YAY FOR YOU!

I did 45 miles on my 45th birthday, but I broke it up throughout the day. So I picked favorite places to go, rode there, enjoyed, went to the next place. I'm lucky that my birthday is mid-July.

The lake front path has some hidden jewels. Ride down to the Adler Planetarium, and go around back. There's a beautiful view of the city, and some sort of meditative stone circle thing. Have you ridden south on the path? The pavement is in better shape, and it's quieter. I rode over to Pilsen, a favorite neighborhood of mine. I rode around and looked at the murals around Ashland and 19th St, and then over to the Mexican Fine Arts Museum (www.mfacmchicago.org) for a walk around. There's a fun little coffee shop called "Jumping Bean" on 18th St, near Ashland.

I would say plan lots of stops and hot chocolate or whatever your delight is. I even got in a movie. You could ride to the museum campus, and go into a museum for lunch. One of the nicest museum restaurants is at the Art Institute...not on the "museum campus", but not far away.

Have a great time, and I look forward to hearing about it! Lise