MS Ride Registration!

Time to start dreamin' of spring riding. Need a goal to get you started? You can do good for yourself and for a lot of other people by signing up to ride and fundraise for MS. Join other OPCC riders through the Cheesy Riders, a national team organized by Bryan Cleal.

In our area, Bike MS rides out of DeKalb. The route is beautiful, through country farmlands and woods, with some slightly rolling hills, but primarily flat. It's a two-day event with overnight accommodations - dorm rooms at NIU are available and very inexpensive. There are different routes each day depending on how many miles you want to ride. There are also lots of support vehicles on the route, so it's a perfect event if you're not a very experienced rider!

Bike MS: Tour de Farms
June 12 & 13, 2010

Register for the Tour de Farms here!
You can register as part of the Cheesy Riders team, or as an individual, or you can even form your own team. Want to know more? Get in touch with Bryan at bcleal@gmail.com - he's got all the details.

Log your miles on bikejournal.com

Join other OPCC cyclists in tracking your bike miles for 2010 on bikejournal.com! When you register, you can select Oak Park Cycle Club as your club. You keep your own journal, and you can also compare your miles to other cyclists.

Check out the site at bikejournal.com. Most areas and functions of the site are available for free.

You can see our club members and their miles on the OPCC club statistics page. We're just getting started for the year, so it's a great time to jump in!!

2010 Monthly Meetings!

Oak Park Cycle Club members, friends, members-to-be, and especially the curious, please join us for our monthly meetings!

Third Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Molly Malone's
7652 Madison St, Forest Park

Watch the OPCC listserv for more details. Oh - you're not on our email list?? Sign up for our Yahoo Group and get all the latest news. We're on Facebook too!

About Speed: Know Before You Go

As a social club, most OPCC rides are recreational and non-competitive, although we recognize that many of our members do enjoy faster training rides and we encourage anyone who is interested to organize fast rides and submit them for the club calendar.

A Note About "No Rider Left Behind"

On all Oak Park Cycle Club rides, our policy is to never "drop" a rider.

Sometimes we will have rides with people of varying abilities and it's okay to split into fast and slow groups for those kinds of rides. But, slower riders should never be made to feel bad about not keeping up, and faster riders should not feel bad about riding slower than they are able.

Having said that, please choose rides that match your riding style. We try to create a calendar of rides that offers something for everybody and to also have some rides that everyone can feel free to join in on.

Important: Pace refers to the average cruising speed between stops, not necessarily the computer average. Our group rides exhibit a casual, but safe organization. We don't generally ride in pacelines, but faster rides might.

Here are the official pace designations for all Club Rides so that everyone will have a clear idea of the expected pace of OPCC rides.

Social Pace: 10 mph or less
Social Pace rides include the Saturday Morning Breakfast Club, Oak Park Critical Mass and other casual, noodling jaunts around town. If you are looking for a hearty workout every time you ride, you may not enjoy a Social Pace ride.

Moderate Pace: 10-12 mph
Moderate Pace rides may include Wednesday Night Show & Go, rides on the Prairie Path or other bike trails, as well as spontaneous rides that come up on occasion. Moderate Pace rides can peak at higher speeds but generally are pretty leisurely rides. Again, not for those looking for much of a workout or a competitive pace.

Touring Pace: 13-15 mph
Many of our Club Rides are in the Touring Pace category, such as the Sunday Sunrise Ride, Wednesday Night Show & Go and other spontaneous rides that come up on occasion. Touring Pace rides can have cruising stretches of 18 mph or more and can peak a bit higher, depending on conditions.

Training Pace: 16+ mph
The only Training Pace ride at present is the Monday night Faster Fun Training Ride. These rides have an average pace of at least 16 mph over at least 10 miles, with some sprints thrown in. Speed and distance may increase depending on the riders who show up. If you can't sustain that pace, this is not the ride for you.

If there is a ride or a riding style you would like to see on the calendar, you should propose it for the Ride Calendar.

Wed Night - Triton Botanic Garden

We had a big turnout for this week's Wed Show-and-go! New and old friends cycled through the Elmwood Park area and around to Triton College's Botanic Garden. Thanks to Christine for leading us to some new places. Where shall we go next Wed... nobody knows for sure - you'll just have to come out and ride!

Wednesday evening rides are open to everyone! Please join us, summer is not getting any longer. And the days are already getting shorter.

Wednesday Evening Rides - All Cyclists Welcome!

Join us for a Wednesday evening Show-and-Go ride! There is no predetermined route - we pick a route based on who shows up, how good the weather is, and how long the daylight will last. Don't forget your helmet, and please bring lights - dusk often is falling already as we end this ride. Check out the OPCC listserv (our Yahoo group) on the day of the ride for any postings about who's coming out, weather predictions, etc.

