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Greetings
Hello
Summer has officially rolled in – and we hope you’re enjoying biking, walking, and rolling during these longer sunny days. If you’ve been chasing sunset rides or dusting off your bike for the first time in a while, you’re fully embracing the season!
With summer creeping up on us, our Spring Appeal has quietly been counting down its final days. We’d hate to have you miss it! This isn’t just a fundraising push - it’s the campaign that keeps up all the work Ride Illinois does. Including our advocacy, education, and awareness programs and making sure everyone in Illinois has a safe place to ride, walk and roll. None of our work could be done without people, like you, contributing to our cause.
Here's your official invitation: please become a Ride Illinois member today!Becoming a member attaches your name to our membership roll, supports our work, and provides leverage – it allows us to walk into a room and say “thousands of Illinois residents are counting on us.” That’s power that YOU hold.
Keep reading below for updates on what we've been working on and what's coming up this summer. And, if you've been waiting for a sign to join - this is it. Let's make this Spring Appeal our strongest finish yet!
Ride Illinois has maintained our Three-Star rating from Charity Navigator for 2026. You can support us with confidence 👏👏👏
We're proud of our accomplishments and transparency with the public and our members. We maintain our Charity Navigator profile to summarize the impact that contributions help us achieve.
Ride Illinois continues to work closely with our lobbyist, elected officials, and partners on legislation and policy to increase bicyclist safety and improve infrastructure in communities of all sizes in Illinois.
SB 3484 – a bill championed by Ride Illinois – passed both the House and Senate. The bill is awaiting Governor Pritzker’s signature. This important legislation clearly differentiates between legal classes of e-bikes (1, 2, and 3) and e-motos. A license, registration, and insurance will be required to operate high-speed devices on Illinois roads. The bill also results in consistent rules for to e-bikes, e-motos, and micromobility devices across the state. The law will take effect on January 1, 2027.
HB 4948 was signed into law by Governor Pritzker’s last Friday. This 'Stop Super Speeders' legislation will increase safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users by requiring Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) devices be installed in the vehicles of repeat and extreme speeders. The law will take effect on January 1, 2028.
Education & Safety
BikeSafetyQuiz 2.0 is Available in English and Spanish
Our new and improved (and free) online quizzes – affectionately referred to as BSQ 2.0 – have been well received. Each quiz includes thought-provoking questions for three different audiences:
Adult Bicyclist: for teens and adults
Child Bicyclist: for 4th and 5th graders (or younger with adult help)
Motorist/Drivers Ed: for motorists and driver’s education students
👉 Take the quiz and share it with friends and family!
League Cycling Advocate (LCA) Workshop in September
Ride Illinois has partnered with League of American Bicyclists to offer a League Cycling Advocate (LCA) workshop on September 17. The workshop is geared toward emerging leaders, advocates newly entering the bike movement, and anyone else interested in gaining League certification as a bike advocate. The workshop is open to anyone, but space is limited, and pre-registration is required. Register by August 14.
Environment & Awareness
Illinois Bicycle Calendar
Ride Illinois FREEIllinois Bicycle Calendar includes over 140 bike-related events all around Illinois. We just added a handy Map of Future Events to the calendar page!
👉 Want to add a ride or event to the calendar? It’s so easy! Complete the brief form on the Illinois Bicycle Calendar page to share the details.
Check out the calendar, spread the word, and add those events 👏🏿👏🏽👏🏻
Get to Know: Ride Riverside
Ride Riverside is a community group in Riverside, IL, dedicated to making bicycling safe and accessible for riders of all ages and abilities. They advocate for infrastructure improvements and celebrate biking in Riverside!
Infrastructure
What’s That? Bike Boulevards
Bike boulevards provide continuous, comfortable bike routes through the local street network. Bike boulevards are characterized by slow motor vehicle speeds and low motor vehicle volumes. Sometimes these are present by the very nature of the street. Still, some design attention is typically needed to reduce speeds, divert motor vehicle traffic, and prioritize bikes at intersections and street crossings.
Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) Workshop in Geneva
The workshop focused primarily on the 5 E’s of a BFC:
Engineering
Education
Encouragement
Equity & Accessibility
Evaluation & Planning
During the workshop, Ride Illinois shared an update on our advocacy, education, and awareness efforts with workshop attendees. The workshop culminated with a bike audit of Geneva, including a visit to several recent bike-friendly infrastructure projects.
There are currently 16 Bicycle Friendly Communities in Illinois. We'd love to add to the list of communities that are investing in biking and active transportation in Illinois. Is your community next?
Community
St. Clair County Transit District’s “GO TRAILing” Program
Through the “GO TRAILing” program, people of all ages can track the miles as they ride, walk, roll, hike, run, skip or jump along the trail system thru August 8 and earn prizes like a bike helmet, t-shirt, water bottle and more. Those who track 100 miles during the program timeframe will be entered into a drawing to win one of several grand prizes, including a Fitbit fitness tracker, Bluetooth earbuds and a $100 gift card.
The MetroBikeLink system provides ample opportunities to ride and explore for short or long excursions. Click here to register.
Book Recommendation: One Man and His Bike
What would happen if you were cycling to the office and just kept on pedaling? Needing a change, Mike Carter did just that. Following the Thames to the sea he embarked on an epic 5,000 mile ride around the entire British coastline—the equivalent of London to Calcutta. He encountered drunken priests, drag queens, and gnome sanctuaries. He met fellow travelers and people building for a different type of future.
One Man and His Bike is the inspiring and very funny tale of the five months Mike spent cycling the byways of his nation and rediscovering a level of happiness he thought he'd lost forever.
💡What bike-related books or podcasts do you recommend? From epic adventures to practical advice, to the benefits of biking, there are plenty of options! Send your suggestions to info@rideIllinois.org.
Generosity
Affiliated Clubs & Community Organizations
This month we’ve been very fortunate to have the support of Evanston Bicycle Club and Friends of Cycling in Elk Grove for their generous support of Ride Illinois’ mission. We extend a warm appreciation to our recent supporters and other wonderful affiliated clubs and organizations!
There has been a lot of activity with our Corporate Members. We’re pleased to welcome back Retro Glow Cycles – a Corporate Member since 2022. This month, we welcome two new Corporate Members: Recycled Cycling and Main Street Bicycles. We appreciate their support and welcome them to the Ride Illinois community.
👉 If you’re a business owner – or work for a company that shares our values – please become Ride Illinois Corporate Member. Our Corporate Member program offers benefits that fit businesses of all sizes and we’d love to have you join our growing network of advocates and supporters!
Grant Opportunities
Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP)
🗓 Our handy online calendar includes many organized or charity rides, advocacy events, education courses, races, community slow rolls, and other bike-related happenings.
Want to add your ride or event to the Illinois Bicycle Calendar? Click the yellow button on right side of the page to complete our brief form.
Below are a few rides and events that we think you'll appreciate:
