Des Plaines brings back the River Trail bike ride

Last year’s bike ride, following the ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the Des Plaines River Trail, met with such success that Des Plaines Mayor Martin J. Moylan, in conjunction with the Des Plaines Police Department, decided to do it again.

Everyone who rides a bike is invited to the second annual Des Plaines River Trail Bike Ride at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 2, at the Public Works Garage Facility, 1111 Joseph J. Schwab (Campground) Road, one block east of River Road, off Algonquin Road.

Registration for the 9-mile ride will begin at 8 a.m. at the Public Works facility and end there with a free cookout lunch.

Registration forms and a bike ride map are available at www.desplaines.org/rivertrailbikeride. Return registration forms to the police department or bring them to the ride. All bicyclists are required to wear a helmet and sign a waiver. Advocate Lutheran General Hospital will sell bike helmets for $10.

Additional sponsors and contributors to date include the Journal and Topics Newspapers; the Des Plaines Park District; Holy Family Medical Center, including Advanced Occupational Health; Karas Management; Alexian Reference Laboratory; WJMK-FM/104.3 K-HITS, which will provide entertainment from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; and Fifth Third Bank, which will give away an adult TREK 7000 hybrid and a child’s TREK JET 20 from Village Cycle Sport as contest prizes.

The contest will be held at the cookout and winners must be present. Fifth Third Bank also will provide ice cream, refreshments and other handouts.

“We invite families, individuals, and kids of all ages to come out and spend the morning experiencing bicycling along the scenic Des Plaines River Trail,” Moylan said.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to experience nature, have fun, and celebrate the community of Des Plaines.”

Last year’s ride marked the culmination of a three-year effort by the City of Des Plaines to improve the Des Plaines River Trail by improving 2.8 miles of the existing trail with stone surface, building a new trail along the north side of Ballard Road, and adding safety features and new signage.

The project was funded in part through a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program grant awarded to the city in 2008. The trail improvements were conducted in coordination with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, which owns the trail and surrounding forest preserves.

For more information on the Des Plaines River Trail Bike Ride, call officer Colin Johnson at (847) 391-5410.