My dad pumped up my bike tires on Friday night in the garage, spun the back wheel, listened to it and said, "That'll get you there. Coming back is your problem." It was the bike I rode in high school, a little rusty on the chain, and it hadn't left the garage in about six years.
Saturday was one of those perfect October days Chicago gets maybe four of: sunny, about 60 degrees, no wind. I'd had the Chicago Botanic Garden on my free list since April, and I'd been waiting to do it by bike. Here's how the day went, and how I spent exactly zero dollars.
Why I biked
The Botanic Garden in Glencoe is free to enter. What costs money is parking a car there, and the fee isn't small. You can walk in or bike in for free. I had a second reason to leave the car home that week: my Corolla had just come out of the shop for brakes and rotors, and I wasn't in the mood to put any miles on it for fun.
From my parents' house in Wilmette, I rode north on the Green Bay Trail, the old rail path that runs beside the train line through Kenilworth, Winnetka and into Glencoe. It's mostly flat and paved, with a few spots where you cross streets near the stations. In Glencoe I followed side streets west for the last stretch to the Garden. The whole ride took me a little under an hour at a very relaxed pace, with one stop to retie my shoe and one stop to breathe.
There are bike racks near the visitor entrance. I brought a cheap lock, which my dad also insisted on.
My lunch, from my parents' kitchen:
- A turkey and cheese sandwich and an apple
- A thermos of coffee with milk
- Two granola bars and a bottle of water
- A light jacket, sunscreen and my phone with downloaded trail maps
All of it was groceries already covered by the $300 I pay my parents each month. My mom also slipped in a ziplock bag of the cookies she'd baked for her library coworkers, which I chose not to ask about.
Four hours in the Garden
I stayed about four hours. Fall is a good time to go. The trees around the lakes were just turning, with the maples going red first, and the big grasses in some gardens had that pale gold color they get in October. A lot of the flower beds were swapped over to fall plants, mums and kale in rows.
I walked the paths around the islands, sat on a bench and drank my coffee while a heron stood very still in the shallows for twenty minutes. I took an embarrassing number of photos of one Japanese maple. The fruit and vegetable garden had pumpkins and late tomatoes, and a man was explaining to his kid why some apples are ugly but taste better. I didn't buy anything at the gift shop or cafe, though I looked.
The ride home and the math
My dad was right about coming back being my problem. My legs were shaky by Kenilworth, and I walked the bike for a block just to stretch. I got home around four, ate dinner like I'd been at sea, and was asleep by ten.
The math on the day:
Parking: $0. Admission: $0. Food: already in the house. Gas: $0.
Compare that to how I spent Saturdays in Rogers Park in 2023, when "something fun" meant a $40 brunch and a $25 cab. I don't want to be too smug about it. Some free Saturdays are boring. This one wasn't.
October has been a big month in the club sheet. My 5.05% student loan, the first one I targeted with the avalanche method, is gone, and my brakes cost $465 without touching my emergency fund. It felt right to celebrate with something that didn't cost money.
I'll be back in winter, when the Garden has a different kind of quiet, though I'll probably take the car for that one and pay to park. Some savings aren't worth frostbite. Until then, the bike is staying out of the garage. My dad says he's adding a chain oiling to my list.
