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!

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, so we encourage anyone who is interested to organize fast rides and submit them for the club calendar.

What do we mean by "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 offered for Club members, you should propose it for the Ride Calendar. Bring it up at a club meeting or send an email to the listserv.

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.

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. We want cars to respect cyclists. Cyclists need to respect cars, or it will never work.
   
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.
11. Okay, so we said "10" but there are just a few more things....
12. Discussion of pace and route should take place prior to the start of any group ride.
13. A “sweep” rider should bring up the rear to make sure no one is dropped.
    
14. Our “no rider left behind” policy is in effect on all OPCC club rides.
15. 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.