Out Our Front Door Newsletter - December

Sunset on Camp Reinberg during Decemberg Overnight Ride Photo by Dave Warakomski

Welcome

Greetings, 

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.

Decemberg crew heading west on this beloved trail Photo, again, by Dave Warakomski

Fundraiser, Matching Donor, and MiniFundraiser Recap

Donation dollars doubled. Don’t delay! 

Yes, that matching donor. Our goal is to bring in $4000 (so with the matching, $8000) by the end of the year. That would put us in great shape for the rest of our year on the fundraising front (our year runs Nov. 1 - Oct 31). The better we do now, the less we gotta push to fundraise during the busy ride season. 

To help with this goal, we hosted a MiniFundraiser and Bonfire at Montrose Saloon last Sunday. We had over 30 folks come to hang around the fire and win some raffle prizes. The main goal was to try a small, lower stakes live music themed fundraiser in the winter to see how it would go and what we could learn in case we want to do something like this again in the future.

Overall, it was a good time with lots of new faces. We had a loose goal to raise between $300-$500. We brought in exactly $300, for the month of December that is, but more importantly, got 5 new recurring donors! 

Need more reasons to donate to OOFD? Check out this “5 Awesome Things About OOFD” blog. ​

Donate Now

Always fun to lock up in Chicago and see an OOFD sticker on the bike rack Photo by Justin Keller

2025 Adult Bike Camping Registration Open

Registration is open for our Adult Overnights! Folks that’ve been riding with us for a while already know, these are not things to sleep on. I personally have gotten burned waiting until April to sign-up for The Good Land ride up to MKE, and it was sold out! A month in advance. 

So this holiday season, consider gifting yourself (or a fellow bike enthusiast) an exciting weekend on the 2025 calendar. One filled with bike adventures, living outside, camping with new and old friends. Getting something like that scheduled now can really do wonders for the spirit as we hurtle into the seemingly endless last few months of winter. Note: Family Overnight Rides will be up in January.

Check out the 2025 ride line-up and get signed up! Might I suggest the Shamrock Cycle on March 16-17th?

Decemberg crew on Sunday morning Photo by, you guessed it, Dave W - not only lead guide but lead photographer too!

Upcoming Event

December is mostly a time off for our volunteers to chill and catch their breath after the busy season. We’ve been working on a few things to be sure. But in January, the board, program directors, and other volunteers will definitely be dipping into more planning and scheming for next year’s awesome line-up of rides and events.
 But we do have a few things coming up in the next few of months.


Tabling at Patagonia Mag Mile with Cozy Hours
Saturday, December 21 from 2-5pm
Our good good friends at Patagonia Mag Mile have invited us to table in their store during the crazy holiday shopping season. Lots more people to talk to. They even are hosting a cool thing called “Cozy Hours” where they provide warm beverages for customers. So swing by for a free warm beverage, get some last minute high quality outdoor gear from a super environmentally conscious company, and say hey to Glenn and Anson as they hold down the OOFD table. 

 Monthly Hang at Map Room Tavern in Bucktown
Tuesday, January 7th from 730-10pm
The Monthly Hang schedule for 2025 is set! Some classic spots and quite a few new ones. And we’re kicking off 2025 at a beloved Chicago tavern in Bucktown - Map Room. Swing by to meet cool bike adventure folks or see your OOFD pals or both. New folks very much welcome. More deets here. And check out the whole Monthly Hang Line-up for 2025 here. From South Chicago to Edgewater. McKinley Park to Irving Park. 

 Where the Wild Things Grow Ride
January TBD
Working out the details to get in our annual winter ride to Buckthorn cutting and burning in at LaBagh Woods. Stay tuned to our Eventbrite and social media for details once its finalized. 

 Monthly Hang at Monochrome Brewery in Pilsen
Tuesday, February 4th from 730-10pm
Come out to Pilsen and one of the newer Chicago breweries, Monochrome (in the old LoRez space), and hang with your OOFD pals. BYOF. Dog and kid friendly space. More deets here. 
​
 Tabling at the Winter Bike Swap in St. Charles, IL
Sunday, February 9
We’ve been out to this big ol’ bike swap the last few years, and its always a good time, checking out all the bikes, parts, and bike people. Details for the event here. If you come out, stop and say hi. 

 OOFD Book Club - Urban Forests
Date TBD - Sometime in January or February 
This time around, we’re reading Urban Forests by Jill Jonnes. It is “a natural history of trees and people in the American cityscape.” Get reading/listening, and keep an eye out for details on our social media for the discussion date/location. 

