip on a bike, 10-10:30 p.m. is more realistic.

Route: https://goo.gl/maps/UubEv9j8tK4DiGjV6

Note: Google maps shows a less than ideal route through downtown to get to the LFT and does some funny things with the lakefront path like not showing it as continuous (it is) so there are some deviations from this route.

The vast majority of the ride is either in bike lanes or dedicated bike paths separated from traffic. There are a couple spots where we will have to jump on the sidewalk or ride on low speed limit roads, but those sections make up a tiny portion of the ride.

We suggest that you bring a bike in good working condition, comfortable clothes (including a swimsuit or layer if you plan to participate in swimming breaks), plenty of water, snacks and the appropriate safety gear.

We'll bring a 'light' toolkit to help with small issues like flat tires or minor adjustments. You might want to bring along a spare tube in your tire size just in case.