Ride Schedule From 5/20/2013 Thru 7/19/2013

Join me on for a moderately paced 50-mile ride to Woodlawn Cemetery in Forest Park.  We'll tour the Showman’s Rest - a burial ground and memorial for circus performers.

Representatives from Active Transportation Alliance will be on hand to show/tell us about the new Chicagoland Bike Map – to which EBC members contributed both brain and pedal power. Ed Barsotti of the League of Illinois Bicyclists will preview the new bike safety website that LIB is developing. EBC supports both organizations with grants from proceeds of the North Shore Century.

Experience Kentucky’s Bluegrass on a Bicycle! The 36th annual Horsey Hundred will be held the weekend of May 24-26, 2013, in Georgetown, Kentucky (just outside Lexington).   Cost (including a buffet meal after the ride on Saturday & Sunday) is $65 if you preregister or $90 on the day of the ride.   Dorm rooms at Georgetown College are available at $66 for 2 nights or $37 for one night per person.  On-line registration is available on the Bluegrass Cycling Club website.   Ride is limited to 2,000.   Sarah Begor  sarah.bike.mail@gmail.com

Haven't been on a ride headed out west in a while? Let's head out to Busse Woods for some elk viewing.

Low end of moderate pace (about 13 mph). Come join us as we journey up to Panera at Route 176.  We'll travel through the Botanic Gardens, Ridge Ave, skirting Lake Forest Hospital.  Returning via the Bike Path and Ft. Sheridan route.

Show off your oldest rideable bike.  Destination: Amling's bike shop in Niles.  There will be a food stop in Park Ridge.

I will be leading a ride to "Bike The Drive" on Sunday, May 26th.  We will meet at the Dunkin Donuts at Howard & Western and ride down together to the start at Bryn Mawr. The pace will be moderate 13 - 15 mph. Once we get onto Lake Shore Drive, we will split up as speeds may vary.

For details about Bike the Drive and to preregister go to http://www.bikethedrive.org/

Please email or phone me if you plan to come so I know how many people to expect.  Cell # 847.363.6306   email danataylor1@comcast.net   In the event of questionable weather I will post a cancellation by 5 am that morning. 

Remote Start: Harms Woods - Central (Groves 3&4) parking lot, 1/2 mile north of Golf on Harms Rd.  The parking lot is adjacent to the North Branch Trail.  We will ride the North Branch Bike Trail at a casual pace to the Chicago Botanic Garden.  Stop for a short walk and a snack then return by the trail.

This is the last of a series of rides to prepare for a 100 mile ride.

This ride is on mostly rural roads after Gurnee.  There are a few hills once we cross into Wisconsin.  Bring a snack as lunch is at 58 miles.

The best way to get in shape for cycling is to ride hills, but hills are rather lacking in the Chicago area.  Over the years the club has put together a number of variations on a hill training ride utilizing a number of public access roads to Lake Michigan.  We will use one of these route variations.  Our pace will be moderate (13 – 15 mph) and we will re-gather at the top of each hill.

Georgie V's in Northbrook. The ride is mostly on residential streets and in the forest preserve. 

EBC is sponsoring a night of racing at the Northbrook Velodrome on Thursday, May 30th.  The first race begins at 6:45 pm and the night wraps up around 9:30 or 10:00 pm.  The "showcase" races, the 5 & 10 Mile Record Attempts, are the second races of the evening and usually start about 8:15 pm.

The races on May 30th are:   ♦  Tempo (everyone)   ♦  10 Mile Record Attempt Scratch Race (Cat 1/2)   ♦  5 Mile Record Attempt Scratch Race (Cat 1/2/3 women)   ♦  1 Mile Scratch Race (all other categories)   ♦  Belgian Win & Out (everyone)

Descriptions of the different races are located here www.northbrookvelodrome.org/information/glossary-of-racing-terms

They do not sell food at the Velodrome, but you are allowed to bring your own (no alcohol permitted).  Whole Foods Northbrook is just down the street, as well as other restaurants.

The entrance fee is $2, but if you reply to Jeff Miller by Monday, May 27th, you'll be put on the list at the Velodrome to get in for free.  You can either bike there on the dinner ride or meet us there on your own.

