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Divvy: Bike share in Chicago

Less than a year ago, the city of Chicago rolled out a citywide bike system called Divvy. As you walk around the city, you see bike stations that look like the one below in the post. I took one for the first time a few days ago.

I walked out of an Applie Pie Contest with friends in Bucktown feeling full, and was ready to get back to River North for an evening yoga class to work off the food.  But there were no cabs immediately around and public transportation from Bucktown to River North isn’t great. The subway and the bus ride both require  a switch and that can be tricky if you don’t time it right on the weekends. So I took out my phone, downloaded the Divvy app, and looked to see if there was a station close by.  Of course, the moment I put my head up and started looking around, I saw one less than a block away before the app was even downloaded.

It works a lot like a public transportation system. You pay a small fee and can get a bike for a full day. You can pay for it right the kiosk. Then pick what number bike you want. When you pull the bike out of the rack, it’s yours to ride.  You can take it anywhere you want, so long as you dock it in any station when you’re done (like RedBox). When you arrive at your desination, you just put the bike back in the rack and it locks itself.  And best of all there are lots of locations around the city as you can see in the photo below.

The bikes felt really secure and sturdy. They also have a built in lock system so you can lock it up.  They’ve got gears, sturdy breaks, and a basket for shopping.

There are probably some safety concerns. I didn’t have a helmet on me. Any entrepreneurs out there that want to work on an inflatable helmet that fits in my pocket? I’d totally fund the idea.  I had a friend tell me she had an extra, but I was already biking by that point.  Likewise, cars and cabs can be tough on roads with smaller bike lanes or roads without a lane.  But ever since the roll out of Divvy, a lot of roads have put bike lanes up so I did my best to stay on roads that felt secure.

In th end I made it home fast, safely and on time to make the class.  While public transit is sometimes the best way to get around, sometiems Divvy is easier.  And best of all, it was an awesome ride!

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