Meet at 6:30 pm at the Horse Fountain on the southeast corner of Scoville Park, Oak Park Ave and Lake St. No riders are ever dropped from this ride - our pace is your pace.

Join or Renew Your OPCC Membership Today!

Get Your 2010 Membership Early!

New and renewing members can take advantage of online registration or you can download a paper application and mail in a check. Do it today!

Join The OPCC Listserv To Stay Connected

Want to stay in touch with fellow Club members and receive emails about future rides, special events, etc? The OPCC Listserv is an automated email system that allows for group discussion and announcements through email. When any subscriber posts a message to the group address, the message is automatically distributed to all other members of the list.

• The Oak Park Cycle Club Listerv is the official email group for the Club. When you join the Oak Park Cycle Club, we'll add you to the email group and you'll be tapped into the main information source for upcoming rides, meetings and other events, as well as bicycling discussion in general.

If you commute by bike, there is another group that you may be interested in joining:

• Oak Park Area Cycling Commuters is a group specifically for cycling commuters located in Oak Park and the near western suburbs. It was created to promote cycling as a transportation alternative, and to contribute to making commuting by bicycle as convenient, safe, and enjoyable as possible. If you are looking for commuting companions, this is a good list to be on. There are many Oak Park Cycle Club members on this group, but it is not the Club's Listserv and you won't get official Club announcements if you only join this group.

10 Simple Rules For OPCC Group Bike Rides

These rules are adapted from publications of the League of American Bicyclists, League of Illinois Bicyclists and other cycle clubs. They are intended as general guidelines and are not inclusive of all bicycling rules, regulations or best safety practices.

1. Obey all traffic laws and behave like a vehicle.
2. Stop for all RED stoplights. It is a good practice to stop at YELLOW lights.
3. Signal your intentions verbally and with hand signals when turning, changing lanes, passing, slowing, and stopping. Avoid sudden stops or turns when riding in a group.
4. Ride in a straight line. Don’t weave in and out of parked cars.
5. Riding more than two abreast on roads is against the law in Illinois. Always ride single file on busy or narrow streets.
6. Yelling “Car Back!” or “Car Up!” signals to ride single file and as far to the right as practicable so traffic can pass safely.
7. Be mindful of the “door zone.” Leave at least 3 feet between your bike and parked cars.
8. No cell phones or headphones while riding. If you need to make or take a call, pull over to the side and come to a complete stop first.
9. All riders must wear a helmet at all times and use front and rear lights in low light or after dark.
10. Let someone know if you leave the ride.

Okay, so we said "10" but there are just a few more things....

• Discussion of pace and route should take place prior to the start of any group ride.
• A “sweep” rider should bring up the rear to make sure no one is dropped. Our “no rider left behind” policy is in effect on all OPCC club rides.
• If a ride starts to get spread out, riders at the front should slow or stop periodically to allow the rest of the group to catch up. If the ride is spread out and the route turns, one rider from the front of the group should stay behind at the turn to wait until all remaining riders have caught up and made the turn.

Poor Phil: The Original Oak Park Cyclist

Photos courtesy of The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest


Philander Barclay was an Oak Park historian, bicycle repairman, and one of the area's earliest amateur photographers. He lived in Oak Park during the late 19th and early 20th centuries--certainly one of the Village's most exciting eras. The quiet young man was an unlikely contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright, Ernest Hemingway and Doris Humphrey.



His parents ran a local drug store and beginning early in life, Philander rode his bicycle throughout the area taking photographs of places and people. By the time of his death in 1940, he had amassed an amazing and priceless collection of more than 1,000 photos, which are now curated by the Oak Park and River Forest Historical Society. A selection is also available for viewing online.

He may not be famous, but Philander Barclay is still Oak Park's most noteworthy cyclist and photographer.

This Is Where The Rides Start

Most of our club rides meet here at the Horse Show Fountain at the corner of Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue in Scoville Park.

About The Horse Fountain

This Oak Park landmark is officially the work of Richard Bock, a sculptor who executed much of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural sculpture during the years between 1898 and 1913.

Wright's name has always been associated with the design of the fountain. According to Bock, it was Wright who suggested the opening at the center for the drinking fountain. The spatial complexity of the design -- strongly resembling Wright's architecture of the period -- suggests that Wright was probably more deeply involved in the design.

Originally built by the Horse Show Association, it was located on the curb of Lake Street, about a hundred feet from its present location.

It was built as a functioning fountain, serving horses, dogs and people. In 1969, as part of the Wright Centennial festivities, a replica of the badly deteriorated original was constructed and placed at its present location at the entrance to Scoville Park.

Today it serves as the meeting place for the Oak Park Cycle Club. Several organized (and unorganized) cycling events originate here each week.

The above description, and more on the fountain can be found here.