If you ride to the Velodrome with the dinner ride, expect to arrive about 7:30 pm.  We'll stay for a few races and leave between 8:30 and 9:00 pm.  If we have rain, sleet or snow, the ride will be cancelled.  However, dark of night is in the plans.  If you plan to ride to this event, you must have proper lighting on your bike.

Any question, contact Jeff Miller  312-354-0080

Remote Start:  Chandler Center, 1028 Central St, Evanston

We'll head into the city to Beans and Bagels in Ravenswood and then head back north for ice cream. Most of the ride will be on the North Shore Channel Trail and lightly traveled streets. 

Remote Start: Donley's Wild West Town,  8512 South Union Road, Union IL

We will do the Udder Century.  We will do the 100 mile route.  Consider pre-registering on-line or getting there with enough time for registration.  If you are planning to join us, let me know so I can look for you.   vikfel@yahoo.com

Udder Century Website: http://www.mchenrybicycleclub.org/MCBC%20Udder.htm

Remote start:  Village Green Park in Northbrook (corner of Walters & Meadow).  If you drive, many streets have parking restrictions. There is a parking lot on Walters, just southeast of the park, where you should be able to park.

The pace wil be Fast (15-17 mph).  Faster riders are welcome to break-away and regroup at rest stops.

Anyone looking for a longer ride can start at Panera in Wilmette at 7 am and meet us in Northbrook for a total of 90 miles.

We will ride through the rolling hills of Barrington Hills, passing horse farms and mansions.  Lunch will be mid-ride at Einstein's or Egg Harbor in Barrington.  After lunch, we will do Cliff's Honey Lake loop, then ride along the shores of Lake Zurich.  Dessert stop will be in Buffalo Grove at either the Deerfield Bakery or Culver's.

Remote Start:  Chandler Center, 1028 Central St, Evanston

Explore the near North Shore on this ride to Once Upon A Bagel in Highland Park.  We’ll take Sheridan Road, Old Green Bay Road, and St. John’s – a well-traveled EBC route – to Highland Park.  We’ll return via Green Bay Road to Glencoe, then on the Green Bay Trail/Poplar/Isabella back to Chandler.

 Take a casual ride to the Chocolate Shoppe for ice cream.   

Remote Start: Rockville, IN

Parke County (about 50 miles due west of Indianapolis on the Illinois border - a 4 hour drive from Evanston) is loaded with covered bridges.  You'll ride through 12 of them if you do all three loops on this ride.

Bridges mean rivers; rivers mean valleys; valleys mean hills.  The 32 mile loop has an elevation gain of 1,500 feet and includes 2 bridges.  The 36 mile loop has an elevation gain of 1,800 feet and includes 4 bridges.  The 41 mile loop has an elevation gain of 2,000 feet and includes 6 bridges.

There is also a Strawberry Festival in nearby Rosedale on this weekend.

Remote Start:  Chandler Center, 1028 Central St, Evanston

I love to look at our lake, so we'll pass through two lakefront parks on our way north.  After 12 miles, we'll stop for lunch at the Chicago Botanic Garden cafe.

Remote Start: Waterford Precision Cycles 816 W. Bakke Ave, Waterford, WI

Get out of the city and head to Wisconsin for some beautiful, rural riding!   See how top quality, custom bicycles are built.

This will be a joint ride with Milwaukee's Cream City Cycle Club.  Come early for the factory tour.  Richard Schwinn will give a tour of the Waterford Precision Cycles Factory from 8:00 am to 8:30 am.  The ride will start at 9:00 am.  There will be two route options - 40 or 65 miles.  Both routes will be on beautiful, quiet Wisconsin roads with some rolling hills.

Allow 1.5 hours from Evanston to Waterford:  take I-94 to WI-20 west (exit 333), turn left on Jefferson St (Cty W), go south 1 mile, turn right on Bakke.

Yes, it is true we are going to McDonald's to have a different type of experience.  There is an omelet station and the chef will prepare it to your personal liking.  This is quite the facility - you need to see it to believe it!  (All credit goes to Dave Barish, who led a recent ride there.)  Back around 1 pm.

