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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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
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
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!
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 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
Ride Illinois executive director Dave Simmons was a recent guest on Resetwith Sasha-Ann Simons. Their discussion focused on bike safety, as well as education for motorists and bicyclists. Thanks toWBEZ-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
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:
July 30, Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Ride, hosted by PeopleForBikes Ride Spot, Newberry Library and The CRR1919 Commemoration Project to benefit Blackstone Bicycle Works, Chicago
July 30-31, Amishland and Lakes, hosted by Michiana Bicycle Association, LaGrange, IN
July 30-Aug. 1, CowaLUNGa, hosted by the Respiratory Health Association, Gurnee