Trail Blog

Out Our Front Door Newsletter - September

10/4/2024

Riders on Waterways to the West near Starved Rock in August Photo by Elliot Brandt

Welcome

Greetings,

Hope you are living well and enjoying the end of summer and start of fall. This epic season has not let up as the OOFD crew of volunteers continue to make such cool bike adventures happen all over Chicagoland including leading 5 bike camping trips in September alone!

It was a month full of big news including us receiving the $50,000 Laureus Grant again which will help to further bolster our Adaptive Program. And we had a beautiful 6 page write up in the gorgeous Trails Magazine. We are staying after it in October with heaps of fun adventures including 2 Where the Wild Things Grow Rides, an Adult Day Ride, a Family Overnight, and the always amazing Sun Harvest Adult Overnight.

Big News

$50,000 Laureus Grant

We did it again! We won the $50,000 Laureus grant for next year’s Adaptive Program. Huge props to Bradley Fisher for tag teaming this grant application with Glenn, and for putting all the work into the program this year to set us up for success to win this grant again in a much more competitive application process this year. And his Assistant Director, Miles, who was crucial this year in us making all the major things happen on the adaptive front this year.
This grant will give us a chance to get 2 more adaptive Hase Pino tandem bikes. Some of the grant will go to Glenn's ED salary. And the other two big pieces of the grant are to ideally get us a storage container that we are working to hopefully place on a Chicago Park District property to store our adaptive bikes near a good trail system for ease of access for adaptive rides. And importantly, a bit of the grant will be allocated as a stipend to Bradley for all the work he puts into the program from getting riders fitted, getting the bikes worked on, meeting with families, executing the events, grant reporting and so much more.

Trails Magazine

Y’all. We are officially in Trails Magazine! A gorgeous 6 page write up with incredible photos. Erica Zazo is an amazing freelance journalist, friend of OOFD (you may remember her from Battle to the Dunes this year), lead organizer of Mappy Hour Chicago, and so much more. Ryan Calacsan took the absolutely stunning photos. You can order the 100+ page, full color, beautifully written magazine here.

Bike Shop Workers Appreciation Bike Camping Trip to Big Marsh

Upcoming Events and Adventures

Where the Wild Things Grow Ride to Emily Oaks Nature Center
Sunday, October 6
Ride out from Horner Park to do service at this amazing nature center and partner to OOFD, Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie. We are doing something new where WTWTG rides have a small donation required ($5) to help encourage those that sign up to show up. And the proceeds from the tickets will be donated directly to our partner site. More details and registration here.

Adult Day Ride for Indigenous People's Day to the Mitchell Museum
Saturday, October 12
Wrapping up a hugely successful year for the Adult Day Ride Program with a ride up to the Mitchell Museum in Evanston to celebrate Indigenous People's Day by learning about the local tribes, past and present, of Chicagoland. More details and registration here.

Family Overnight for Indigenous Peoples’ Day at Camp Sullivan
Saturday-Monday, October 12-14
We added a fall Family Overnight this year to celebrate Indigenous People's Day. This is about a 25 mile ride from Beverly out to Camp Sullivan. We will be taking advantage of the Monday holiday so the ride is October 12-14, Saturday-Monday. We will be staying in tents though we do have a heated cabin booked in case it is a little too chilly. Don’t miss this chance to get the kids outside in that crisp fall air on a weekend bike adventure and learn a bit about local Indigenous People’s history. More deets and registration here.

Autumn Sun Harvest Adult Overnight at IL Beach State Park
October 19-20
The Sun Harvest Ride sold out last night! This ride is always a big celebration of fall and kinda the end of our bike camping season (though we do have Decemberg). In addition to the 65 participants, we’ll have about 20 OOFD volunteers coming along for free as a small bit of gratitude for all they have done as guides this year. Can't wait to ride the 50ish miles up to IL Beach State Park and enjoy the delightful fall colors with you all. You can get on the waitlist here.

Tabling at Salt Shed (Andre 3000)
Monday, October 21 at the bike racks
Come say hey to Glenn and a couple other OOFD volunteers at the bike racks for the Andre 3000 show at the Salt Shed. Our friends at Working Bikes helped set us up with this cool tabling opportunity, and the OOFD volunteers even get to dip into the show for a bit for free!