A savanna is open woodland with grasses and forbs growing under the trees.  We will ride at a moderate pace to this rare remnant from Illinois' pre-settlement past.  We'll ride a bit more than four miles on the limestone trail in the preserve at a slow pace with some stops for nature gawking. The trail is suitable for road bikes (as long as you are not in a hurry).  After lunch we will resume our moderate pace on the roads and paved paths back to Evanston.

We will journey to the Glen. Our ride will take us around the Techny conservation basin as well as the beautiful park by the Glen. We will stop at the Corner Bakery for a snack.

Remote Start: Dunkin Donuts at Howard and Western

Bicycles are a great means of transportation.  Sure, its fun to ride.  But we also ride because we have somewhere to go.  The City of Chicago's Bike to Work Day Rally celebrates bicycles as a commuting option.  Many club members commute to work. Let's get up early, ride through the city and celebrate with other commuters.  The City always gives away cool T shirts and free stuff to eat. This ride ends at Daley Plaza. There are no planned food stops.

We will ride out to South Barrington and stop at the Pearl Izumi Outlet Store...because you can never have too many cycling jerseys!

Join Stanley for a casual bike ride to one of his favorite lunch stops - Once Upon A Bagel in Highland Park

Enjoy a casual ride up to Fort Sheridan.  On the route back, stop for a unique Mexican brunch at La Casa de Isaac in Highland Park.

We have a few standard routes to Lake Forest.  This week, we'll use an alternate route.  I've lifted this or at least parts of this from Art Gilfand's 2012 Pampered Century Ride.

Soigneur, from the French soigner, meaning to take care of.  A soigneur on a pro cycling team “takes care of” his/her assigned cyclists by getting their feed sacks/sports drinks together, doing their laundry and – most important – providing massage therapy.  (Don’t sweat the French; Americans tend to call them “swanees.”)  Jen Agan will join us to share her experiences as a soigneur and provide guidance – and some demos – on massage techniques for cyclists.  You’ll learn how a foam roller can be your friend and what you should expect from a cyclist-centric hands on massage.

Jen Agan is a massage therapist  who works with Vision Quest athletes and has worked as a soigneur on the Tour of California, the Tour of Colorado and the Omega Quick Step Pharma team, among others.

We will ride to Highland Park on low traffic roads and bike trails to learn a little about the town's history and geology and to view historic homes between downtown and the lake: 1847 log cabin & 1893 log mansion, several excellent examples of Victorian houses, two Frank Lloyd Wright houses, and other architecturally significant houses.  See where the telephone may have been invented.  After viewing the lake, we will go to Once Upon a Bagel for lunch.

7 AM - 100 miles - Start from Panera Bread, 1199 Wilmette Ave, Wilmette
8 AM -  70 miles - Start from Northcroft Park, Lake Forest

Northcroft Park is located at the southeast corner of Old Elm & Ridge in Lake Forest. The main entrance is on Ridge, south of Old Elm.

The rest stops prior to lunch do not offer food, so please bring a few snacks. Our lunch stop will be at Culver's in Pleasant Prairie. After lunch, we will visit the Jelly Belly distribution center. You'll have a chance to load up on MAGIC BEANS. So make sure you have some way to carry your purchases home with you.

We will ride to the Chicago Botanic Garden and spend about an hour walking through the gardens and having lunch.

 We'll take a scenic route to this facility for adults with developmental disabilities and eat in the restaurant they run.

The best way to get in shape for cycling is to ride hills, but hills are rather lacking in the Chicago area.  Over the years the club has put together a number of variations on a hill training ride utilizing a number of public access roads to Lake Michigan.  We will use one of these route variations.  Our pace will be moderate (13 – 15 mph) and we will re-gather at the top of each hill.

We'll take a scenic route to the Garden, and after a short walk, we'll have a snack in their restaurant.

If you're concerned about our climate, want to help raise awareness and of course have fun, please join us on the second annual Cycle for Change ride from the Lincoln Park Zoo to the Milwaukee County Zoo. This ride is organized in conjunction with the Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, Milwaukee Zoo, American Association of Zoo Keepers, Polar Bears International, Chicago Cycling Club and the Evanston Bicycle Club.

