Welcome

Greetings y’all,

Summer is here!

Whether you are looking for fun rides with the family or big bike camping trips with fellow adult bikers, there are some many good rides all over Chicagoland, including here at OOFD.

We even have a new blog out today by long time volunteers, Jordan and Ashley, on their transition from being a "biking couple" to being a "biking family" when they welcomed their child into the world. You can read more about that journey, and learn some tips including gear, here.

There is so much to catch you up on. So read on to hear a bit about the events we’ve been putting on as well as all the rides we have coming up.

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Adaptive Program is Rocking so far in 2026

Our adaptive program has been rocking and rolling this past month! We've had FIVE rides already this season with over 116 riders participating in rides.

This spring, the OOFD Adaptive Program has been all over the city riding with youth with various disabilities. We've been to three schools, LADSE, Northside Learning Center, and CITE (with Opportunity Knocks). We have also had two rides with our closest adaptive partners KEEN Chicago.

Each of these rides has been filled with lots of biking and tons of JOY, as you can see on Jeny's face here with Glenn. I am always blown alway at how happy bikes make the youth that come out for our events! Huge shoutout to all of the Adaptive Program volunteers, especially the program directors Daniel S-E and Miles T (with lotsa help from Bradley F) for leading the charge on many of these rides.

If you want to know more about each of these events or what it looks like to get involved in our adaptive program [which I highly encourage EVERYONE to make it out to an adaptive event you will be smiling for days and weeks after I promise] you can read the blog here that Ashley wrote.

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Upcoming OOFD Events

1. Family Day Ride and BBQ: North Branch

Saturday, June 20

This is a very exciting new thing this year! A family day ride:) We will meet at the Whealon Aquatic Center near Caldwell Woods and ride about 7 miles up the North Branch Trail to Harms Woods where we will have a BBQ and hang out session. We will have adaptive bikes available to use as well as a couple of family cargo bikes and standard single person bikes to lend! This is a free event. Deets and sign-up here.

2. Adult Overnight: DIY - Dan Beard

June 20-21

This is a unique and our most affordable Adult Overnight.  For this one, you can leave from wherever you want, whenever you want, with any other friends that have registered. You can ride as fast or slow as you would like,and create any route you want to get there. This is truly a choose your own adventure.

We have booked enough camp spots and will have some guides there serving up a dinner at 7pm. The guides will have the fire going, and you’ll arrive to a community of welcoming folks. We’ll hang around and share stories of our day's adventures. Deets and sign-up here.

3. Adult Day Ride: Morton Arboretum

Saturday, June 20

Join us for a day trip to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. If you haven’t visited the Arboretum, it is a true gem in our local region. We are thrilled to be partnering with arboretum docents on a private tour and nature-based activity. The ride will roll about 20 miles from Oak Park to The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. After our tour and activity at The Morton Arboretum, participants can either bike back to Oak Park or take the Metra train from Glen Ellyn to Ogilvie Station. This ride has sold out!

4. Adaptive Adult Day Ride with Shirley Ryan Ability Lab: Pedal and Paddle

Friday, June 26

We’re honored to be partnering with the incredible folks at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab for this super fun event at the Skokie Lagoons. There will be kayaking as well as cycling and we will have a number of our adaptive and standard bikes for folks to ride. Deets and sign-up here.

5. Adult Overnight: Train O' Lakes - Chain O' Lakes

June 27-28

All aboard the Out Our Front Door Express as we trace the historic route of the grand old Roarin’ Elgin - the once-mighty interurban railway that soared along the banks of the Fox River. Setting out from Chicago, we first roll onto the Illinois Prairie Path. The very first Rails to Trails path, this route connects many scenic suburban towns and villages through its over 61 miles of pavement and gravel.

This multi-modal adventure will cover approximately 100 miles on the first day. The following morning we ride a few short miles into Fox Lake to load up a Metra bike car and ride the rails back into Chicago to rest and recover. Deets and sign-up here.

6. Family Overnight: Camp Dan Beard

June 27-28

Join us for a pleasant roll up to Camp Dan Beard in Northbrook, IL, one of Cook County Forest Preserve's 5 campgrounds. We will be exploring a portion of the Des Plaines River Trail and enjoying the beauty of our extensive forest preserves in the Northwest Burbs. Along the route, we will take plenty of breaks and will even have a picnic before arriving to Camp Dan Beard. Deets and sign-up here.

