Out Our Front Door Newsletter - February 2023

Poetic Letter from the President

Just as the scarce winter sunlight is starting to linger later into our evenings, Out Our Front Door is saddling up to embark on a myriad of new adventures in this upcoming season. I’ve heard echoed by many in our community that Chicago summer is a treasured season unparalleled in other cities. Maybe it’s in part due to the idea that we’ve ‘earned’ a summer that serves as a break from the harsh cold. We remained, watching the migrating birds depart for warmer climates, while we dawned bar-mitts and ski-goggles to continue our commutes in the snow. 

Maybe it’s in connection to the Lake, feeling ourselves defrost in time with the lakefront and being welcomed back into the water as temperatures begin to warm. Regardless of the reasoning, our Volunteers have maintained a serious and focused momentum to bring us back into nature as our season opens. 

In this upcoming year, we’re launching a handful of new efforts intended to expand our reach. This includes two new events in the Adult Program to roll with communities not often accommodated in rides, and the re-activation of our Youth Program in collaboration with longstanding youth spaces across the city. We’ve got a focus group bringing out new ‘transportation-centric’ day rides. We’re leaning deep into some new partnerships to bring us specific and novel trainings throughout the year and to amplify the feelings of diversity and inclusion on our rides. With the announcement of our ‘Flock Off the Block’ ride, we will bring 100 folks out to our beloved Camp Shabbona Woods of southern Cook County. We’ve set ourselves up to break records not yet seen by OOFD. Even the park rangers are eager to join the party. 

I imagine we’re all daydreaming of the companionship of dragonflies that glide in pace with us on the trails, or the low harmony of frog calls that join us in conversation around the campfire. Those members of nature that broaden our concept of community, accompaniment; to encompass the wild tenants of our neighboring parks and forests. This week’s release of our 2023 ride lineup brings all our work out for the community to celebrate and anticipate. Maybe even the prairie itself is looking forward to our return. 
     Breanna Bertacchi
​     Board President ​

2023 Rides and Registration

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Partnership for Our Adaptive Program

Out Our Front Door (OOFD) is thrilled to announce that we are now a helper site for Charlotte’s Tandems US (CTUS),  a wonderful organization that provides free loans of tandems and other adaptive cycles “to anyone with a disability or additional need, so that they can ride wherever, whenever and with whoever they like.” 

​This partnership will increase the reach and impact of our Adaptive Program, “Bike Camping For Everyone!” by providing us with additional bikes and enabling us to loan them for longer periods of time. 

Read more about the partnership and the bikes here. ​

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Upcoming Events and Dates

• February 25 - Wild Things Conference - This is a huge conference in Rosemont for all things nature/conservation in Chicagoland. OOFD will have a big team there to soak up some knowledge, and we'll have a table there as well. 
• March 7 - Monthly Hang Metropolitan Brewery - Includes a short Bike camping mechanics training - "The Tools You Need" led by Thomas Kehrer.
• March 15 - 2nd Wednesday Creative Work Session - Beermiscious from 7-9pm. 
• Second week of March - Bike Camping Clinic (the basics of bike camping - gear, packing, loading, etc - location TBD)
• March 22 - OOFD Guide Training 2023 - this is the BIG training of the off-season for our new and seasoned guides! - Location tbd. Sign-up to become an OOFD volunteer here to get the looped in on the deets. 
• April 11 - HOOTENANNY Fundraiser Party Vol. 3 at Metropolitan Brewery - Save the Date. Holy Moly! More details to come!
• July Ragbrai Crew - We have a bunch of folks that will be riding with OOFD. Be sure to register through the Ragbrai website asap. Most of us will be taking the Bicycle Illinois charter to/from Iowa. Some are working to organize carpools. OOFD will work to have a sag wagon for our crew during the week of riding. If you are interested in riding across Iowa with us, let us know via a Contact Us form on our website, and we'll get you looped into those emails.