True Grit: Bike racing series ‘has become a summertime staple’ in suburbs

Chicago Grit is not just a bunch of bicycle races. It’s become a neighborhood celebration.

Back for a 13th summer, Chicago Grit features a series of races in 10 different communities over 10 consecutive days starting Friday.

The series formerly known as the Intelligentsia Cup immediately challenges cyclists with “Leg Breaker Hill” in the opening West Dundee River Challenge on Friday, July 18. It concludes at the Fulton Market Grand Prix in Chicago on July 27.

In between are Grit events in Glen Ellyn, Winfield, Mundelein, Lombard, Brookfield, Northbrook, Elgin and Lake Bluff.

“The bike race in all these venues has become a summertime staple in these towns,” said race director Marco Colbert of Prairie State Cycling, the management group that helps local committees stage the events.

It’s criterium racing — men and women fly around a closed course on city streets as many times as possible in races ranging from 30 minutes for novices to 75 minutes for professionals. Nine or 10 races in each town go from roughly 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Last year, 4,272 riders from 44 states and 15 nations competed at one or more stops.

Each community also hosts a “Family Fun Ride” late in the day, when for a half-hour residents take to the course.

“Oftentimes, they are the most fun events of the day because they are so charming,” Colbert said.

“I like to say it’s a community block party with races happening inside,” said Maureen Himmel, who heads the committee for the West Dundee River Challenge, which has been on the circuit since 2016. The Intelligentsia Cup debuted in 2012, in St. Charles.

The West Dundee event offers a family bike parade with riders vying best costume prized. The committee used to make suggestions, like a superhero theme. Not anymore.

“We found that the families were so creative that they came up with their own ideas,” Himmel said.

The races and parade are part of a festival atmosphere featuring restaurant booths, live music, a “Kid Zone” and a market including about 40 sponsors and local businesses.

“Every year, it grows,” Himmel said. “We really have turned this into a large community event.”

It does take a village — or in Elgin’s case, a city. Host committee chair Eric Larson, retired executive director of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, oversees a committee of 13 people, numerous sponsors and up to 120 race-day volunteers.

The Elgin Classic in Memory of Dennis Jurs (a Hampshire man who died after a collision with a car in 2015, which led to a law supporting cyclists’ right of way), spans four downtown blocks and draws more than 600 competitors, Larson said.

He accounts for one or two guests per rider for an estimated 1,500 visitors. Part of the “Chicago Grit template,” Larson said, is to provide local housing for those who need it. (In West Dundee, Himmel is hosting members of the LA Sweat women’s cycling club from Los Angeles.)

This year, Larson recruited Spanish-speaking residents to host Hispanic cyclists in the Elgin Classic.

“Our population is about half Hispanic, and we want to celebrate that,” said Larson, who also coordinates a giveaway to Elgin children of free helmets, and 35 refurbished bicycles donated by Palatine nonprofit Bikes & Music.

Grit courses have changed over the years. Elgin converted to a criterium-style layout after a few years, and the Tighthead Mundelein Grand Prix, sponsored by a hometown brewery, this year relocated its layout due to construction of a mixed-use development across from village hall.

“We think that the riders will like the changed venue,” said Amanda Orenchuk, Mundelein’s director of community development.

“It’ll bring something new to (riders), they won’t be on autopilot because they won’t be as familiar with the course as they have in the past,” added Orenchuk, who helps associate planner Jess Marvin coordinate the event.

The planners liken the Mundelein event to a neighborhood block party. Courtland Commons will hold vendors, children’s activities, art, food trucks, raffles, and, this year, a 100-year-old fire truck kids can explore. Of course, Tighthead refreshments also will be available.

After last year’s Grand Prix, the fourth in Mundelein, the village sent out a survey to gauge community interest.

“We had overwhelming support by hundreds of respondents who said they love the event and want to keep doing it,” Orenchuk said.

“They think it’s one of the most unique events in town.”