When people think about riding bikes in Chicago, the lakefront path almost always comes to mind. And while it is beautiful, it's crowded as all get-out and nearly impossible to ever get above about 12 mph. Not so great for training. So, I find my way up to the North Branch Trail for a bit more serenity and open space. This past Sunday, my ride was joined by what we're affectionately calling around here "Brood XIII". The 17-year cicadas have invaded northern Illinois this spring, and while their arrival was nauseatingly over-hyped and delayed about two weeks later than the experts thought, rest assured that these little guys have arrived. Their presence in the city is limited (too much concrete for them to come up through), but out in the woods--watch out.
My 39 mile ride was great, minus the hearing loss due to their piercing mating call (it is impossible to describe the volume and tone with which these critters are looking for 'that special someone'), a cicada stuck in my helmet, and dozens of dead ones stuck to my tires.
Maybe the lakefront path isn't so bad.
Oh, and
Chicago even has its own little blog about these things. Cicada haiku, anyone?
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8 comments:
yikes... sounds like fun?!?!
"I am a big bug
I'll fly into your helmet
won't that be a blast?"
Dead bugs stuck to tires
Hearing loss is eminent
Please go away soon.
bicycle poems
what's a girl to do but join
in cycling fun
cicadas are gross
katie would stop riding now
if bugs hit helmet
mouthful of skittles
gets katie through long bike rides
with good blood glucose
this is it, i'm done
no more poems from katie
someone elses turn
Haikus are too easy, how 'bout limericks?
There once was a rider named Nik
who rode when the bugs were so thick
they got in her hair
and just everywhere
'til she freaked out and rode in the crik
Or
There once was a cyclist who rode
through the valley where nothing had growed
she climbed up the pass
though it busted her ass
and now there's bugs on the road
Or
I once knew a girl named Nicole
who thought that it'd be fun to roll
over big piles of bugs
and now she just shrugs
at the thought of some bubs in her bowl
Okay, clearly it's time to stop!
I don't do the ride
and most likely never will
But I gave to Kate
Distraction is good
when you are bored at your job
ride poems make life fun
I hate bugs, I do
so I'll leave the swallowing
tons of them to you.
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