Pump up your tires — May is National Bike Month
National Bike Month launches May 1, and with it plenty of opportunities to shake the dust off your bike.
Established by the League of American Bicyclists in 1956, National Bike Month celebrates biking’s many benefits — fitness, recreation, sustainability, connections to nature — and cajoles us out of hibernation to enjoy milder weather while pedaling.
Many rides already fill local bicycle club calendars. Besides those, numerous events also beckon you and your two-wheeler onto Chicago area trails and roadways.
The 2024 Ride Guide calendar, published by Ride Illinois, lists three multiday bike rides and five others around Illinois in May alone. On May 26, for example, McHenry County Century Ride rolls from Sunset Park in Lake in the Hills with routes ranging from 25-100 miles.
Shorter community rides and their May dates commence in Brookfield (May 4), Riverside (May 10), Palatine (May 14), Arlington Heights (May 18) and Elgin, which boasts six rides throughout National Bike Month.
On May 15, our area will witness several “Rides of Silence,” marking the 22nd anniversary of this global biking event. Biked in total quietude, these rides honor those killed/injured while cycling on public roadways. Sadly, 2023 was the worst year ever for Illinois cyclist fatalities with 42.
As of late April, Rides of Silence are scheduled in Arlington Heights, Chicago, Downers Grove, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Evanston-Skokie and Villa Park. Check the Ride of Silence website, www.rideofsilence.org, for event information. Last year 228 rides occurred in 40 U.S. states and 16 countries.
On May 8, kids are invited to bike to school, celebrating National Bike and Roll to School Day. More than 40 Chicago area schools are already registered, 20 alone in the Batavia, Naperville, Palatine and Schaumburg school districts.
Bike Safety Days
Elmhurst youth kick off their riding season at the city’s annual Bike Safety Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at the Elmhurst Depot on York Road, near the Prairie Path.
At this free event, hosted by Elmhurst’s Walk and Rollers Working Group, youth learn and practice safe biking skills, followed by an Illinois Prairie Path ride. Activities include proper helmet fitting, “ABC-Quick Check” — air, brakes, chain, etc. — and skill practice on a bike obstacle course.
The Walk and Rollers Working Group was formed after approval of Elmhurst’s 2021 Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Armaline Miretti, Elmhurst Bicycle Club board member-at-large and advocacy co-chair, serves as the group’s vice-chair.
On May 11, Cycle Brookfield hosts its Bike Safety Checkup, while Villa Park Parks and Recreation offers a Bike Safety class. The free Glen Ellyn Bike Rodeo runs from 1 to 3 p.m. May 18 at Main Street Recreation Center, 501 Hill Ave.
Also on May 18, the Highland Park Historic Preservation Commission’s first of two scheduled architectural bike tours leaves Moraine Park on Sheridan Road at noon. The five-mile route provides casual riding in the historic Belle Avenue and Vine/Linden/Maple districts. Check http://cityhpil.com/hpc for information and a route map.
A second architectural tour is scheduled for June 1 at noon. Department of Community Development Planner Zubin Coleman reported more than 100 cyclists participated across both tours in 2023.
For those combining work with biking, Keating Law Offices sponsors a monthlong competition starting May 13. In the Bike Commuter Challenge, Chicagoland organizations compete to earn the most points by bike commuting, with a bike month wrap-up party June 21 at Mike Keating Law Offices, 825 N. Milwaukee in Chicago.
Call for biking stories
Not ready to roll outdoors yet? Put your past cycling experience to work creatively.
Skokie Bike Network's Tales from the Trails returns for an encore July 14 at Skokie’s Sketchbook Taproom & Brewery. This free storytelling performance entertains audiences with tales inspired by spinning one’s wheels.
Stories, poems and songs can be submitted during National Bike Month until June 2 to skokiebikenet@gmail.com. Open to any storyteller, pro or rookie, willing to submit a personal narrative, this year’s theme is “Bike Intelligence: What I’ve learned (or not) while riding a bike.”
Eligibility is simple: must be original, no more than 1,000 words (seven-eight minutes), family-friendly language and true, to the best of one’s recollection. Those chosen will present their entry live from noon to 2 p.m. July 14.
This year event introduces a new art form: bike haiku, or “baiku,” as organizer Charlie Saxe calls it. These short, three-line poems follow a 5-7-5 syllable format and are eligible for submission.
In 2023, Kathy H. from Northbrook submitted these examples to celebrate National Poetry Month. She was the lone reader answering this column’s call last April for bike haikus.
Hey, you, in the car.
Slow down, move over, be nice.
Watch out for bikes, please.
Out before the sun
Random-blinking lights ahead
See the Peloton.
Upon a saddle
Two wheels and chain spin below
Smile across my face.
‘Hoffman in Motion’
Hoffman Estates recently kicked off “Hoffman in Motion,” its new transportation plan project, by requesting public input via a survey and Interactive map to re-imagine transportation in the village. Phil Green, transportation and long-range planner, notes its early stages focus on data analysis and community engagement.
Available until June 24, “The survey is open to all,” says Green. “Transportation issues don’t stop at municipal boundaries. We want to hear from everyone who comes to and through the village.”
The Bike and Pedestrian Comment Map allows users to point out safety concerns, room for improvement, accessibility challenges and other transportation-related issues. This interactive map is intended to remain open through the entire project. Final plan approval is expected in spring 2025.
• Join the ride. Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.