Miami or Illinois?

I'm confused. I thought I was in Chicago, but today as I'm riding my
bike along Lake Michigan I feel like I'm back in Miami or Venice Beach.
There are SO many people here, I have had several near accidents on the
bike dodging other cyclists and pedestrians. There was this bicycle gang
wearing matching shirts that said "Chicago Cruisers" and blasting latino
rap from a huge speaker with "Me Encanto Puerto Rico!" stickers all over
it strapped to an adult tricycle. I joined in with them by default for
a couple miles. This path is really cool. It goes along the water like
the GW Parkway path at home, except this is so close to the city that it
can be easily used by commuters. Its almost like a highway just for
bikes.

I rode almost all the way to The Loop (downtown) but I just had to stop
in the breezy shade and admire the sailboats as far as the eye can see,
and marvel at the beach decorated in crowded umbrellas like a Seurrat
painting in the shadow of some of the tallest buildings in the world.
This is pretty damn cool.

P.s. If you're wondering how I got a bike, Zach got into town last
night. Finally the trio is complete, even though we all went our
separate ways today. Tomorrow class starts and we are all pretty damn
psyched.