Expand Your Cycling Horizons

By Dean Schott

Discover adventure on your bicycle by doing a one-day invitational ride or a multi-day tour of Illinois. The rides give bicyclists the opportunity to explore new terrain, enjoy new experiences, meet other bicyclists and learn about the state's great diversity all at an easy pace.

Each year bicycle clubs, charities, towns, chambers of commerce and other groups around the state invite bicyclists of all ages and abilities to come ride in their areas. Any easy way to find a ride or tour in your area is to go to the website of the League of Illinois Bicycles (LIB), www.bikelib.org.

The site lists the rides by month and provides details on dates, locations, distances, costs, goodies and how to register. Most are one-day events occurring from May to October. But for the dedicated, hardy cyclists, invitational rides are available during the colder months as well. Some rides or tours can last a weekend or a week.

Ride sponsors have a field day naming the rides, such as A Red Flannel Affair in St. Joseph, Folks on Spokes in University Park , Tour de Stooges in Lebanon , Udder Century in Union , Chase the Moon in Aurora , Bike Psychos' Century in Coal City and the Pumpkin Pie Ride in Ottawa.

These are all one-day invitation rides of varying distances, depending on the choice of the rider. The events usually provide rest stops where you can snack and fill your water bottles. They also provide sag vehicles which travel the course to help cyclists who have a mechanical breakdown or can't go on for any reason. Some rides also provide free t-shirts, a meal at the end of a ride, a goody bag and entertainment.

If you want more of a challenge, consider week-long tours. They provide all the basics of a one-day ride plus luggage transportation, camping sites and more. They also provide camaraderie among bicyclists who share experiences from each day's rides, whether it's the local sights or local treats.

A cyclist traveling through a small town can be an instant conversation starter with the locals, who invariably want to know how far you've come and how far you have to go. Locals are a good source of tips on where to find good food and special treats, like ice cream...

A good day of bicycle touring burns as many as 3,000 calories, which means each evening a cyclist's engine must be fed to be ready for the next day. For many, that's a major joy of cycling - being able to tackle a big meal after a day of pedaling knowing that tomorrow you'll be back on the bike burning off those calories.

The 2004 Illinois tours include:

--The second annual Grand Illinois Trail and Parks (GITAP) ride June 13-19, sponsored by LIB with support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The tour covers more than 400 miles over mostly flat farmland, except for two days of healthy hills in the Galena area. The start and finish is DeKalb with overnights at Starved Rock State Park , Johnson/Sauk State Park, Morrison/Rockwood State Park, Galena Middle School , Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park and White Pines State Park. The cost is $290 for LIB members and $310 for non members. For more information and to register, go to www.bikelib.org/gitap.

--The Bicycllinois' premiere tour July 3-9 from Cairo to Chicago. The Bicycllinois' 420-mile ride has overnight stops in Carbondale , Mount Vernon , Effingham, Champaign/Urbana and Kankakee. The cost of the ride is $398. For information or to register, go to www.bicycllinois.com.

--The first-ever Bike Illinois Land of Lincoln 's (BILL) ride July 18-22 from Quincy to Danville. The tour will be one of five to raise money for the development of bike trails in Illinois. The major sponsors are the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association and the Illinois Association of Park Districts. The cost will be $150 per rider. For information and an application, go to www.illinoisparksandrecreation.com/bill/index.htm.

-- Around Illinois Back Roads August 7-13 starting in Morris and traveling to Oglesby, Morton, Springfield , Bloomington , Pontiac and back to Morris. Other options are a two-day weekend sampler or four-day mini ride. Costs range from $60-210, higher if you sign up after April 1. The tours are sponsored by the Joliet Bicycle Club. To learn more or to register go to: www.jolietbicycleclub.org.

Coming in 2005 is the 600-mile Great River Road Bike Tour, which earlier this year received a $60,000 tourism grant from Gov. Rod Blagojevich to launch what supporters hope will become an annual tradition similar to the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. The planned Illinois route will start in Rockford and end in Cairo , with much of the tour traveling along the picturesque Mississippi River. The state's support for the ride is viewed as way to promote tourism and economic development along the route.

For those who don't want to do one-day organized rides or longer tours, there are plenty of bicycle routes and trails where riders can go when and where they want. Check the first LIB website above, your library, book store or bicycle shop for books or pamphlets on routes and trails in Illinois. One good resource is "Bicycle Trails of Illinois", published by American Bike Trails of Wadsworth, Il.

Another good source of information is the Illinois Department of Transportation, which offers nine regional maps with bicycle routes and trails plus other valuable information for each area. For a free set, call, 217-782-0834 or go online at www.dot.state.il.us/bikemap/bikehome.htm.

Also, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (CBF) publishes a great bicycling map for the Chicago metropolitan area for $6.95. To order, call 312-427-3325 or go online at www.biketraffic.org.

(Dean Schott lives in Glenview, Illinois, rides regularly on and off road and is a LIB member. If readers have comments or questions about bicycling, they can send an e-mail to: schottcycle@aol.com.)

A Microsoft^® Word version of this press release is available.