Kayaking Chicago River at night

Paddling down the Chicago River towards "The Loop"

Paddling down the Chicago River towards "The Loop"

When I arrived in Chicago I was greeted by hot, humid, muggy weather. And in the space of the cab ride from the airport, it rained, heavily, on four different occasions. As the cabbie said to me “If you don’t like Chicago weather, just wait 5 minutes until it changes”!

Well, the change was for the worse. A huge electric storm rolled in with driving rain and thunder, and it looked that my paddle was doomed to failure. So, thinking my paddle was totally out, I decided to assemble and de-assemble my folbot – right inside my hotel room.

Folbot Cooper in hotel room, assembled for the 2nd time in 26mins

Folbot Cooper in hotel room, assembled for the 2nd time in 26mins

The weather seemed to calm down eventually and I was really keen for my “sunset paddle” on the Chicago River, so leaving the folbot behind I took off in the hope that I *may* get a paddle in.

And I did, in a tour group of about 40 odd novice paddlers. But fortunately I was allowed to set the pace alongside one of the guides, and was able to paddle the river at night with the crazy paddlers smashing into each other behind me.

Pleasure boats on the Chicago River

Pleasure boats on the Chicago River

Now just quietly, there’s not much pretty about the river system. It is a dirty toxic mess that made me happy not to have put my folbot into it. But the night-time paddle was perfect, with the  glittering lights of Chi-Town reflecting off  black water. With a great bunch of fun-loving crazy guides to help you, Kayak Chicago is a great thing to do if you ever get to visit this amazing city. Happy paddles!

Chi-Town at night from the Chicago River

Chi-Town at night from the Chicago River

This place has its own PostCode! Seriously!

This place has its own PostCode! Seriously!

The Fat Paddler by Sean Smith