Welcome
Greetings y’all,
We are rolling! Goodness what a good good month its been. The Hootenanny freaking rocked, and now we are flying high with so many bike adventures. We’ve had 2 bike camping adventures in the last 3 weeks and 3 adaptive events. Battle to the Dunes and SWMI are right around the corner along with the kickoff of our Family Overnights. Day rides too! So if you are looking for bike adventures in the next month or two, read on and get yerself signed up asap as most of these will very likely fill up soon.
SWMI: July 10-14
One of the best rides OOFD does, in my opinion. A 5 day bike camping vacation along the shores of our gorgeous lake.
Our guides got the spots. And the spiels. We swim everyday. Days 2, 3 and 4, there are places to jump in The Lake every 15-20 miles. We do take breaks and jump in. Because it is summer at The Lake, and we are on vacation.
Day 3 though! That Day 3. . . Our “off day.” Wake up slow. No need to pack up the tent because we are staying put at Weko Beach Campground for a second night. After a chill breakfast and coffee, off we ride on a delightful, optional day ride. First, to Grand Muir State Park for the epic dune hike to the beach. An easy roll from there to Watermark Brewery for a beer and maybe Transient Artisan Ales too. Back to the lake just in time for a special local sunset tradition.
You can check out the day by day itinerary here, and read a bit of extra hype from the 2022 lead guide, Glenn, here.
Get Your Tickets Here
Upcoming OOFD Events
Ok. It is the end of May and the OOFD calendar is heaping with of adventures.
Adaptive Day Ride with KEEN Chicago
Saturday, May 31
This is becoming an annual tradition to do an Adaptive Day Ride with our biggest and best Adaptive Program partner, KEEN Chicago. We will be riding our adaptive bikes with some families from the KEEN Chicago community on the North Branch Trail.
Monthly Hang at Meditation Point (Edgewater) with Bonfire
Tuesday, June 3
One of the best hangs of the year! A bonfire on the lake. Just south of Foster Beach. Come on out and bring your own beverage or snack. Deets and registration here.
Battle to the Dunes
June 7-8
Can’t freaking wait for one of our biggest bike adventures of the year. A bike ride & campout from Chicago to Indiana Dunes National Park. More deets and registration here.
North Side Learning Center Day Ride
Monday, June 9th
We will be back at the field day of this awesome Chicago Public School for young people with disabilities. We will be on hand with a crew of volunteers and our fleet of adaptive bikes giving rides to dozens of kids.
Adult Day Ride
Saturday, June 14
Join OOFD for a quick jaunt via the Lakefront Path to the DuSable Black History Museum, the nation’s oldest independent African American History museum. Participants will take a guided tour with one of the museum educators. Deets and registration here.
Where the Wild Things Grow Ride to 63rd Street Beach
Saturday, June 21
Join us for a day ride to 63rd St Beach for 2 hours of environmental service. We will join with regular volunteers from Shedd Aquarium Action Days to assist in litter pickup and coastal habitat restoration. Deets and registration here.
Family Ride to Sullivan
June 20-22
A 3-Day Family Bike Camping Adventure. The first of the year. This is a great, chill, short distance ride from the Brainerd neighborhood out to Camp Sullivan in Oak Forest, IL. More deets and registration here.
Family Ride to Dan Beard
June 28-29
A 2-Day Family Bike Camping Adventure to Camp Dan Beard in Northbrook, IL. A new ride for us this year. More deets and registration here.
SWMI
July 10-14
A 4-night Bike Camping Adventure along Southwestern Michigan. One of the best bike camping trips you could ask for, skirting the coast of our beautiful lake in the heart of summer. More deets and registration here.
The Ride to Valhalla - 4 Days Bike Camping in Door County
September 12 -15
This ride is not to be missed. Such a slice of life up in Door County and 2 of the 3 nights are spent camping on an island in Lake Michigan! Also, we are scouting out a new route to replace Valhalla in 2026 and 2027, so there is a chance this will be your last chance to ride with OOFD for at least a few more years. If you haven’t done it yet or if you love this ride already, this is definitely a year not to miss it. More deets and registration here.
Updates on our Family Overnights
We have a most excellent line up of 6 Family Bike Camping Trips this year, running June through October. Deets and sign-up here.
There are 2 very cool new things we are piloting this year within the Family Program.
- We are introducing a Junior Guide Program. We have a number of kids that have been riding with OOFD for more than 5 years, and they are bike camping pros. And so to give them a chance to take on some leadership and help guide others along on their bike adventures, we will have a few Junior Guides who will be supporting the adult guides on a couple of the Family Overnights. They will be helping plan the ride as well as guiding along the ride and supporting with at camp duties.
