Bike the Trail set for Saturday in Frankfort - Southtown Star

Bike the Trail set for Saturday in Frankfort - Southtown Star

Suburbs getting bike racks as part of Lincoln Highway grant - Southtown Star

Suburbs getting bike racks as part of Lincoln Highway grant - Southtown Star

Ride to Pierogi Fest

Saturday I lead a Folks on Spokes ride to Whiting, IN for Pierogi Fest. Pierogi Fest is a huge festival celebrating the town's Polish heritage while poking a little fun also. Seriously, there are people dressed at Pierogis.

The ride started at 8 am at what we affectionately call "Old Target" parking lot. It's a lot right off the trail on Cicero in Matteson, IL. Two people joined me at the lot and our illustrious President met us ten miles in.

We rode a really nice route into Whiting. There was a lot of zig zaging, but it kept us off the main roads. Mr. Lazarus had one flat on the way in and another at the festival.

I had a good time, but we lost a member. I had his home phone, but not his cell. After waiting a while, we decided to leave. We knew he had a map, so all was well.

We took some different road back, but after the forest preserve, stayed on the same route.

In the end it was around 55 miles total. A good ride. Hope to see you next year!

Metra and Bikes

I recently posted to the Chainlink about my opinions on rule inconsistencies on Metra. Check it out.

Also, check out a post about Metra's new cars.

Jane Healy spoke at June Folks on Spokes Meeting

On Thursday June 28th, Jane Healy gave a great presentation on getting kids to bike. There was a huge storm right before the meeting so the attendance was low.

Some of the things I took away was the you need to get a few kids riding with either a bike train (group of kids riding to school) or a bike club. Once you have a few the word spreads.

I hope to have the slides soon. This presentation had many questions from the audience and I was really glad to hear it. If you start kids off riding for utility, in addition to fun, early, you can build a life long habit.

Afterwards we made our way to Flossmoor station and had some drinks. I particularly liked the Red Rye.

Trails for Illinois

At the last Folks on Spokes meeting Steve Buchtel talked about Trails for Illinois, a little know advocacy group that he is revamping into an Illinois power house.

He talked about the benefits of trails to the surrounding communities and how many trails can be improved. One image stands out in my mind. The only connector from a box store to the trail (I think target) is out an emergency exit.

I'm excited to see the group and wish it well. Check out their tumblr.

Big thumbs up for Tinley Park’s active transportation plan

"Tinley Park’s Village Board passed its active transportation plan this week with flying colors.

The village board’s unanimous approval of the plan seems to reflect widespread interest in the community about bike facilities. One village official said this plan had more interest than almost any other plan up for village board approval in recent years."

From Active Transit Blog.