Lena G R

@lenagr.bsky.social

730 Followers 832 Following

Chicagoan for sustainability, cultural diversity, & queer rights. She/her/hers 🚲🐶🌳🌻🌈🌊🍻🚉🏕️♻️

A tattooed construction worker with steel toed boots and a neon yellow shirt waits at a light with his scooter loaded with a big rolling tool box
Bike rider on a rural road is loaded with panniers on the side and several bags on top of the back bike rack plus a dog in goggles on the front rack
A worker places a seat post into position atop the gearbox of an also ebike. It makes a whirring/grinding noise as it locks into place. A red light on the back of the seat post helps visibility while riding
A sleek curved purple rivian van branded with a green Also. Logo is in a parking lot along Ashland in Chicago with a white bike in front of it
At the CTA bus turnaround at Chicago’s navy pier, a pantograph system descends from a big metal arm to the top of a bright blue electric bus. It’ll give a fast charge to top off the battery mid-run
Map of the Chicago River district north-south from Addison to montrose and east west between Claremont and California, showing a cluster of black dots on the river, indicating houseboats. The caption reads “map showing the location of chicago’s strange houseboat community. The boats are moored in rows along each bank of the river on both sides of the Irving park boulevard bridge.
Cyclist on Lincoln Ave by Belmont in the 1920s
Selfie wearing a mask while walking a little black dog
Kohler-Andrae state park video shows trails through rolling hills of sand and vegetation
Sidewalk today outside the same corner building is rounded for trucks & cars to turn fast. Makes the corner narrow& dangerous to stand on as a pedestrian
Fun & funky mid century bus shelter between the train tracks, Caldwell, & central
Narrow sidewalks not fun for pedestrians
CDOT’s Lindsey Frey presents the purpose & need for feedback
Stevie gives her paw in the front box of a red and black cargo bike. Devon avenue is in the background
A spaghetti of transportation in Edgebrook on the northwest side of Chicago includes Devon, Caldwell, Central, Lehigh, the MDN Metra line, the bus stop for 85A, 226, & 84, and the North Branch bike trail
Book cover of Beat Cop: Chicago’s chief O’Neill and the creation of Irish music by Michael O’Malley
Lena Horne, black american actress, singer, civil rights advocate, smiles in a black & white photo with a white shirt on
Dog on a couch cushion sleeps with her tongue out and paws all clustered in a funny way
A traditional Irish ballad “Raglan Road” with adapted lyrics is overlaid with images of Chicago bikers and vigil of Riley O’Neill, who died in Bridgeport when he was doored and flung into traffic where he got hit by a truck. Lyrics are: On Halsted road on a dark spring day We lost a friend we knew A man who loved his community Whose heart was fair and true He saw the danger ‘ere we passed So he fought for a better way And I say let grief be a falling leaf At the dawning of the day Our city streets should be safe for all With a place to lock up and stay That traveling light by foot or bike We might see another day So many misunderstand our plight Safe streets face much delay For speed and greed, for fear of change Is happiness thrown away But a city’s an ever changing thing We can choose to build anew To see another’s humanity To see Riley’s efforts through Remember him and keep the faith For together we have a say So I say let grief be a falling leaf At the dawning of the day
Crowd of hundreds gathers for the vigil
Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton speaks with ELPC director Howard Learner at ELPC gala on the rooftop of Navy Pier overlooking Lake Michigan
Catalpa tree blooming white leans over the Chicago River at montrose
Mpr news TikTok screenshot says Minnesotans honor slain state rep Melissa Hartman, husband and dog in crop art
Selfie showing two people with beers and a helmet on their restaurant patio table and a dog on a chair too
Biker on a bridge over Chicago River with sunset blue sky
Bike in woods by Belmont & Chicago River
Graphic shows current Illinois colored black, another Illinois outline further south in grey, two more yellow ones by Louisiana, and two red ones by Texas. Caption says: This map shows the projected summer climate changes over this century for Illinois relative to existing summer temperatures and precipitation found throughout the United States. For the higher emissions case, the Chicago region would have a summer climate more like eastern Texas by the end of the century.
