Chicago Bike Patrol in Training

I love just about every form of photography.  Candid street photography is especially enjoyable since I like wandering impulsively with the camera at the ready.  I never know what might turn up.

Buskers and Bike Police.  Add a few thousand tourists to this scene and the summer picture will be complete.

Every city has spring rituals.  Chicago will be mobbed by tourists from all over the world in the summer months.  There is much to be done to prepare for the onslaught and make the city look its best. I'm accustomed to visiting in April and early May when the landscaping crews are doing their thing.  Crews are pressure washing the sidewalks and scraping up old gum.  If you look up, you'll see swing stages as skyscrapers are cleaned and maintained.

As I walked along Michigan Avenue last week, I saw something new:  a fleet of Chicago's finest preparing for high season bike patrols.

Those are tulips in the island between the Wrigley and Tribune buildings.  Chicago had a really mild winter.

While I've seen a few officers on scooters and horses, most get around the Magnificent Mile on foot or on bike.  Of course, they need conditioning and training.

Only a tourist or photographer would even notice a pack of police on mountain bikes.  The average urban dweller prides himself/herself on staying focused.

Taken with a Panasonic NEX-3 with the kit lens.

Off they go!  I'm pretty sure their next stop would have been Millennium Park.  I'll be back in Chicago for a trade association meeting in a few weeks.  We'll see what shows up in front of my wandering camera.