Where the Wild Things Grow Ride to Calumet Beach
Saturday, October 26
Who doesn’t want to go give Calumet Beach some love. Join us for a lovely ride from Bridgeport down to Chicago’s most southern beach. We’re partnering with the great folks at the Shedd Aquarium and their Conservation Action Program for this one. Your $5 registration fee will be donated to them and the work they do. More details and registration here.

Monthly Hang at Exchequer Pub (Loop)
Tuesday, November 5 (last one of the year)!
We bring it indoors for the last hang of the year. Come on out and celebrate a great season with all your OOFD pals. The 2025 Ride Line-up will be announced at this event so we can all get hyped for next year’s rides. New folks very much welcome. More details and registration here.

Decemberg Bike Cabining at Camp Reinberg
Saturday-Sunday, December 7-8
This is it! Won’t be bike camping for at least a few months after this one. So if you like that winter, cold weather riding, this one is for you! It's about a 45 mile ride out to Camp Reinberg. More details and registration here.

Cooling off in Lake Michigan on the Valhalla Ride Photo by Steph Reid

Ride Recap: The Ride to Valhalla

The 5th Annual Ride to Valhalla absolutely rocked! This is a 4 day, 3 night early fall meander through Door County and some Lake Michigan Islands. We had 16 riders and 6 guides rock the over 150 mile long weekend with an off day to explore Washington Island and hop the ferry over to the carless/bikeless Rock Island. This is one of the biggest lifts of the year for an OOFD guide crew, especially with our typical caterer, Andy, not being available this year. Special shout out to lead guide Will Haley who made the adjustments in fine fashion and helped lead an absolutely stellar trip. And that was in addition to him riding up to Sturgeon Bay from Milwaukee to start the trip and then down to Sheboygan after the trip. Adventure spirit indeed!

As one participant put it, "At the end of the ride, I feel motivated to go on another adventure, camp again, see more of my world from my bike saddle. It's been the same on other OOFD adventures I've been on, but Valhalla has a special place in my heart. My sincere thanks to each of the guides for their work AND the spirit with which they did it.”

Morning view of Goldenrod from the tent at Camp Sullivan on the Weekday Ride Photo by Brianna Stack

What We Did in September

Adult Overnight: Waterways to the West 3 Day - Starved Rock
August 30 - Sept 2
One of our most challenging adventures. And one of the most beloved. 110 miles in a day. About 20 folks made this epic, annual journey and had some of the best pictures and stories of the year come out of that trip!

Tabling at Bike the Drive in Grant Park
Sunday, September 1
I think this was our 4th or 5th year in a row holding it down at this bike utopia event. So much props to Active Transportation Alliance for continuing to put this event on in such fine fashion and for having us out to talk to all the thousands and thousands of bicyclists that come out.

Monthly Hang/Camp Cookoff
Tuesday, September 2 at 730pm
The Promontory Point hang is always one of the best and was even better this year as we had 5 OOFD volunteers cook a meal for us all to sample and consider adding to the OOFD camping menu options next year. We had at least 25 folks out, a number of them meeting OOFD for the first time!

Bike Shop Workers Ride to Big Marsh Wednesday/Thursday, September 4 - 5
In its second year, we ran this ride for free for Chicago bike shop workers who spend so much of their summers wrenching on our bikes so we can go ride and adventure. And we are so grateful for what they do, and this is a small way to show our gratitude. Big thanks to Big Marsh for hosting us.

Adult Overnight: Weekday Ride to Camp Sullivan
September 9 - 10
This weekday bike camping trip was set up to make us more radically inclusive and accommodate folks that usually have to work the weekends. We had 7 folks ride on this one along with the awesome crew of 3 guides.

Adult Overnight: Valhalla - Door County Loop
September 13 - 16
More info above about this 3 nighter up in Door County, WI with two nights spent on an island in Lake Michigan.

Tabling at The Salt Shed with Working Bikes
September 13: Goose
September 30: PJ Harvey
Thank you to Working Bikes, especially Olin, and The Salt Shed, for helping get us set up with these cool tabling opportunities that give OOFD volunteers a chance to dip in and see some of the concerts for free!

Adult Shabonna DIY
September 28-29
We like getting experimental on what OOFD adventures can look like. And for this one, everyone got to leave from wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and ride as fast or slow as they they liked, and along any route of their choosing. And they arrived to camp with 3 OOFD guides there to greet them and provide the campsites, dinner, and breakfast. We even were able to get an Adaptive Adult rider along on this ride.

