Our July e-news contains relevant, useful information and stories.
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Dear Ride Illinois,

Thanks for your interest in Ride Illinois and our statewide, nonprofit bike advocacy work. Ride Illinois is celebrating 30 years of advocacy in 2022! With the support of our members, we are making Illinois better through biking! If you are not already a member, please consider joining us today as we begin our next 30 years of advocacy!

To celebrate 30 years of statewide, nonprofit bike advocacy, Ride Illinois created this 9-minute video that is part celebration, part interview, and part fun! “We’re doing a lot of great things that make Illinois better through biking,” Ride Illinois executive director Dave Simmons says in the video. Enjoy!

Head on over to rideillinois.org/join-support to join or donate to support our work. Current members can check membership status and renew here.

 

Today is the perfect day to support bicycling!
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Our current Membership Appeal is wrapping up soon. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we invite you to become a member and support our important work! Your membership dollars will support our ongoing advocacy and education efforts which aim to make Illinois better through biking. We know that we can count on you!

 

New and Renewing Corporate Members
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Ride Illinois would like to thank Illinois Trail Shuttle for renewing their Partner Level corporate membership! Ride Illinois would also like to thank Clifford Law Offices and Retro Glow Cycle Shop for becoming new Friend Level corporate members! 

Illinois Trail Shuttle specializes in transporting hikers, cyclists, tourists w/ bikes, gear and more. Clifford Law Offices is a Chicago law firm, concentrating on personal injury including aviation litigation, transportation liability, medical malpractice. Retro Glow Cycle Shop will be a new bike shop opening in Lombard in July and will have certified bike service and repair, refurbished retro bikes for sale, lighting and other custom upgrades.

Contributions from corporate members allow us to expand existing programs and explore other ways to increase safety and get more adults and children excited about cycling for recreation and transportation! Annual membership levels begin at just $125.

Learn more about our generous Corporate Members on our website.

 

Support from Ride Illinois-Affiliated Bike Clubs!
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We want to thank the Evanston Bicycle Club for their continued support of our advocacy work and being a Platinum Level Affiliated Club! 

You can find more information about affiliated clubs and community organizations on our website.

 

Bike to the Boomers!
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What’s more fun than a bike ride and a baseball game?!

Bike to the Boomers is a fun, unique way to encourage adults and children to use sustainable, active transportation and ride their bike to Wintrust Field (home of the Schaumburg Boomers) to attend a baseball game. Several routes ranging from 3 to 12 miles (each way) are available for those who want to participate.

Friends of Cycling in Elk Grove will lead our 12-mile ride, with bike checks being provided by 7 Mile Cycles. Crank Revolution will lead our six-mile ride, including performing bike checks!

Bike to the Boomers will take place on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Proceeds from this unique event will support Ride Illinois and local bike clubs. Read more and purchase your ticket here.

 
‘Bicycle Friendly Driver’ Course
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Our monthly bicycle-friendly driver courses continue! These courses are offered through our Ride Illinois Safely education program. Our FREE "Whose Lane is It?" course focuses on the Illinois Rules of the Road, sharing the road, bike infrastructure, causes of common crashes, taking the lane, and the information that Ride Illinois shares with cyclists in education courses. We encourage you to invite two friends to register for this course. They’re sure to leave with some additional knowledge! Our next course is at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 28. Register here.

Additional courses will be held:

  • 8/30 at 12 p.m.
  • 9/28 at 7 p.m.

 

Illinois Bike Summit
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Save the date for the biennial Illinois Bike Summit, which will take place on October 12 in Champaign! The Illinois Bike Summit is the state’s most important bicycle-related conference. Professionals and advocates from communities of all sizes attend to learn, network, and collaborate. Attendees have the shared goal of improving safety and accessibility for adults and children who ride a bike for recreation and transportation in Illinois.

The theme for the 2022 Illinois Bike Summit is: Pedaling Forward Together.

The sessions and workshops on October 12 can be attended in-person or online, though not all sessions will be available to online attendees. Ride Illinois has partnered with Whova to enhance the experience and to encourage communication and collaboration.

A separate, in-person professional training for planners, engineers, and municipal staff who want to improve bike infrastructure and safety in their community will be held on Thursday, October 13.

Registration for the Illinois Bike Summit will open in mid-July.

 

2022 Let’s Ride, Illinois!
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Taking place from September 9 through 18 with casual, family-friendly rides around the state, 2022 Let’s Ride, Illinois is a celebration of the freedom and benefits that riding a bike offers.

The community bike rides affiliated with Let's Ride, Illinois are free of charge and open to all. This statewide event encourages adults and children from Rockford to Cairo (and all places in between) to enjoy a casual bike ride with their neighbors (and local bike clubs and bike shops) to experience their community by bike.

There were 22 rides organized in 2021 for Let's Ride, Illinois! (You can learn more about our inaugural event last year here.) We are confident there will be even more rides organized in 2022! There are already three rides planned in Chicago and Lebanon!

We encourage you to plan a ride in your community and we’ll help to make it a success! Visit rideillinois.org/events/lets-ride-illinois-2022 for resources and to register your ride.

 

New Bicycle Friendly Businesses in Illinois!

Congratulations to Elgin Community Bikes, Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Inc. and Spin Doctor Cyclewerks on their Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) designations! The League of American Bicyclists designated Milhouse Engineering and Construction as a new Bronze Level BFB and Elgin Community Bikes as a new Gold Level BFB. Spin Doctor Cyclewerks moved up to a Gold Level BFB, from their previous silver designation. Illinois now has a total of 25 BFB's!

We encourage all businesses in our state to become Bicycle Friendly Businesses! Learn more about the program here. Learn more about how Ride Illinois can assist and contact us for more information.

 

Ride Illinois Speaks about Bike Safety on WBEZ
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Ride Illinois executive director Dave Simmons was a recent guest on Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons. Their discussion focused on bike safety, as well as education for motorists and bicyclists. Thanks to WBEZ-FM 91.5 for the opportunity to educate the public on these important topics related to safety and transportation!

 
Gaps in Great American Rail Trail
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When complete, the Great American Rail Trail will span over 1,700 miles from Pennsylvania to Washington state. Included on the route is a segment covering 194 miles in Illinois. 165.4 of those miles already exist. There are four remaining gaps in Illinois: the Lansing Greenway, Joliet, LaSalle to Bureau Junction, and Colona to East Moline. Ride Illinois has been meeting with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to discuss the most prudent approach to closing the four remaining gaps in the Great American Rail Trail in Illinois, with funding being the key obstacle.

Check out this Interactive Map to learn more about the Great American Rail Trail and the gaps that exist in Illinois. We’ll be sure to share updates as progress is made.

 

Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program Resources

For communities that are planning to pursue Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) grants this cycle, we wanted to share resources from our colleagues at the Active Transportation Alliance. Visit here for resources, informational webinars (recordings and registration links), and answers to frequently asked questions about the grant program. Start preparing now for the next round of funding, which is scheduled to open for applications in the fall.

 

Upcoming Events

Ride Illinois helps to promote the organized rides of our affiliated bike clubs and supporting organizations with our annual Ride Guide and our Ride, Advocacy & Education Calendar. Below are some events we think you’ll appreciate:

 

Out and About with Ride Illinois
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Glen Ellyn Bike Rodeo

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Bike Out Negativity

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APA-IL Workshop in Rockford

 

Ride Illinois

Making Illinois Better Through Biking!

rideillinois.org

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Learn more at rideillinois.org
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