There is a $50 fee ($40 for members of sponsoring organizations) to pay for SAG.  Excess will be donated to the Trees for You and Me program (Learn more Polar Bear Forest).

Our ride host will be Philip Fensterer, a zookeeper with the Oregon Zoo and an Artic Ambassador with Polar Bears International.

The ride starts at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  We will stop at Fort Sheridan for brunch, in Kenosha for snacks and end at the Milwaukee County Zoo for dinner.  This is a SAG supported ride with snacks, drinks and light mechanical assistance.  

As a special treat to participants, Philip and the staff at the Brookfield Zoo will give a talk and a special behind the scenes look at the Polar Bear exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo on June 27th at 6:30 pm before the ride.  We're limited to 30 people for this special presentation, so please RSVP early.

There are a limited number of riders that we can support for the full ride.  If you are interested, please RSVP early (we're OK if you withdraw later, but we need to get an idea for planning).

For RSVP, registration, and other questions, contact Philip Fensterer at fensterer3@mac.com or Howard Lo at hloworld@gmail.com

We will ride through the hills near Barrington and north of Crystal Lake before having lunch at Andy's Restaurant in downtown Crystal Lake.

Remote Start: Bristol Woods County Park. Take I-94 North. A few miles past the Wisconsin border, take Exit #347 Hwy 165/Cty Q. Turn left (west) at the end of the exit ramp and go west 2.5 miles on Cty Q.  Turn right (north) at Cty MB and go 0.8 miles.  Turn left into the park entrance. Park at the Pringle Nature Center - follow the park road about 1/4 mile past the picnic shelter at the top of the hill.  Allow an hour from Evanston.

The ride will include several rustic roads on the way to the small town of Lyons.  We will have lunch at Ye Olde Hotel in Lyons, an old stagecoach stop or at Lyons Grocery .

The terrain will be rolling hills through rural areas with little traffic.  There are a few more challenging hills near Lyons. 

Family friendly interfaith journey to a few local houses of worship

The Evanston Fourth of July Parade takes place Thursday at 2PM on Central Street in Evanston. All members are invited to participate in the parade and represent our club in style!  Wear your coolest jersey and decorate your bike if you want!  Let's make a good showing!  Pace is Relaxed (very slow).

We can begin assembling as early as 12:30 p.m. Our designated assembly point is on Hastings midway between Central and Harrison. This is the east side of Bent Park. (There are portapotties at Bent Park) We are requested to use Harrison (Old Orchard Road) to access our assembly point and not cross or come down Central.   We are ## in the Parade.

If you are riding, everyone must wear helmets, including children. I have an EBC banner which needs carrying, if anyone wants to help me with that. We can only pass out candy or flyers from the sidewalks walking among the crowd, not from the parade route. This is strictly forbidden and parade marshalls will be watching.This should be a pleasant few hours for all and it's a good way to promote and show off the club!
Call or email if you have any questions.  I hope to see you on the 4th!

Remote Start:  Traverse City, Michigan

This is a round trip ride between Traverse City and Mackinaw City.  Daily mileage will be 40 to 70 miles.  The route will NOT be previewed and SAG support will be very limited - one vehicle for luggage and emergency support.  We will be staying in motels.  This ride has a limited capacity.  If you are interested, contact Jerri for details - jerrimailbox-bike@yahoo.com

We are stopping for lunch in Deerfield, a town we often ride past, but not through.  Lunch will be across the street from the original Deerfields Bakery, so save some room for desert.

Remote Start:  929 W Exchange St, Brodhead, Wisconsin

We will ride the quiet back roads of Southern Wisconsin to New Glarus, known for its Swiss heritage and home to the New Glarus Brewery where the popular Spotted Cow beer is made.  We will make rest stops in the small communities of Albany and Monticello along the way, as well as experience the historic and spooky 125 year old Stewart Tunnel on the Badger Trail.  New Glarus is in a valley, so expect some hilly terrain.  Option 2 (46 miles) is to ride the Sugar River Trail (a flat, crushed limestone trail) from Brodhead to New Glarus, meet up with the road group for lunch, then return the same way.  A $4 daily Wisconsin State Trail Pass is required to bike the trail.

