Brave the elements and bike in all types of weather
Inevitable inclement weather doesn’t necessarily mean hanging up your wheels until spring.
Sunday mornings through March finds various bike club members and guests in their third season of “Braver Than the Elements” (inspyrdmovement.org/events), thumbing their cold noses at the thermometer while relishing outdoor activities at Lisle’s Morton Arboretum.
Dawn Piech, Inspyrd Movement founder and Elmhurst Bicycle Club member, invites anyone to “walk, hike, run, bike and, if snow, cross-country ski and snowshoe” from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through March 30, with coffee and fellowship afterward.
Originally started to promote outdoor activity and fellowship through the winter months, “Braver Than the Elements” evolved from just biking.
“It aligned with my nonprofit’s mission to inspire individuals to elevate diversity, equity and inclusion through movement, as well as with my profession as a physical therapist,” Piech said.
More than 300 people braved it last November-March from various groups besides EBC, including Black Girls Do Bike, Cycle Brookfield, Fox Valley Bicycle & Ski Club, Major Taylor Cycling Club and Trek of Highland Park.
Mindset adjustment
Winter activity speakers are again being planned. Last January George Pastorino, former EBC president and current mountain bike coordinator, discussed “Winter Layering and Gear,” contrasting overdressing with keeping specific body parts warm. He recommended clothing to match the winter sport’s aerobic activity level.
“Thermometer readings shouldn’t restrict your activity,” Pastorino said. “With proper clothing, as temperatures drop, it’s simply a mindset adjustment. People don’t think anything of downhill skiing at five below. But biking is just not considered a snow sport.”
No fee is required for “Braver Than the Elements” beyond Arboretum access. Participants should arrive by 9:30 a.m.
Student-focused safety
Efforts to improve the safety of bikers and all roadway users in northeastern Illinois is underway through the Safe Travel for All initiative, coordinated by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. This $4 million federally funded project aims to address the regional traffic fatality crisis in play since 2014.
Six counties — Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will — are tasked with creating traffic safety plans to benefit all roadway users: Motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and others. McHenry County's Safe Travel for All effort has engaged some unique contributors this fall to traffic-related planning — Cary-Grove High School students.
In October, Advanced Placement students collected and analyzed traffic and roadway user survey data. In December, based on their findings, they will recommend traffic-related proposals that may end up in McHenry County’s Safety Action Plan. CMAP and McHenry County Division of Transportation selected Epstein for the project contract, with the consulting team led by Senior Planner Ryan Peterson.
Per Peterson, bike riders and newly-licensed drivers have been an untapped source in roadway planning.
“Within the team, we were talking about how to get more voices at the table. What do youth want in terms of safety structure and roadway network?” Peterson said.
This approach, emphasized by MCDOT, supports equity by ensuring diverse voices are included in enhancing safety in their schools and communities.
As a 2011 CGHS graduate, Peterson found Crystal Lake High School District 155 open to the idea of students problem-solving contemporary issues.
“They were on board from the jump,” said Peterson.
Corinne Schwarzrock, District 155 division leader of International Studies, said, “CGHS has a strong emphasis on real-world experiences, supporting student engagement in practical learning opportunities. This is the first instance of hosting an assignment of this nature within the social sciences.”
Counting, analyzing, recommending
In late October, 30 students in Katie Bogda’s AP Statistics class conducted same-day traffic counts before, during and after school at three locations near campus. Counts captured both motorized and nonmotorized vehicles — bikes, scooters and other mobility devices — and pedestrians.
Follow-up involved two CGHS student surveys, one about current road issues, another about future options. Bogda’s students analyzed both traffic counts and user survey responses, then provided that data to Aaron Pheiffer’s 18 AP Human Geography students, mostly freshmen and non-drivers.
“They bring a fresh perspective of what it’s like to bike or walk in their local community, including traveling to school,” Pheiffer said. “I have new drivers as well. They bring the experience of realizing the danger of driving compared to experienced drivers who may drive on autopilot.”
Final deliverable is a December student presentation to members of McHenry County Department of Transportation, village of Cary, the Epstein project team, plus school and administration staff.
Per Pheiffer, students are tasked “to propose traffic designs within a one-mile radius of Cary-Grove to eliminate and/or reduce minor, serious and fatal traffic accidents.”
Peterson noted this may include infrastructure, policy, and programming recommendations to make the area around the school safer “for the next 25 years. If we find good recommendations, and we think there will be, then they’ll be incorporated into the official county safety plan.”
Cycling shorts
If cyclocross is your biking niche, several regional Chicago Cross Cup races are still scheduled: Woodstock’s Groundhog Psi-clocross on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 9-10; Northbrook’s Wheeling Heritage Park CX Nov. 17 and Lemont’s Quarry Cross at The Forge Nov. 24. Chicago hosts the Montrose Beach — Illinois State Cyclocross Championship races Dec. 8.
Cyclocross is spectator-friendly competition with racers pedaling several laps of the same off-road closed circuit. Courses involve mixed terrain — grass, gravel, dirt, hills and physical obstacles forcing rider dismounts or “bunny hopping.”
• Join the ride. Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.