David Lee Csicsko is a Chicago artist who recently won the commission for the new public art installation at the rebuilt Belmont CTA station following a competitive public selection process. The station and artwork are expected to be completed by the end of this year (view work-in-progress on the right). His Belmont 2000 work, which was originally intended as a temporary installation, had been on display at the old station since 1999 and was removed for the station construction.

What's the name of your new Belmont CTA piece, and how does it relate to the transit experience and to Lakeview?

The Chicago Criterium Bike Race is this Sunday July 26, 2009 at Buckingham Fountain starting at 7am. If anyone needs to rent a road bike, Bike and Roll Chicago has them available to you, either call 312-729-1000 or go online at http://bikechicago.com to reserve one today!

Last weekend I walked the Wauponsee Trail to Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. I started from the Manhattan Metra station, which unfortunately only has stops Monday through Friday (the Wauponsee trail can be found on the other side of the Manhattan Metra Station parking lot across from the actual station). If a person wanted to walk the trail on a weekend they could start in Joliet. I walked a total of about 45 miles in about 40 hours. I went from the Manhattan Metra station on Friday afternoon to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. I then walked the perimeter of the Prairie around to pick up the Wauponsee trail again near Symerton, IL and walked back along the trail to the Joliet Metra station on Sunday. The trails in Midewin are very interested because there are many bunkers and various features left over from the time when it was actually the biggest ammunition factory in the world.

As part of the second annual Low-Car Diet, Zipcar is challenging people in 13 cities to give up their cars for one month and learn what car-free living is all about. To help wean them off of their driving habit, Zipcar is of course offering them a car sharing membership, as well as transit passes and bikes in some of the participating cities. In Chicago, 30 residents are taking part in the challenge, ditching their cars from July 15 - Aug. 15.

Visit http://www.zipcar.com/lowcardiet and click on the '08 tab to read about the experiences of participants from last year. The results showed a 71% decrease in miles driven among the participants, which would support the claim that people who use car sharing end up driving less.

On July 3, my partner and I took a daycation with a couple friends up to Kenosha, Wis., via Metra. Kenosha first piqued my interest when I read about their streetcar system and harbor development. But I've also been interested for a while in checking out walkable towns in the Chicago area accessible by Metra (Kenosha's Metra station has a Walk Score of 83!).

Last Sunday I took the Rock Island Metra to Joliet to explore the Illinois and Michigan Canal. My long term goal is to walk most if not all of the canal path, but this weekend I set the modest goal of walking from the Joliet Metra to Lockport's Dellwood Park. Along the way I detoured through the Joliet Iron Works ruins, which are no more than a 20 minute walk through downtown Joliet from the Metra Station. The Joliet Iron Works ruins are a developed historical site, with explanatory signs that give the history of the various parts of the site. I found the explanations and history to be interesting and I came away from the site wanting to know more about it. The industrial ruins have a post-apocalyptic quality to them, like they are what remains from some kind of futuristic robot war that destroyed humanity. I spent a couple of hours walking around the site, reading the signs and taking pictures.

Join up to 10,000 bicyclists on Saturday night/Sunday morning July 11/12 for McDonald's L.A.T.E. Ride, hosted by and benefiting Friends of the Parks. Enjoy a 25-mile ride through Chicago's neighborhoods and along the lakefront. Cycle past skyscrapers, hear "Opaah!" in Greek Town, cruise through the North Side, wave to onlookers, and watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan. Plus, enjoy tons of snacks at the rest stop and breakfast back at Buckingham Fountain. Visit the website for more information: http://www.lateride.org

The Tour de Fat will once again be meandering and pandering to Chicago spreading the good word about the positive societal offerings of the bicycle and donating to a local non-profit. Along with our exceptional ability to roust a city's inner-cyclist, in 2009 we hope to drive our message even deeper by bringing you a show of one lucky Chicagoan who will trade their car for a gloriously hand built commuter bicycle.

The event is this Saturday, July 11 at Palmer Square from 9am-4pm. Don't miss it! Check out this video from last year:

Bike and Roll Chicago is offering Lollapalooza attendees amazing deals on bike and segway tours and bike rentals. Check it out on the Lollapalooza page under "getting there" or go directly to this website: http://www.bikechicago.com/lollapalooza/

You know the culture of carfree is gaining momentum when you see two books come out within months of each other catering to the carfree folks of Chicago. And it's just as exciting to see the web community in Chicago take note of these books with great interviews with the authors.

Carless in Chicago, by Jason Rothstein