 Shamrock Cycle - Parade March, Party, and Bike Campout
Sunday, March 16 - Monday, March 17
Back by popular demand, we will be marching down Western Ave in the Southside Irish Parade, followed by a backyard party with beverages/food in Mt. Greenwood, and then the heartiest of the bunch will ride the remaining 12 miles out to Camp Sullivan for the first OOFD bike camping trip of the year! Check out more details on that ride here.
​
 The Hootenanny Vol. 5 at Midwest Coast Brewery
Thursday, April 10
Save this date. A party. Not. To. Be. Missed.

Hey, there he is again

Volunteer Gratitude - Dave Warakomski

Dave Warakomski has been a huge addition to the OOFD crew this year. He started riding with us in 2023, and was like, “I want to help in 2024.” And goodness does he radiate that OOFD spirit! He is so incredibly kind, curious, and welcoming. The support he shows riders is beautiful to behold, and no doubt, he is an adventurous human through and through.

He helped guide a number of rides this year, including The Great Confluence, Sun Harvest, and he even stepped up big last minute on Decemberg when the lead guide got sick the day before, and he filled in as lead guide. If you haven’t had a chance to meet “Dave W” yet, make sure you say hey to him at the next OOFD event. You’ll thank me. 

In his own words, Dave (he/him) grew up in Michigan (including time in the lovely Upper Peninsula), and then bounced between west, east, and gulf coasts before landing back here amongst these great lakes. He discovered bikepacking (and OOFD!) in 2023 on a gravel bike he built up as a winter project and was immediately smitten with this new way to adventure and camp outside. Dave lives in Bucktown, and when not riding, find him running, checking out live music at any of Chicago's fine small venues, hiking/backpacking national parks, cooking, and embracing Type 2 fun.

The big man made an appearance on Decemberg! Photo by Justin Keller

Decemberg Recap

This ride got started because of a couple of our more extreme volunteers were really into winter riding, and asked if we could give it a shot. So we did. And I think we got 7 folks out that first year in 2017. Granted, it was well below freezing and blowing snow something fierce that year. But those hearty adventures came back with some tales and smiles on their faces. So the ride persisted. And each year, it grew to where we had to get 2 cabins, then 3, and now we need all 4 cabins for the 40 folks that signed up for it this year! 

If you remember back a few weeks to December 7-8, it wasn’t a bad weekend, but it definitely wasn’t warm out. These fearless folks made the 45 mile trek up to Camp Reinberg in Palatine, stayed together in heated cabins (though I’m sure some crazy folks slept in their tents), and then rode back to the city on Sunday. We had a crew of 5 guides, all new guides this year, lead this one. 

On the journey, the riders learned about how Camp Reinberg sits in the first ever Cook County Forest Preserve, Deer Grove. In the early 1900s, naturalists were concerned with the destruction of habitat outside of the city limits as new towns and suburbs were systematically destroying natural habitats. So in 1905, the Board of Cook County hurriedly wrote some legislation, then bought up a bunch of land. Their first purchase was the land now known as Deer Grove/Camp Reinberg. It took 12 years before the legislation was finalized which launched the Forest Preserves of Cook County. They were THE FIRST OF THEIR KIND IN THE COUNTRY!

Its like you can almost see the cold in this picture. Heading home from Decemberg Photo by Mike Lee

Closing out, a little piece to add on to the Camp Reinberg story. Peter Reinberg was the first president of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. He oversaw the acquisition of more than 18,000 acres of land. Zoom up to present day, The Forest Preserves of Cook County reached a momentous milestone a few weeks ago, officially holding more than 70,000 acres of land for the first time in its 110-year history. Talk about moving in the right direction!


We love this quote from some of the original forest preserve booster literature that was sent out as folks were advocating to start the forest preserve system of Cook County.

“Strange as it may seem to the citizens of Cook County who want to read of natural splendors from afar and so admire them, nowhere in the world can be found scenery that can be compared, in many respects, to landscapes right here at your doorstep.” 

That was written in the early 1900s. It could have been in an OOFD spiel just last week (well, it actually was). We love when we see the OOFD mission statement in local writings from over a hundred years ago! We are a piece of the present of a long history.

Ok. As always, thank you so so much for reading these. And for your feedback. Can't tell you how much it means when folks give compliments on these newsletters.

So coming up, what should you do:

1. Donate to OOFD before December 31. We have a matching donor!
2. Sign-up for a ride. You know lotsa of those sell out real fast. 
3. Soak in the winter season. It's quiet. It's “I don’t need an excuse to hang out inside and read a book today.” Its maybe even some invigorating bike rides. 

 
Happy holidays and hope to catch you out there pedalin’ soon. 

​Glenn and the whole OOFD crew

Staying warm round the Decemberg fire, stars smiling down Photo by Maggie Marek