At last, a long-distance ride for the Moderate & Casual riders among us:  NO HILLS!!!

This is an 8-day, 400 mile (40 to 60 miles per day) bike tour across New York State, along the scenic and historic Erie Canal.  The route travels from Buffalo to Albany, New York and is a fully supported camping trip.  For more details see www.ptny.org/canaltour/

If you are interested in joining an EBC group on this ride, contact Cynthia Karabush at ckarabush@decisionsystems.com or at 847-722-7871.

Remote Start:  Chandler Center, 1028 Central St, Evanston 

We'll do much of the NSC 25 mile route.  Mostly quiet, residentail streets.

We will ride at a moderate pace (13 – 15 mph) to this rare remnant from Illinois' pre-settlement past.  We'll ride a bit more than four miles on the limestone trail in the preserve at a slow pace with some stops for nature gawking. The trail is suitable for road bikes (as long as you are not in a hurry).

Lunch will be at the Panera in Lake Bluff.  After lunch we will resume our moderate pace on the roads and paved paths back to Evanston.  Our total distance will be around 45 miles.

A few years back I found an interesting alternative route to Riverwoods in a collection of old cue sheets in my files.  I modified it a bit so we could lunch at Greek Feast, and over the years have made a few additional changes to the route.  It remains, however, not the usual way to Riverwoods.

Shel Orkin will be hosting a third annual EBC pool party on Wednesday.   We’ll leave from Chandler.  Neal will lead the group as far as Northbrook, and then Shel will guide us the rest of the way to his pool.  Bring a swim suit, towel and lunch money.  Shel will bring in lunch and the cost will be shared by the group.  Please RSVP to Shel at: shelorkin@gmail.com by mid-day on July 9th, so he knows how much food to get.

Ride will be mostly on a trail through the forest preserves.  Destination is Superdawg, a drive-in that is a Chicago Landmark. 

Remote Start:  Panera Bread, 1199 Wilmette Ave, Wilmette

This week the Thursday dinner ride will go to Taste of Park Ridge featuring a variety of local restaurant food vendors and live entertainment.

Remote Start:  Chandler Center, 1028 Central St, Evanston

On this ride we'll follow the North Shore Channel Trail into the city past Riverview to Belmont, visiting Ravenswood Gardens/Ravenswood Manor. There will be a rest/food stop halfway at Beans & Bagel, Rockwell and Leland.  Most of the ride is on paved trails in parks or on lightly traveled city streets.

The picnic will be at Lighthouse Park, Sheridan Road and Central Street in Evanston.  From Chandler ride 0.4 miles east on Lincoln, turn left on Sheridan.  Ride 0.2 miles north to Lighthouse Park.

The picnic will be at Lighthouse Park, Sheridan Road and Central Street in Evanston. From Chandler ride 0.4 miles east on Lincoln, turn left on Sheridan.  Ride 0.2 miles north to Lighthouse Park.

The picnic will be at Lighthouse Park, Sheridan Road and Central Street in Evanston. From Chandler ride 0.4 miles east on Lincoln, turn left on Sheridan.  Ride 0.2 miles north to Lighthouse Park.

The picnic will be at Lighthouse Park, Sheridan Road and Central Street in Evanston. From Chandler ride 0.4 miles east on Lincoln, turn left on Sheridan.  Ride 0.2 miles north to Lighthouse Park.

We'll leave from Lighthouse Park for a ride through the northern suburbs.  

We'll ride to River Forest to take a look at a little known subdivision now believed to have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Jay McNaught and Bob Berger ride to eat and eat to ride.  Specifically, to eat pizza.  They will share with us the stories surrounding the intersection of their two loves – cycling and pizza – that they wrote a book about.  They may also share the intricacies of their pizza rating system (1 – 5 spokes) if we’re lucky as well as their views on their favorite one day rides and tours.  Check out their blog at www.pedalingforpizza.com for a preview.

Destination will be determined on the day of ride.  Show up and try to talk Stanley into your favorite destination.