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Suburban Chicago Bicycling

Updates upon updates: Busse Woods' bumps, and e-bikes vs. "e-motos"

Published 29 days ago • 1 min read

Happy Labor Day weekend! Surely Busse Woods and its trails between Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village and Arlington Heights will be busy. That means it'll be better for more casual bicyclists, not the faster cyclists.

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Busse Woods' bumps: But all of us who ride the Cook County preserve already might have a tough time with all the cracks and potholes. As I'm enjoying the few new asphalt patches like in the picture above, I got updates on repair work still to come.

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E-bike back and forth: In other news, e-bike laws keep coming. Carol Stream and Evergreen Park have added strict new regulations like requiring a driver's license. But Park Ridge went easier on age limits, and Rolling Meadows is proposing only to reiterate state law that allows e-bikes broadly.

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Speaking of state law, "e-motos" vs. e-bikes: With the patchwork of laws building, the advocacy group Ride Illinois is not only urging municipalities to "cool your jets" but also trying to get "e-motos" clarified in state law. That's the working term for bikes with motors of more than 750 watts; legal e-bikes (with motors of 750 watts or less) have been getting lumped in with them. Ride Illinois wants e-motos to have their own section in Illinois Vehicle Code. Follow it all in my e-bike law compilation.

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What else is going on: The Darrell Road roundabouts are taking shape in Lake County. That's in the road and trail work round-up. I'm reading Lon Haldeman's book, "Cycling Pioneer," after meeting the ultra-distance legend at the Roun'da Manure ride. And Bike the Drive is this weekend in Chicago. That's in the ride list.

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Sure, the dog days are over, but we can ride lots yet. Enjoy the weekend. — Neil

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THANK YOU to donors Alan White, John Heer, Terry Witt, Mitchell C. Jones, T L Szensy, Douglas H. Hoffman and James Krause. They're helping support my website and work. You can, too. Any little bit helps. (Buy me a cup of coffee, as some say?)

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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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