Where The Wild Things Grow - Canal Origins Park Clean Up
Join us for a ride to Canal Origins Park for 2 hours of environmental service. We will join with regular volunteers from Friends of the Chicago River for their community cleanup. Their Litter Free Chicago-Calumet River initiative works to reduce the amount of trash harming our waterways by working with community and government leaders on strong policy, litter reduction programs, and local cleanup efforts. Our service will mainly be picking up litter in and around Bubbly Creek.
To start the day, we will meet Star Lounge Coffee Bar at 9 am. At 9:15 am, we will head out on bikes to arrive to the Canal Origins Park by 10 am. The ride will be roughly 6 miles mostly on city bike lanes.
If you can't make the bike ride, but want to volunteer, we love that! Meet us at the main entrance of Canal Origins at 10 am (2701 S. Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL. 60608). Other transit options:
- Orange Line: five-minute walk from the Ashland station
- Bus: easily accessible via the 9 Ashland bus line
- Drive & Park: There is ample free street parking on the northbound side of Ashland Avenue adjacent to the park.
Our service will end at 12 pm. Afterwards, we'll have an optional hangout nearby at Marz Brewing. Marz doesn't have food on site, but there are plenty of options to pick up nearby.
What to Bring:
•A water bottle (portable by bike) that you can fill up for our day!
•Your bike in good working order, a spare tube, and a bike lock.
•Closed-toe shoes
•Clothes you don't mind getting dirty
•Work gloves (if you have them!).
•Any knowledge you'd like to share about local ecosystems, flora or fauna and why you love them!
*Friends’ staff will provide safety instructions, monitoring, snacks, and all of the necessary cleanup equipment.
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Your $5 donation holds your space on the ride and allows us to support the community partners that we work with. All proceeds from your RSVP will be donated to our partner Friends of the Chicago River.
Where The Wild Things Grow - Canal Origins Park Clean Up
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Some are easy and others are a challenge, but just about anyone who has ridden a bike for a day can do the tours. If you are not an avid bike rider already, you should build up your riding distance/endurance. Not sure you can ride it? Check out other people who completed our tours here
First, always bring a spare inner tube. Our prepared Guides are always ready to help, are trained for emergency repairs, and carry extra tools and supplies.
The pace we ride at is around 12 miles per hour. This is to accommodate everyone riding the tour, to be able to take in all the views and to be able to ride a second day. You have to remember their is a second day and you should pace yourself. (We are bikers but we are not running a Tour de France). Family, Youth and Adaptive Rides roll at a slower pace to accommodate those along from the ride oftentimes dropping to the range of 8-10 mph.
No. We still ride if there is rain. Some of the best views are after a rain storm. Though safety is our top priority, so if there is extreme severe weather we will break and wait it out in a provided shelter, then continue on our journey.
We do our best to ride together as a group. That said, if some space occurs in the group, the OOFD guides will not leave anybody behind. A guide will always be riding at the back and at the front.
Always bring two spare inner tubes and a bike tool kit if you have one. Dress for the season, during spring and fall make sure to bring gloves for your hands and layer your clothing. Even when the weather is nice, when riding your bike the wind can make you chilly really quick.
We champion perseverance and the challenge. We encourage to push on, the reward of completion is great. But if turning around is an absolute must, there is always a train station relatively close by throughout the entirety of the tours.
It's really up to you. But we recommend a Touring, Road, Urban or Hybrid bike. These types of bikes make for a more comfortable ride. Attaching a bike rack will help carry your daily supplies and keep weight off your shoulders. Almost all of our routes are on paved paths/lanes or crushed packed limestone.
At the moment no. Our goal as we continue to grow we will be able to provide bicycles for participants.
Most of our rides are 2 days though we have some that are 3, 4, and even 5 days.
