 Hanging at Matthiessen State Park on Waterways to the West WelcomeGreetings y’all,
Hope you are living well and are starting to see Spring on the horizon. We just wrapped up another month of winter planning at OOFD. The month of March is a pivot point for us as we start to really kick things into gear with the Month of March guide trainings, Hootenanny hype, and the first overnight of the year, the St. Paddy’s Day Parade and Overnight. Read on to learn a bit about what we have coming up. Hootenanny tickets are live. The RSVP is open the biggest and best OOFD Volunteer Training to date. Lots of other cool events right around the corner. And some gratitude for a beloved OOFD community member.
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 Green leaves on trees at a bike camping site. That is in our future. Photo from our Family Overnight called Bike Camping in the City on our one night at Emily Oaks Nature Center WelcomeGreetings y’all,
Hope you are living well and finding ways to see the beauty in what at times has felt like an oppressively chilly January. At OOFD, the cold months are a nice time to relax and dig into some bigger projects that we have in mind for the coming season. And goodness have we been doing that! So many good things in the works. Read on to learn a bit about some creative things we have coming in the 2025 ride season as well as some upcoming winter and spring events including the St. Paddy’s Day Parade March and Overnight, The Hootenanny, and much more. Oh yeah, and all of our 2025 Family Overnights are up and open for registration! Plus some high level gratitude. 
 Sunset on Camp Reinberg during Decemberg Overnight Ride Photo by Dave Warakomski WelcomeGreetings,
It's December. Annnnnd, after that blow out November newsletter with all the big news, honestly, this one is a little more chill. Well, kinda. Well, actually not really. Our freaking 2025 rides are live on Eventbrite and folks are signing up quick! We are in major off-season planning mode, with all sorts of cool, creative ideas to make 2025, our 10th season, the best yet (I know we say that about each year, but it's true)! Oh yeah, and we have our first ever MATCHING DONOR who is matching all donations we get by December 31 up to $4000. We are only about $1000 shy so don’t hold back. Pitch in to the one and only OOFD and help us make our already rad org even more rad.  Why Support OOFD?Momentum. We got it. 557 folks signed-up for our 22 bike camping adventures in 2024. And more to come in our 10th season next year.
This giving season, we have an amazing donor who will match up to $4000 of the donations that we bring in before the end of the year. Please consider giving $10, $25, $100, shoot even $250 to OOFD. We only accept donations if you believe in adventure and think that getting a diversity of folks out into nature on bikes learning about local history and nature is a good thing. If you need more convincing, read on for 5 reasons to donate to OOFD this giving season.  The 2025 Ride Flyer by Mimi Stocker WelcomeGreetings,
It’s November and the big things keep rolling in for OOFD. As you can see, we have our 2025 Overnight Dates and flyer ready. We are about to start a big fundraising campaign with a matching donor already lined up. And we officially have brought Glenn on to full-time Executive Director! Read on for more details on all of this as well as heaps of gratitude for our 3 Star New Volunteers of 2024 and all of the cool stuff we’ve been up to this month.  WelcomeGreetings,
October just wrapped up, and with it, so did our Fiscal Year. We just finished up our biggest month of October ever with 5 biking events, including our first ever Indigenous People’s Day Family Bike Camping Overnight, two Where the Wild Things Grow rides, and an Adult Day ride. Not to mention, the 8th annual Sun Harvest Ride which got over 80 folks riding up to Illinois Beach State Park. Read on to hear a bit more about these awesome events and a couple of final events we have coming up to close out the year, including our last Monthly Hang of the year, tomorrow, Tusday, November 5 at Exchequer in the loop.  Riders on Waterways to the West near Starved Rock in August Photo by Elliot Brandt WelcomeGreetings,
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.  Are you looking for a good first bike camping ride? Out Our Front Door’s got you!
A big part of our mission is to welcome and support folks that are new to bike camping. As we state in our Radical Inclusivity and Non-Discrimination Statement, “Regardless of your race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, economic status, or even the types of bikes you ride, we want you rollin’ with us.”  Riders on Last Year's Ride to Valhalla in Door County Photo by Maggie Marek WelcomeY’all. The OOFD volunteers have been rocking this summer oh so well. It is mind blowing to think about all the adventures this rad crew of volunteers have helped plan, coordinate, and make happen. And always bringing that welcoming spirit and consistently pushing the org to be better, to smooth out our processes, and just generally be a more excellent version of what OOFD is and can be.
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"To immerse , educate, preserve & advance the history, culture, trails and native habitats of the Lower Lake Michigan Basin Area" Trail Series
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A Bike Camping + Nature Community for Chicago and the Lake Michigan Area
Founded in 2015. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
www.oofd.org
Founded in 2015. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
www.oofd.org