hi, i may be relocating to chicago. i'm in the airline biz so i would be working at o'hare. i was born in chicago and lived in elmhurst up until high school then moved away. i have no idea what some good areas to ride would be. i do get back to chicago every once in a while, and still have relatives that live in the west suburbs. where would be a good place to live that i could ride from my front door. i currently live in st. louis and am pretty spoiled with plenty of good routes with only several miles of urban riding before getting to some good rural areas. my training rides usually consist of 40-70 miles and can include hilly routes. i'm sure i'm not gonna get any good climbs around chicago, but maybe i'm wrong. anyways, i also don't want to be too far from the airport. ideally, i'd like to only have a 15-20 minute drive to the airport, but i also understand what kind of towns are in that area so 45 minutes is my max.

also, what are some good training rides, and are there any training races during the week? any advice appreciated.

I'm wondering this same thing except for a job in the loop/business district. I thought this would be easy to find out but I'm finding it difficult to research. Isn't there a typical area where cyclists live who work in the loop? For cyclists that work in the loop, where do they live, where do they ride on week days, and where do they ride on weekends? Any help would make a big difference.

I live on the south side of the city, near bridgeport -- I tend to head north on the path to Sheridan road and such and do some rides up there. There are a few good group rides up that way as well, Turin, Judson, Mafia ride. As for going south/east there is a ride in Schererville, IN I believe (on Sundays?). There is also some good riding towards willow springs. As for riding in the city, it sucks -- coming from open farm roads...