 Do you own a bike? If so, you have a ticket to adventure at any time.
If you don’t own a bike yet, there are lots of great, affordable, or even free ways to get a bike such as buying a beautifully refurbished bike at Working Bikes or even joining the City of Chicago’s free bike program. Have you ever been camping? If so, you likely have all the essentials, tent or hammock, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad, all of what you need to go on a bike camping adventure right out your front door!
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 Picture by Jerome Hughes Out Our Front Door’s Sun Harvest ride is one that draws both veterans and first time bike packers every year. For some riders new to OOFD, this was the longest they’d ridden their bikes in a weekend. For others, a chance to catch up with friends they’d been riding with for years. New relationships and old.
 Seeing as this is now the 4th year we’ve done this ride, as lead guide I was concerned that some repeat riders might be getting a bit bored of the route. I think this year’s trip was a great reminder that every year is a little different but always special in its own way. The Door County magic is what has kept me coming back for a yearly visit my entire life! The peninsula may stay the same, but each time you visit there are new adventures to be had and new perspectives to experience. This year was no exception.
 The Out Our Front Door Board of Directors are a bunch of rad folks who care a lot about OOFD and are super focused on keeping the org true to its mission and values. In 2020, the board did a number of deep dives into our mission and reworked it as well as established a set of organizational values. Our original mission statement as established in 2015 read:
 Rides leaving South Shore Cultural Center on the FOTB Ride Photo by Ramsey Lujan @tungstenphotographic Welcome to Fall It's been a while! Lots of bike riding and camping. All. Summer. Long. We are still flying high from the amazing Valhalla ride in Door County. Hard to believe Flock Off the Block was a little over a month ago. Major things happening in our Adaptive Bike Camping Program. Lots of great partnerships happening across the city too. Per usual, tons to catch you up on, so hold on to your seat!
 Photo by Elliot It’s been a tradition since 2018 for a group of wild OOFD riders to wake up before dawn on the last weekend of August. We gather to travel the furthest distance in a single day out of any ride in our season. The goal is to reach Starved Rock State Park, by means of battle with the trail known as the I&M canal in all its technicalities.
 Swimming at Schoolhouse beach on Washington Island By OOFD Lead Guide and Marketing Director - Maggie Marek
The very first Out Our Front Door ride I ever signed up for was the 2020 inaugural ride to Valhalla. I’d found out about OOFD in 2019 at a volunteer fair but had just admired the organization from afar, too nervous to take the leap into bike camping adventures. When I saw OOFD announced a ride to Door County I knew I had to go.  Out Our Front Door’s value #1 is Welcome. As our values statement reads, being Welcoming is “Foundational to who are and always will be. Everyone, and we mean everyone, is welcome to roll with us. We have a spirit of radical inclusivity and strive towards greater diversity in our organization and our participants. We are a community of bike riders that warmly support and encourage each other and everyone that rides with us regardless of what they, their bike, or their gear looks like. We operate with a genuine open spirit and kindness.”
Breanna has a lovely story about this value in action including our guides showing support, encouragement and kindness to help get a rider make a ride happen.
Its been a while since that epic party back in April at Metropolitan that helped kick off this incredible year. It is fun to look back at what was front of mind at that party and the stories that we told. Anywho, here are the inspired open speeches that were given in tandem by OOFD Executive Director/Co-Founder - Glenn Schneider and the Board President and Adult Program Director- Breanna Bertacchi. Photos by Emily Ling
 Guides and participants snap a selfie outside 18th Street Brewery. By Northside Lead Guide Serena Larkin
When was the last time you danced to live music outdoors? Or whiled away an afternoon at a new beach? Or sipped brews alongside about 80 new friends? Let alone did all three in one day? |
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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