Subject: RE: Chicago ITUOriginally posted by dprocket
I'm travelling to Chicago for this race. Can't wait. Of course, hotels are quite expensive downtown. I'm wondering what people's thought are on coming in from one of the suburban areas on race morning. While it would be nice to just walk a mile or so to the race site, I'm travelling with my family and it may be a challenge. What are others doing?
Not racing it. However, I live in Arlington Heights (NW suburbs ). You should be fine, but for the early wakeup call. There's a good amount of parking in the Loop, and worst case, you can park in the Millennium Park garage and walk the 6 blocks. I don't think ITU's identified where transition will be, but you should be fine no matter what. That's what we did for the Chicago Triathlon last year, and had no problems. At least ITU has bike check-in the day before, so you won't have to deal with that issue.
Skim Groupon for deals on hotels - Schaumburg's got plenty, and has a ton of dining options, and is an easy ride in, especially before 5am.
Something else to think about is cost - paying to park is probably going to run $$20 to $30 each day (on Saturday for bike check-in, and again on Sunday ), so you may not be savings all that much (if anything ) once you factor in gas, tolls, and parking. |