Bike the Drive Closes DuSable Lake Shore Drive to Cars for 25th Year, Draws 15,000 Riders

More than 15,000 cyclists rolled onto DuSable Lake Shore Drive before sunrise on Sunday, filling nine miles of pavement usually reserved for cars during the 25th running of Bike the Drive.

The ride, organized by the Active Transportation Alliance, closed the Drive to vehicle traffic from 6 a.m. to noon between Hollywood Avenue and 59th Street. Riders picked their own route north or south from Jackson Boulevard, with entry points at the main festival in Grant Park, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Fullerton Avenue, Oakwood Boulevard and the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Tandems, Divvy bikes, e-bikes and adapted cycles all shared the road alongside standard bicycles.

Brandy Hillman of Oak Park has ridden the event with her husband for years and said the appeal hasn't changed. "It's just beautiful. Being out on Lake Shore Drive and having no cars. It's a beautiful time," she said.

Mark Buciac, a lifelong Chicagoan who volunteers at the event, described the crowd as a mix of ages and skill levels rather than a race. "It's non-competitive, grandpas and granddaughters and everybody in between," he said.

Amy Rynell, executive director of the Active Transportation Alliance, said the layout is built for flexibility. "You can get on at the Museum of Science and Industry, you can get on at the far north end and a few spots in between so you can hop on and hop off," she said. The Active Transportation Alliance advocates for cycling, walking and transit access across the city, and Bike the Drive is one of its largest annual fundraisers.

Jim Kreps has volunteered at past editions of the ride but joined this year as a participant instead. "Bicycling, pedestrians, and mass transit. We're not anti-car but we're trying to make things more enjoyable for those three activities," he said.

Riders finished at a post-ride festival at Butler Field in Grant Park. New additions this year included DJs stationed at rest stops along the route, a family fun zone and a mini golf course set up for festivalgoers after they got off their bikes.

The road closures also affected traffic away from the lakefront. Northbound Interstate 55 approaching Martin Luther King Drive was shut down ahead of the event, with all northbound lanes closed by 5 a.m. and traffic diverted to the Martin Luther King Drive exit; the highway reopened fully by noon. Drivers headed to the Museum Campus during the closure were routed in via 18th Street, while Navy Pier remained reachable through Illinois Street.

Nine CTA bus routes that normally run along the Drive, including the 6, 10, J14, 55, 81, 84, 130, 146 and 147, were rerouted or cut short for the morning to avoid the closed roadway.

Bike the Drive has run every Labor Day weekend since its debut a quarter-century ago. The Active Transportation Alliance uses it as one of its largest fundraisers for its transit and street-safety work in Chicago. The 25th edition kept the format that has drawn repeat riders like Hillman back year after year: a car-free lakefront highway open to riders of nearly any age or ability, with a festival finish in Grant Park.

The Drive reopened to vehicle traffic at noon, and the Stevenson Expressway returned to normal operation by the same hour.