R.I.P. Helmut Jahn

He once remarked that one of his creations made his reputation throughout the world but killed it in Chicago.

Bicycling gave him a long, healthy life, but two cars killed him about 100 kilometers west of the Windy City.

The creation in question is the Thomposon Building, nee the State of Illinois Center, designed by architecht Helmut Jahn.

That building, and 55 West Monroe (originally known as the Xerox Center), the Chicago Board of Trade and the United Airlines Terminal at O'Hare International Airport, are among the most iconic structures in Chicago's distinctive profile. Jahn created the Art Deco Revival addition to the Board of Trade, and conceived and designed the others.

His quip about how he's regarded is a result of the Thompson Building's history.  Like too many high-rise structures, like the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center (Twin Towers) in my hometown, it has been a "white elephant" that bled barrels of cash.  (ESB, finished just as the world was about to plunge into the worst economic depression of the past century, didn't break even until 25 years after it opened; the Twin Towers were in the red from the day they opened until the day they fell.)  Last week, the State of Illinois began accepting bids for the Thompson's sale.

Of course, the edifice's financial woes are not Jahn's fault.  I hope the same can be said for the crash that ended his life.  According to a police report and witnesses, he didn't stop at a stop sign and proceded through an intersection in St. Charles.  There, a Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV traveling southeast knocked him into the northwest lane, where a Hyundai Sonata going in the opposite driection from the Trailblazer struck him.

Now, not having seen a video of the incident, or the incident itself, it's hard to know whom or what, if anyone or anything, to blame.  Did Jahn not see the Stop sign?  Did he not see the vehicles until it was too late?  Perhaps he misjudged their speed and figured he had enough time to cross?  Or were the drivers of either or both of the vehicles speeding or driving distractedly?

Whatever the answers to these questions, losing anyone in what must have been a gruesome collision is bad enough.  And, just as the world renowned Helmut Jahn as an architecht, it--we--will mourn his loss.

For Moms And Kids Who Ride

During the past year, I've seen more people on bikes than I've ever seen before.  Not only is the number of bikes a departure from times past:  People I never expected to see on bikes are riding, and riding in ways I rarely saw before the pandemic.

Those new riders include many women riding with children in carriers, towed in trailers or pedaling smaller bikes behind them.  This post is dedicated to those women and children who are bonding over bikes.

From Have Fun Biking

Happy Mothers' Day!

From Scoperta Creations

Would You Live On A Street That's A Singletrack?

 Some neighborhoods' and towns' street names have themes.  For example, when I pedal to Point Lookout, after traversing the Atlantic Beach Bridge, I cross a series of streets named for New York State counties.  Other communities have streets named after flowers or trees--or the children of the developers.  Then there are the "gem" streets of "The Hole."

Well, in Colorado there's a town called Fruita.  You might expect the streets to be named after strawberries or blueberries or cherries or other delectables.  But, being near Grand Junction, it's adjacent to some of the most renowned mountain biking in the world.  So, the builders of a new development paid homage--by building their new homes on Singletrack Street, Pivot Street and Yeti Street.  

Photo by Mattias Fredericksson

Executives of Yeti and Pivot bicycles deny that they had anything to do with naming the streets, but are nonetheless delighted.  It's "better than a star on Hollywood Boulevard," said Chris Conroy, the president of Yeti, which is based in nearby Golden.  Chris Cocalis, the CEO of Pivot, called the naming "a complete and awesome surprise."  

The town sounds like a nice place to go if you get tired of city life.  But I have to ask:  If the developers refused to sell their houses to road bikers, would that be a violation of Federal fair housing regulations?