- We are going to pilot welcoming young people who are 14+ years old to ride with their parent/guardian on two of our Adult Overnight rides. The idea here is to offer a ride and a pace that is a bit more challenging for some of the young people who maybe have “graduated” from our Family Rides and are ready for a longer and slightly quicker paced adventure. The two rides that will be open to 14+ year old are SWMI and Sandy Shores (to Illinois Beach State Park). Youth spots on SWMI are discounted and on Sandy Shores are free. It would be ideal if the adult has ridden on one of our adult overnights beforehand so they have an idea of what our rides are like.
Please reach out if you have any questions or if you are interested in having your young person be a part of either of these new pilots this year.
One final note, our Family Program Director Hope has transitioned out of the director role, but you still very much can look forward to seeing them guiding some family rides. Hope was a boon to the org and program as director, and we’re so grateful for all of the ideas and energy they brought to the role. And we are excited to announce that Judi Hannan, of last year’s Blackwell Family Overnight fame, is coming on as the Family Overnight’s Assistant Director role. She will be supporting the Program Director Steph. Judi is so incredibly brilliant with great energy, ideas and such a welcoming presence. Couldn’t ask for a better person to step into the role!
Volunteer Gratitude: Tom Newsom
Tom is entering his 2nd year guiding with OOFD, and already he feels like one of the OG guides. He stepped in to support on a bunch of rides last year including as one of the lead guides for Flock Off the Block as well as leading a fix-a-flat workshop at our Monthly Hang at Palmisano Park last year. He started this year in fine fashion as a lead guide on the What Lies West ride, and you surely will see him guiding a number of other overnight rides this year. He is super smart about bikes and is such a knowledgeable, warm, and welcoming force on any ride he is a part of. OOFD is so freaking lucky to have Tom as part of the guide crew.
In his own words, Tom moved from the suburbs of Georgia to Chicago in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2020 that he picked up biking and never looked back. His first overnight ride with OOFD was the Flock Off the Block, which was also his first time camping in over a decade (but certainly not the last!). Outside of a day job designing video games, he works as a part time mechanic at Cog Cycles and Yarns and sews everything from jackets to bike bags. He loves reading, cooking, La Croix and perusing wikipedia.
Events We Did in the Last Month or So
The Hootenanny Fundraiser Party - April 17
In every detail, our fundraiser flew past our expectations; we sold the event out with about 200 folks in attendance(!) including a huge collection of our community members from volunteers, participants, local bike shops/businesses, and local politicians. We surpassed our fundraising goal of $15,000 and brought in $15,500!
Adult Day Ride to Skokie Lagoons - April 19
The first Adult Day Ride of the year sold out quickly. They rode through a chilly day but on a lovely route plus lunch and BBQ at the brewery Une Année.
Where the Wild Things Grow Ride for Earth Day - April 26
Our 8th annual Earth Day with the awesome Major Taylor Trail Keepers. We helped clean up trash along the trail just south of 103rd Street.
Autism Speaks Empower Summit - May 3
We were out at this event at Soldier Field in partnership with Autism Speaks. We had our adaptive bikes on hand and gave some test rides.
Monthly Hang at Ping Tom Park in Chinatown - May 6
Lovely evening in a lovely park hanging with other cool adventure folks.
What Lies West - Adult Overnight, May 3-4
A beloved, shorter overnight along the Prairie Path out to the awesome Blackwell Campground in DuPage County. This ride sold out its 25 slots as it has for at least the last 5 years.
Illinois Walk and Bike Summit - May 7-8
Our ED, Glenn, went down to Springfield, IL with a couple of OOFD volunteers for this summit. Glenn even got to present alongside Chicago’s SAFE Ambassadors and Blackstone Bike Works in a session called “Bicycle as a Tool for Adventure, Learning, and Inclusive Community Building.”
LADSE schools Adaptive Ride - May 16
We rode with nearly 40 kids with disabilities from pre-K to fourth grade at their school in West Chester, IL. LADSE = La Grange Area Department of Special Education.
KEEN Chicago Any K at the Rauner YMCA - May 17
We were out with our full fleet of adaptive bikes riding with kids and families at this amazing and inclusive sports and exercise event in Little Village led by the incredible KEEN Chicago. We got over 30 kids and family members out on bikes in just a few hours!
Tabling at Biking Out Negativity - May 17
This is such a beautiful community event and bike ride that Boxing Out Negativity has been putting on for years now in their North Lawndale neighborhood. OOFD was out with a table and s’more for the local kids and adults to engage with.
The Good Land - May 16-18
A crew of about 20 folks made this weekend bike packing trip from Chicago to Milwaukee, with a campground party in Racine and bike bar crawl on Day 2 in Milwaukee.