7. Monthly Hang at McKinley Park

Tuesday, July 7

Come hang with us at one of the finest parks on the Southside. Deets and sign-up here.

8. Adult Overnight: SWMI - Southwest Michigan

July 9-13

This ride is an ecstatic celebration of Lake Michigan and all that it coast has to offer. This is going down in the heart of the summer and there will be plenty of chances to go swimming in our gem of a lake. Hence the name, the SWMI, "swimmy", ride. Roll with some of the best guides OOFD has to offer as we spend 5 days, biking and living outdoors! Learn about the ecology of the lake and the lake shore while also exploring some of its hidden gems and excellent local spots. Deets and sign-up here.

*Please note that we do have scholarships available for any BIPOC riders with financial restriction as well as Adaptive Riders with financial restrictions. And honestly, if the price of our rides is a barrier to us, regardless of who you are, just reply to this email, and we’ll figure out something to get you riding with us!

Volunteer Gratitude  - Elena Guobyte

Elena started riding with OOFD not too long ago, diving into both family and adult overnights. She quickly has proven to be an amazing force of adventure and an integral part of the OOFD community. We got to celebrate her birthday together around the first on The Good Land and a month later, she was lead guiding the first family overnight of the year with tons of moving parts. She handled all the prep and the ride with awesome competence. She brings such great, welcoming energy to any ride she is on and OOFD is so dang lucky to haver her as part of the crew!

In her own words, Elena is originally from Vilnius, Lithuania, where she spent her summers riding a quasi-communal pool of random bikes with a gang of other barefoot kids. They had shoes, they just didn’t like to wear them. Elena has now lived in Chicago—specifically Hyde Park—longer than anywhere else. Elena's first ride with OOFD was a total disaster of her own making, but she came back for more. You can find her on both the adult and family rides, which she joins with one or both of her kids. Regardless of the ride, Elena is always using a bike about the same age or older than her. At her day job Elena makes videos about science and medicine, and in non-work time she has a rotating set of hobbies, like sewing fancy clothing, archery, playing music, etc.

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Recent Events We've Done

1. OOFD Monthly Hang at Meditation Point Bonfire

Tuesday, June 2 from 730-10pm

Always one of the best early summer hangs complete with bonfire and lots of new friends! We had over 50 folks come out throughout the night!

2. Scouting Ride - Lowden State Park

May 8-10

A new ride is in the works and the scouting crew that rode this route from the Geneva Metra to Lowden (near Oregon, IL) are feeling real good about this being a future OOFD overnight. The scouting crew is meeting tonight to debrief and discuss if this might make the cut for next year's ride line-up!

3. End of Schoolyear BBQ - CITE and Opportunity Knocks

Friday May 15th

OOFD's Adaptive Program Director, Daniel, is a teacher at CITE and is always looking for fun, active things to do with his students. They had a big end of the school year BBQ, and he got some OOFD bikes and volunteers out to be a part of the fun.

4. The Good Land - Milwaukee

May 15-17

A very beloved ride for good reason. This one was sold out months in advance. Such a stellar guide crew, led by Mike McGurk, and we even had gourmet food thanks to OOFD volunteers that are based in MKE, Eduardo and Cailey. A beautiful weekend riding to Racine, camping 2 nights with a fun day in MKE, and then riding back to Chi.

5. Bike Camping 101: An Intro to Bikepacking at Specialized Fulton Market

Monday May 18

This was a fun event with over 30 folks present. Glenn presented alongside Jack of Midwest Ultra Cycling, to talk all things bikepacking, from simple one nighters to ultra races (such as the Mishigami race around Lake MI that Midwest Ultra Cycling puts on each year). Huge thanks to our hosts, James and the crew at Specialized Fulton Market.

6. Adaptive Program: Day Ride with Keen

Saturday May 30

We had 10 youth riders and their families come out to ride around to ice cream and around the forest preserve. Such a fun day riding one of Chicagoland's gem trails, the North Branch.