Monthly Hang at Horner Park
Tuesday, October 1
Yes, this was in October, but I didn't get the newsletter out in time yesterday. It was a delightful fall evening hang on top of the hill in Horner Park, and we even had a short demo on how to simply and affordably install a flag pole on your bike with OOFD flags on hand to put those new bike flagpoles to good use.

Volunteer Gratitude - Ashley Lyons

Ashley has been guiding with OOFD since 2021 mainly with the Where the Wild Things Grow Program. She has steadily taken on bigger and bigger roles at OOFD and was a lead guide for What Lies West and Confluence MKE start in 2023. And this year, she joined the OOFD Board of Directors and was willing to step into the role of Vice President when that role opened up shortly after she joined the board!

She has been a creative force of nature in that role as well as a part of the Board’s Volunteer Committee, contributing to and executing all sorts of cool initiatives to better appreciate and train our huge crew of volunteers. Oh, did I mention she also took the momentum that had been building for years around an OOFD Day Ride Program, and she straight up build it out into a full on program which she now is the Director of alongside Assistant Director Aly. That program has been incredibly successful in welcoming new participants and guides into the org while educating about local nature and history on slightly lower stakes bike adventures. She has always brought such a bright warm welcoming vibe to all rides she is on and is an educator at her core. Goodness, how does OOFD keep getting so lucky to bring such next level folks like Ashley into the org!

In her own words, “Ashley is ecstatic about two-wheeled adventures, no matter how small or how grand. After researching, training for, and leading a ride for a group of friends from Chicago to Milwaukee, she started volunteering with Out Our Front Door in the Where the Wild Things Grow program (day rides to do environmental service in the parks and forest preserves). She now guides two rides a year while participating in many more, including bike-to-brewery rides and the annual, hilarious Chicago Naked Bike Ride. Ashley relishes in the joy and camaraderie of an adventure, just as much as the deep and quiet meditations that a long ride provides. Off the bike, Ashley is a lover of hatha and yin yoga, Italian submarine sandwiches, and Ethiopian jazz.”

A Few Other Orgs' Bike Events

Working Bikes Anniversary Party
Saturday, October 5th, 2024 from 4pm – 8pm
Details and $40 tickets available here. OOFD will pay for any of our volunteers to go so if you sign up, let Glenn know, we he'll get you reimbursed. This is really a party not to be missed to support a true cornerstone organization of Chicago bicycle culture.

KEEN Fest Fundraiser
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Doors open at 6:30pm at Bridge 410 (410 N Paulina St). This is one of our most dream partners of all time. They have helped us so much as we have grown our Adaptive Program. Glenn will be there and OOFD is down to buy one other volunteer the $125 ticket so we can support this incredible org and the work they do. Let Glenn know if you would like to attend. Registration and info here.

GoodforUs.org OktoberTest
During October 2024, GoodForUs.Org, a nonprofit collaboration, will pilot tools for a mobility behavior campaign which we hope to roll out nationally next year. OktoberTest will recruit 250 people to track their car use, transit, walking, running and biking to learn how to help each other impact health, climate and community. They hope to provide data and inspiration to our political champions to show that many people are serious about addressing the climate and health crisis and that we are willing to do our part. Fill out the form (1 minute) here.

Photo from the first Sun Harvest Ride in 2016

Alrighty. Its October! Sun Harvest is almost here. Our first Fall Family Overnight too. We have the OOFD Board of Directors retreat weekend in early November in a house up in Fox Lake where we'll be having major discussions and germinating big plans for 2025 and beyond. Its hard to put into words how freaking incredible this year has been. Hopefully these newsletters give you a little inkling of all the amazing people and adventures that have made up 2024 so far.

In closing, here's some Robin Wall Kimmerer and Braiding Sweetgrass to chew on.

"In Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as a younger brothers of creation. We say that humans have the least experience with how to live, and thus the most to learn. We must look to our teachers among the other species for guidance. Their wisdom is apparent in the way that they live. They teach us by example. They've been on the earth for longer than we have been, and have had time to figure things out . . . Plants know how to make food and medicine from light and water and then they give it away."

Thanks as always for reading these newsletters, and for all your support, from the words of encouragement, to coming on rides, to donations, to volunteering, to simply loving our home place and having some interest in exploring it with curiosity and maybe with an eye open for how to better live with reciprocity in a place so full of generosity.

Much love,

Glenn and the whole OOFD crew