A midnight bike ride through time
Loyola history professor turns Chicago's streets into a classroom on wheels for a night under the stars.
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Every campus community has their own unique traditions or experiences, but only one has Professor Timothy Gilfoyle’s Midnight Bike Ride.
On one September evening for the past 34 years, Loyola University Chicago history professor Timothy Gilfoyle has turned the city of Chicago into a classroom.
Open to all members of the Loyola community, Gilfoyle gathers a group next to Madonna della Strada Chapel at 9 p.m., before putting pedal to the pavement and setting out on a guided ride through the city as he paints a picture of Chicago’s storied history.
“At the turn of the 20th century, Chicago was the ‘shock city’ of the world,” said Gilfoyle. “It’s a pleasant shock to explore the history of Chicago at night a century later.”
While most of the city is asleep, Gilfoyle and company take advantage of quiet streets and usual Chicago hot spots.
The adventure begins on the Lake Shore Campus and hits over 20 landmarks throughout the course of the evening, including the Uptown entertainment district, Wrigley Field, Lincoln Yards, Goose Island, the Montgomery Ward complex, the Chicago Fire Academy, Grant Park and Michigan Avenue before finishing on the lakefront to watch the sunrise.
