A pleasant way of seeing Chicago and enjoying a nice day out is to do a bike tour around the lakefront, which provides some great views of the city skyline. While I think you can also rent a bike for your own tour, I chose to join Bobby’s Bike Hike. This saved me the stress of trying to figure out where to go and our guide was a great source of info about the city.

The start point was at Bobby’s Bike Hike (website), which is conveniently located not far off Navy Pier on Lake Shore Drive and Ohio St. Since I had a half day off in the morning I chose to join the Lakefront Neighborhoods Tour, which started at 9am. This meant that the three hour easy ride would end at noon, in time for lunch.

The ride was very easy, as advertised, with only the early part of the ride going through city traffic. But because we were in a sizable group, cars just had to wait for us to clear. Our guide Liz was really good and timing junction crossings so that no one was left behind. I never felt at risk during the ride. I think because of this, the tour is also suitable for kids who are capable cyclers and able to keep up with adults. There was a nine year old boy in our group.

The bike tour ends back around the lakefront and we ride back to our start point. Overall a lot of fun, with some iconic views of the city.