7. Scouting Ride - Illini State Park

May 30-31

We're looking for a way to add an overnight that incorporates the amazing I&M Canal Trail but doesn't include the 110 mile ride that we do to Starved Rock on our Waterways to the West ride. We had a crew ride out and check a few campgrounds along the way to Illini State Park (near Marseilles, IL). We are debriefing tonight with the scouting crew to see if this might be a good fit for our 2027 ride line-up so stay tuned.

8. Adaptive Program: North Side Learning Center Day Ride

Monday June 1st

It was a bit of a chilly morning, but it felt lovely outside at North Side Learning Center's Field Day. We got over 50 students with disabilities out on bike rides in the beautiful Peterson Park on Chicago's NW side. Such a joyful day, and it was the most adaptive riders we have ever ridden with in one day in OOFD history! Huge props to NLC teacher Joseph Brignon, past OOFD volunteer/board member, who helped make this awesome day happen.

9. Adult Program: Battle to the Dunes - Indiana Dunes National Park

June 6-7

Over 80 folks got on bikes and  battled down to Indiana Dunes. It was everything OOFD dreams are made of. Huge thanks to the 17 guides that made it happen, especially lead guide Anson that brought his impeccable good vibes and welcoming/adventurous spirit. Also shout out to first time guides Marisa C, Antheny W, Jeremy S, and Josh G for their first time as overnight guides!

10. Adaptive Program: KEEN Field Day at Bernard Horwich JCC

Sunday June 7

KEEN's Field Day at Bernard Horwich JCC (Rogers Park) was filled with lots of different sports and joy. The OOFD crew of 4 were able to get more than half of their participants on bikes - many of which came out to go on for multiple rides.

11. Family Ride: Camp Sullivan

June 13-14

The first family overnight of the year happened last weekend. Huge props to the guide crew that made it happen especially first time lead guide Elena Guobyte. Also, shout out to OOFD guide Mika, who rode our Ominium cargo bike and hauled everything we needed for the big group of over 35 campers which helped us do our first family overnight without car support in years!

Other Awesome Upcoming Events

Major Taylors Trail Keepers Juneteenth Spring Fundraiser at Wild Blossom Meadery

Friday, June 19

Your ticket helps this awesome crew maintain the trail, refresh amenities, and keep this Chicago corridor welcoming for neighbors and cyclists. Deets and sign-up here. OOFD will buy a ticket for any of our volunteers to attend! We would love to have a good showing at this event, so reply to this email if you'd like OOFD to cover your ticket.

Logan Square Kidical Mass

Sunday June 28

Last Sunday of the month, meet at Palmer Square Playground. Meet up at 9am - Ride at 9:15.

Critical Mass

Friday, June 26

Join one of the most fun group rides each month on the last Friday. Meet at Daley Plaza round 6pm. Happy Friday.

Southside Critical Mass

Friday, July 3

Southside Critical Mass' ride is 1st Fridays at 5:45pm. Come join the ride from Nichols Park, 55th & Kimbark.The ride is free. Deets and sign-up here.

We Keep You Rollin' 11th Annual Wellness Pop Up & Community Bike Ride

Sat. July 25, 2026

This is always a great event down in the Riverdale Community at Golden Gate Park. Its a full day with a Community Mural Tour, Wellness Pop Up from 12 noon - 2pm, bday celebration, food trucks, new bikes raffle, and a night ride. See image above for deets.

I Can Du It! - Adaptive Duathlon

September 13, 2026

An adaptive duathlon (a modified run-bike-run race) for children and young adults ages 4-30 with developmental disabilities and special needs. This event is hosted by BDI Playhouse - Children’s Therapy. It sounds like a lot of fun and will take place at Lincolnway Special Recreation Association (LWSRA), 1900 Heather Glen Drive, New Lenox, IL. Deets and sign-up here.

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Alright. That does it for this month. Its been so dang good seeing so many of y'all out on bike rides this past month, and can't wait to personally see some of ya on that Family Day Ride/BBQ this Saturday as well as ya super cool folks that are joining the epic 5 day SWMI ride in about a month (my personal favorite ride of the year). There's still a few tickets left for that one;)

How about we end this month with one of the greatest poems by one of the greatest poets, "Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman. Here are the epic opening stanzas of this hugely influential poem in the world of OOFD. Can't think of many poems that get me as hyped for adventures (esp in summertime) as this one.

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.

The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.

(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)

Much love,

Glenn and the whole OOFD crew

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