Participated in my first Boulevard Lakefront Tour. I awoke shortly after 5 a.m., was at the Army Trail Road Starbucks when they opened at 6 a.m., and reached the designated parking deck on the University of Illinois-Chicago's campus at 6:45. I rode the two blocks to the start/finish in the Chicago Circle Memorial Grove at Morgan and Taylor Streets and waited in line to pick up my registration packet (@6:58). The start of the 32-mile ride was supposed to commence at 7:30, but late-arriving 62-milers pushed my start time to about 7:55. The official ride description follows: The Boulevard Tour heads south through the Mexican-American community of Pilsen before crossing the Chicago River and turning east into Bridgeport. Riders continue east through Bridgeport and Bronzeville to Lake Michigan and the Chicago Park District's Lakefront Trail (@8:35) for a jaunt south to Hyde Park. Exiting the trail, participants will travel west along the Midway Plaisance and have the opportunity to pause at our water stop (@8:56-9:05; water, port-a-potties) about 11 miles into the ride. Heading north on beautiful Drexel Boulevard, riders pass through Kenwood and Bronzeville again on their way to Chinatown. Look for our rest stop (@9:50-10:14; snacks, water, port-a-potties) at the beautiful Ping Tom Memorial Park along the Chicago River about 18 miles into the ride. Heading west from the rest stop, riders weave through Pilsen to the heart of Chicago's Boulevard system. In the Lawndale neighborhood, participants will ride through Douglas Park before heading north along Independence Blvd. towards beautiful Garfield Park and our water stop (@11:08; water, port-a-potties), located about 26 miles into the ride. Continuing north, riders will follow the boulevards to the southern edge of Humboldt Park before returning south through the Ukrainian Village neighborhood and the Near West Side to the post-ride festival at the end of the 32-mile Boulevard Tour (@noon). I was back at my car at 12:11. Temperatures started in the low 70s at the onset of the ride to the upper 80s by the end of the ride, with moderately high humidity. Scattered morning clouds over the lake delayed the sun's appearance, but skies were mostly sunny thereafter.