-Rolling Into the Beyond-
July. That month that is smack-dab in the middle of summer. The exuberant June jump into fine weather is only smoothed out and solidified with the oh so fine month of July. Celebrations. Freedom. Time to reflect on how awesome the summer already has been, and how much more there still is to embrace! But you likely don't need a reminder to embrace summer because that's what we Chicagoland folks do best. We embrace it. Biking this bodacious basin from Burnham's boulevards to big water beaches to the beautiful bogs.
Ramble with us this July as we traverse the Waterways of the West, go on a ride that started it all (200 miles in 2 days). and preform ecological service on the North Branch Trail. Oh yeah, there is even a block party with live music too! Read on to see what's new with the OOFD and learn a thing or two about this beautiful basin of ours. And as always, get outside and enjoy this weather!!!
-Vice President Glenn Schneider
Up-Coming EventsWaterways To The West
August 25th 26th 27th.
A Three Day Guided Bike Camping Adventure: Waterways to the West: Chicago to Starved Rock State Park Sitting just 100 miles from Chicago is a landscape home to 18 rock canyons featuring stunning waterfalls, moss-covered stones and vertical sandstone cliffs. Glacial air sweeps across the land when we go back in time to relive a catastrophic flood that occurred between 14,000 and 18,000 years ago in the Midwestern United States that reshaped the land. Learn about one of the world's first's major natural waterway reversals in human history as we traverse from the heart of the Chicago along the Chicago River all while rocking along the incredibly fun and beautiful Illinois & Michigan Canal trail. Day 1: Ride 100+ miles and camp Day 2: Chill out, explore the waterfalls, camp again Day 3: Ride 60 miles to Metra in Joliet. Where The Wild Things Grow -
Sunday, July 16th, 8:30am
Day Ride: Logan Square to North Branch Trail. Where The Wild Things Grow: Clayton Smith Woods Bike Ride, Superdawgs, ecological restoration, native plant talk, and drinks. A bike service day from Logan Square to the North Branch Trail's new Clayton Smith Woods Preserve and back. (mapand route in link). We will Join The North Branch Restoration Project to remove invasive species and collect native plant seeds. Come for a nice Sunday roll to learn about and help your local trail's ecology. The Where The Wild Things Grow program encourages bicycle community involvement in ecological restoration throughout the Chicagoland regional trail network. A partnership between the Out Our Front Door Organization and Habitat2030 to assist local organizations and local land stewards to restore and maintain native habitats in the Lower Lake Michigan Basin Area by bicycle to create native corridors that lead to natraul open lands for bike campers and trail users for all. 8:30am: Pull out from Logan Square Monument (8 mile ride) 10am - 1:00pm: Complete Service 12pm-3pm (optional): Grab lunch and a beverage Block Party | Tune Up. Turn Up. Turn 3
July 23 Saturday 12pm to Late Night
The Promontory | 5311 S Lake Park Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60615 Join us for an epic outdoor, family-friendly block party in Hyde Park on Saturday, June 17 celebrating bikes, music and community. -Bike tune-ups will be provided by Blackstone Bicycle Works -Mobile beverage catering will be provided by The Juice Box -Music by White Mystery and The Lemons -Food and drinks presented by The Point, The Promontory's new patio oasis -Local artisans and vendors from Hyde Park Handmade Ride those bikes on down to 53rd Street in Hyde Park for a day of Food, Family, and Fun! WTF Open Shop, co-hosted by the Recyclery
Every 4th Sunday 6pm-9pm
WTF Bike Mechanic Skills Our friends at Women Bike Chicago are running a W.T.F. Open Shop series in collaboration with and hosted by The Recyclery, a bike shop collective promoting sustainability for self-reliant cyclists. The program is for people who identify as women, trans, or femme and is ran by W.T.F. mechanics. Participants learn new skills, get practical help with their own bikes, and contribute to the Recyclery's Freecyclery program. W.T.F. Night is a time for leaders and participants alike to share knowledge and skills with other community members. For those working on their own bikes, there is a $10/hour suggested donation (more if you can, less if you can't). Check out Women Bike Chicago & The Recyclery for more information their programming. Whats New!Big Marsh: Birds Bikes Beer. Future Campground?
Big streams of lava spill hot slag onto a strip of land at 115th street and Stony Island, as black smoke rises from a time past on Chicago's Southeast Side's booming industrial corridor. But after much of the industry left, specifically after the U.S. Steel's South Works plant was closed, the land sat flat, open, contaminated, and unused. That is until last year when the City of Chicago opened it as Park District Park #564 aka Big Marsh. The vision: To “provide a new type of recreation in Chicago that marries habitat restoration with public use.”
-OOFD talks to Big Marsh about upcoming events and the potential for a new camp spot on Chicago's Southeast Side. Twitter Me This Series
Twitter Me This is a trivia and riddle series on the OOFD Twitter feed, where every week we release a new clue and riddle about little unknown facts & places within Chicagoland and the Lower Lake Michigan Basin. Test your local knowledge and find out what your answers reveal! Follow us on twitter @OutOurFrontDoor in the link button below!
Interview by Streetsblog Chicago
John Greenfield from Streetsblog Chicago wrote an article about how the Out Our Front Door organization promotes car-free travel and environmental preservation in the Chicagoland region. Included in the article is an interview with one of the Founders of the Out Our Front Door Organization.
Featured Camp: Chain O'Lakes State Park
Find Your Camp Submission by: Andrew St. Paul
6,023 acres to experience rolling moraine hill topography. An entrance leading you into wild flower prairies, wide eyed views and rich regional wetlands. Plus peaceful lakes and hiking trails too' makes Chain-O-Lakes State Park of North Eastern Illinois a great bike camping trip. Not to mention it's ease of access from Chicago. Meet The Team
Miles Talty
OOFD Field Guide & Coordinator Miles is a restless outdoor enthusiast. Whether biking, hiking, paddling, shredding the slopes or enjoying endless amounts of camping he believes TIME is simply best spent outside. The goal is to spread that enthusiasm for adventure and fresh air with others by bringing a positive attitude, laughs and tons of season to the OOFD team. Pick his brain on your next tour about his favorite camping zones, ice cream combinations or his 1200 mile cycling circumnavigation of Lake Michigan.
RIDE. LEARN. EXPLORE.
LET'S CONNECT DO GOOD 
The Out Our Front Door Organization.
A Bike Camp Community For Chicago and the Lower Lake Michigan Basin Area. Grassroots Prairie Style #BikeTheBlueBasin www.outourfrontdoor.org
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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