Chicago River looking south from Randolph
Cover to the book Stone Fox by John Reynolds gardiner shows a boy in a dogsled race with one black dog next to a guy with a whole team of five white dogs
Eight people of various ages and genders wait at a bus stop along a bent-up fence in front of a tire place on Western Ave
Riverside path & concert venue downtown
Cute Kalamazoo houses
Mockup image of proposed battery powered self propelled Metra train that could start service on the rock island line by 2027
Graphic shows your field of vision shrinks when you drive faster
Metra's brand new Tier 3 locomotive arrived yesterday. This shot of the train in the covered workshop shows a bright shiny blue paint job interspersed with red and white stripes.
Newspaper clipping from 1967 shows the old Jones school building from 1875 on the right, and the new one they built next door on the left
After piling the extra packaging and napkins in the pizza box, my parents closed it up for easy grabbing from the train seat upon departure
Selfie with my parents in the blue line tunnel
A Cta bus pulls up to the Washington loop link station across from Daley Plaza, by a planter full of violets, ferns, and daffodils
Cover of the book Carmageddon by Daniel Knowles. How cars make life worse and what to do about it
A green g-line brompton, with a tan seat and sidewalls, sits folded on a backyard patio
Two bikes on the blue line
Cta bus on state street passes a planter full of yellow orange and white tulips blooming
An alley turned into a walkway, patio, and plaza space for downtown Jefferson park next to Wesson’s coffee and tap
View from the boat in Ghent
Chicago flag depicted in wood on the side of a big cargo bike box in a garage
A Chicago flag flies in front of my house
Four Chicagoans smile holding signs that read “Safer Cleaner Energy” and “Stop the Greed. Fight the rate hike.”
Somebody wearing earrings depicting four blue and white boxes with little white papers sticking out of the top, representing a voting ballot box
Headline from the onion: it is journalism’s sacred duty to endanger the lives of as many trans people as possible
Map of the planned galena to Chicago railroad across northern Illinois, but only the stretch to Elgin was completed. Other spots on the map include Milwaukee north of Chicago and the Illinois and Michigan canal down to Ottawa
Half the line to get into the building in portage park, the other half behind me was half a block long. There’s a yard sign in the lawn at the park that says “we support portage park safe streets”
Lena plays guitar and sings The Tale of Tommy McBride (inspired by the Irish song Arthur McBride a la Paul Brady) Oh me and me buddy one Tommy McBride As we went a biking down by the lakeside Now mark what followed and what did betide One fateful Chicago morning…   But Tommy he met with a terrible fate An angry ole driver was so filled with hate He killed him, and that was the very last date For a bright soul so kind and so charming…   They took it to court, and soon turned the tide Got justice for fair young Tommy McBride Should not be a death sentence just to bike ride We bade them take that as fair warning   For murder’s still murder by Chevy Tahoe Whether gun or a car, it still takes a soul Fitzpatrick’s in jail now, many years til parole And we bade him a tedious returning   And so, to conclude and to finish disputes Don’t mess with the cyclists, we’ll win legal suits For everyone deserves to get home from their routes We bid you drive safe in the morning
Two 56 Milwaukee buses pull up to the northbound stop at Montrose together
Person on a trail amid sand dunes
Man behind a tree rubs hands and licks his lips eyeing something eagerly off camera
Receipt from Venmo showing a $20 payment to the Iowa trans mutual aid fund. Caption reads “for our Midwest neighbors”
Diagram from Seattle's transit agency illustrates what does it take to move a thousand people. At the top is a single train, which can carry the same as 15 buses, which can carry the same as 625 cars. The cars at the bottom dominate the image, then an asterisk at the bottom notes that the car option also requires over five acres of parking at both start and destination.
Map of Illinois from the Illinois Department of Transportation showing little bus icons across the state to indicate where there are transit districts.