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Suburban Chicago Bicycling

Heard over the mountains: Bike Summit venue change

Published 2 months ago • 1 min read

Greetings from mountain country — Salt Lake City at the moment. Above is the view out of my hotel; that's something we just don't get in the Chicago area. I wanted to say hello again to all the new subscribers who joined after Ralph Banasiak's nice shoutout in the Daily Herald. Thank you for being here! There's been a little bit of important news while I've been away.

Bike & Walk Summit has a new venue

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The venue for Ride Illinois’ 2025 Illinois Bike & Walk Summit next month in Springfield was abruptly changed due to vandalism at the original conference site. As I'm at another conference for an organization that I've helped lead for a while, I can only imagine Ride Illinois Executive Director Dave Simmons' panic when he learned just more than a month out that he needed a new summit location. Alas, one was quickly found, and tickets are still available.

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Meanwhile, the Fairfield Road feedback period in Lake County was extended to Monday. And I have to check out the latest plans for off-road paths around Martingale Road in Schaumburg. Catch up on my updated news round-up.​

Ride list updated

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I've updated my list of bike rides open to the public (with a fee or not) with some regular weekly rides in the area, plus a couple of more rides I've heard about that involve baked goods. A pie ride in Janesville, Wisconsin? Um, yeah, let's add that. Check the list, and please let me know if you know of invitationals not on it.

What I'm working on

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Why are bike lanes being removed on reconstructed neighborhood roads in famously bike-friendly Schaumburg (where I live) in favor of off-road paths? I'm poring over records and asking around. There's been some back-and-forth on the plans over the years that I'm trying to nail down. I hope to post a report in the next week.

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ALWAYS AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE

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​Top suburban Chicago bike trails​

​List of local bike clubs​

​Invitational and charity ride calendar​

​The rules on e-bikes in the suburbs​

​Advice for beginners starting to get serious​

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Now I'm contemplating a ride in Salt Lake City before I hit the road again. Do I, the flatlander, dare go into those mountains? We'll see about that. Be back home soon. — Neil

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* At top, that's looking southwest out of my hotel window. Salt Lake is magically surrounded by peaks.

Suburban Chicago Bicycling

Neil Holdway

A source for the great trails and roads to ride a bicycle in Chicago's suburbs, and to learn about efforts to make bicycling easier there.

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