Wheels keep turning: Looking back on six years in biking

I’m no longer the pro bike racer I’ve always pretended to be.

That burst bubble pops up first when reflecting on how biking and I have changed since this column launched six years ago.

Certainly older, maybe wiser, I’ve learned a few things. The last 10 miles are longer than the first 10. Miles click by faster in groups. My bike, equally older and wiser, now decelerates hoping for a red light rather than accelerating to make the green. Go figure.

A rookie columnist in August 2020, I needlessly worried about the topic well running dry. Bike plans, club events and infrastructure projects spawned ideas aplenty. My own bicycling itself generated others.

Super-boosted by the pandemic, biking’s popularity has yielded much to write about. Whether via traditional or social media, biking has made headlines: early supply chain disruptions, bike shop break-ins, road safety issues. Looking back, news hasn’t been all negative. Here are some positive trends that strike me as significant.

In the Chicagoland, Suburban Chicago Bicycling now fills an information gap with reliable wide-ranging news/updates about trails, roadways, infrastructure projects and events. This free site, supplemented by a Facebook page and YouTube channel, was launched in early 2025 by Neil Holdway, avid cyclist, and former Daily Herald editor.

It’s my go-to source for extensive information/insights on suburban biking. I’m not alone. According to Holdway, 4,000 visit the site monthly. Plus, it offers one-stop “link shopping” for bicycle clubs, forest preserves, county transportation departments, advocacy and special interest groups such as Ride Illinois, Active Transportation Alliance, Illinois Prairie Path.

Bike advocates and government representatives have responded to the spotlight on biking. Statewide conferences in 2020 (virtually), 2022 (Champaign) and 2025 (Springfield) have attracted a range of stakeholders. Springfield will host another summit April 13-14, 2027.

Since 2020, numerous municipalities have adopted 16 new or updated active transportation plans, many embracing pedestrians, some encompassing multiple municipalities, such as the Bartlett & Streamwood Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (2022) and the West Cook Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan (2025). Equally important, Cook, DuPage, Kane and McHenry counties adopted bike/ped or trails plans.

Legislative progress

Early in 2026 Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias helped lead the effort to improve safety in Illinois. He announced a multipronged campaign — Ride Safe. Ride Smart. Ride Ready — that combines public education, updated driver training and a push for modernized safety laws to keep pace with the fast-evolving micromobility industry.

Giannoulias’ office is partnering with the Illinois High School and College Driver Education Association to develop a K-8 traffic safety education program. Ride Illinois, a statewide nonprofit bicycle advocacy organization, has been a major force behind this initiative with strong support from leaders in government, law enforcement, education and health care.

Piloting this fall, this new curriculum is designed to help students develop skills related to walking, biking, micromobility and being a good passenger while building awareness of roadway safety.

Legislation that passed the General Assembly this year differentiates between e-bikes (three legal classes) and other motor-driven cycles (e-motos). It provides consistent municipal rules for these and other micromobility devices statewide, preempting the existing patchwork of local laws.

Low-speed e-bike riders must be at least age 15, and low-speed scooter riders 16. Operators of high-speed e-motos require license, registration and insurance for their devices. Effective January 2027, the law reins in retailers falsely advertising e-motos as e-bikes. Gov. JB Pritzker signed this legislation Aug. 26.

Legislatively, biking has advanced since 2020 through other funding and regulatory measures. In 2021, the General Assembly passed legislation allowing county gas tax funds to be used for “nonvehicular public travel,” i.e., walking and biking infrastructure, specifically in DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will, and McHenry counties.

Starting in 2022, Illinois covered 100% of costs of related walking/bicycling facilities on state roadway projects for municipalities with more than 1,000 residents. Previously a 20% local match was required, meaning biking/pedestrian infrastructure was often eliminated from final project designs if local funds were unavailable.

In 2024, Ride Illinois introduced its State and Federal Bicycle Bill Tracker for Illinois residents to monitor biking legislation introduced in Congress and the Illinois General Assembly.

In 2025, tricycle riders were granted the same rights and responsibilities as bicyclists on two wheels via an Illinois Vehicle Code amendment. That same year, the Micromobility Fire Safety Act was passed requiring that electrical systems and batteries of e-bikes and e-scooters meet safety standards certified by an accredited lab.

Speaking of safety, Ride Illinois expanded the statewide reach of its Bike Safety Quizzes, from nearly 19,000 students in 2020. In 2025 more than 72,000 completed one of several quizzes, with another 70,000 expected this past school year, according to Executive Director Dave Simmons.

Sept. 6 Bike the Drive

Canceled in 2020’s pandemic and switched to Labor Day weekend in 2021, Bike the Drive rolls into its 25th year Sunday, Sept. 6. Starting at 6:30 a.m., more than 15,000 city and suburban riders are expected exchange DuSable Lake Shore Drive’s traffic noise and exhaust for humming bike chains, clicking gears and jingling bells.

With Chicago’s expanded bike share system, more Divvy bikes traverse the 30-mile route along with other two-wheelers not so common six years ago — cargo bikes, trailer bikes and e-bikes.

This lakefront celebration remains the major fundraiser for the nonprofit Active Transportation Alliance. Its mission is advocating for walking, bicycling and public transit to create healthy, sustainable and equitable communities.

• Join the ride. Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.