Nature is Accessible! At Little Red School House with Forest Preserves of Cook County - May 21
We were out tabling and giving test rides on our adaptive bikes at this awesome adaptive sports event. Visitors of all abilities are invited to celebrate nature through accessible activities. The forest preserves new GRIT all-terrain wheelchairs were on site to test on the trails along with other adventures.
Bike Safety Training Opportunity Hosted by OOFD’s Dave
Want to bike more safely and confidently on our rides and in your daily life? We're pleased to announce bicycling classes by Out Our Front Door guide Dave Glowacz (AKA Mr. Bike), a certified bicycling instructor and author of the popular paperback Urban Bikers Tricks & Tips.
Dave is available to teach individuals, families, and groups on a range of topics, such as:
- Checking that your bike's ready to ride
- How to start and stop efficiently
- What positions to take in lanes and intersections
- What actions put cyclists most at risk
- How best to ride in a group
- How to carry baggage and other things
- Biking long distances comfortably
To learn more, contact Dave via glow (at) mrbike (dot) com.
Education is a core value at OOFD, and we're so stoked that Dave is offering his expertise to support our riders. He led a training for our guides back in March, and it was outstanding.
Other Awesome Bike Events Upcoming
If you are looking for a ride to do in Chicago, you got to check out this list of group rides that Half Acre Cycling put together. Goodness are there are so many chances to ride your bike with cool people, all over Chicago, every day of the week!
Half Acre Cycling Wednesday Night for Mortals
Wednesdays, 6:00 pm
Start Location - Winnemac Park Parking lot, Winnemac and Damen. Pace and Distance - 16-18 mph; 20 miles. More deets and RSVP here.
Recumbent Fest put on by Cosmic Bikes
Sunday, June 8
This year, Cosmic Bikes, the best recumbent and tandem dealer around, is teaming us with Jefferson Park Sunday Market for a recumbent bike Demo Day. You can try out three wheel recumbents from Catrike, Terra Trike, Greenspeed, HP Velo and AZUB, plus innovative tandems and delta trikes from Hase Bikes. Deets and sign-up here.
BFF Bikes Fix-a-Flat Workshop
Monday, June 9
Changing a flat is not only a useful skill but it’s also a safety issue, so it’s important to learn how to do it on your own. If you can change a flat yourself, you don’t have to be stuck away from home, or rely on the kindness of a stranger to help you out. Deets and sign-up here.
Roll in Peace
Friday, June 13
Free Englewood Bike Tour starting from Ogden Park. Led by Think Outside Da Block.
Juneteenth Freedom Ride
Thursday, June 19
Cycling celebration with Major Taylor Trail Keepers and Black Girls Bike. BYO-bike and helmet for the 16-mile loop ride from Dan Ryan Woods. Deets and sign-up here.
Skokie Bike Network’s Tails from the Trails at Sketchbook Brewery
July 13th
This is a bike storytelling event at our beloved partner and beer sponsor Sketchbook Brewery. We love stories and beer and bikes so this is so up our alley. Submit a story and tell it to this lovely, family friendly crowd at this great brewery. More deets here.
Dog Days Ride
Saturday, August 2
A leisure bike tour of Chicago's finest hot dog stands. This ride is not meant to be challenging, but a perfect way to enjoy the summer in Chicago, meet new people, and broaden your horizons by exploring a variety of encased meats in a bun. Deets and sign-up here.
So many great rides happening! How lucky are we to live in a city with such a vibrant cycling community with rides/events for everyone. We can’t wait to ride with a whole bunch of you on the Battle to the Dune ride in a less than two weeks. One of our biggest rides of the year. If you haven't’ signed up yet, there are still a handful of tickets available.
I just finished reading Wildness:Relations of People and Place edited by Gavin Van Horn and John Hausdoerffer. Worth checking it out. Here's a bit of what its all about.
"Whether referring to a place, a nonhuman animal or plant, or a state of mind, wild indicates autonomy and agency, a will to be, a unique expression of life. This book explores how people can become attuned to the wild community of life and also contribute to the well-being of the wild places in which we live, work, and play. Wildness brings together esteemed authors from a variety of landscapes, cultures, and backgrounds. From the contoured lands of Wisconsin’s Driftless region to remote Alaska, from the amazing adaptations of animals and plants living in the concrete jungle to indigenous lands and harvest ceremonies, from backyards to reclaimed urban industrial sites. We gain insight into what wildness is and could be, as well as how it might be recovered in our lives—and with it, how we might unearth a more profound, wilder understanding of what it means to be human."
See you out there pedalin'.
Glenn and the whole OOFD crew
