Prairie Cycle Club – Bicycle Club for Champaign County, Illinois

C U Across The Prairie -- August 14th~ get ready, tell your friends ;)
We'll be starting from the Hideaway of the Woods -- even better, we'll be finishing there, with lunch and cold beverages available.
http://www.prairiecycleclub.org/taxonomy/term/6 has more information and link to registration

Join us for an urban bicycle tour of the galleries and unique shops in Champaign-Urbana. This is a leisurely ride for which you set your start time, 10 AM to Noon, ride at your pace, stop for lunch, and visit each gallery for as long as you desire. Discover galleries that you may not know and see art of all kinds including glass, painting, fabric, and sculpture. You will also receive chances on a drawing for prizes donated by the participating galleries. Participating local restaurants will offer discounts so you can enjoy lunch on your tour or a snack at the end. Your entire $10 entry will be donated to 40 North | 88 West Champaign County Arts, Culture and Entertainment Council. http://www.40north.org/

Urbana Galleries: Shared Space

Amara Yoga & Arts Wind, Water, & Light

Beads N Botanicals

Cinema Gallery Champaign Galleries:

Fleurish Boneyard Pottery

Furniture Lounge GlassFX

Heartland Gallery Indi go

International Galleries Larry Kanfer Gallery

Madeline's Confectionary Arts Studio

Restaurants: The Great Impasta, Aroma Café, Common Ground Food Co-op, Esquire Lounge. La Gourmandise and more by the day of the event

Start: Meadowbrook Park, on Race St. south of Windsor Rd, Urbana. The galleries open at 10 AM so we suggest you start at your leisure 10 AM to Noon. Figure in time for lunch and a snack after the tour to enjoy an easy day of urban bicycle touring and visits to the many varied galleries and shops in Champaign-Urbana.

Entry Fee: $10. The entire amount will be donated to 40 North | 88 West Champaign County Arts, Culture and Entertainment Council

Drawing: Your registration will enter you in the drawing for the prizes. For each gallery you visit you will receive another entry in the drawing. The drawing will take place the day of the tour at ~5 PM Saturday, 6/5/2010 at Indi go 9 E University, CH.. If you are not present you will be notified by email.

Prizes: A ceramic tile by Rimas VisGirda from Cinema Gallery

A $75 selection of Irish food & goods from Heartland Gallery

A 10 class yoga pass from Amara

A fused glass tile from GlassFX

A fresh cut flower bouquet Fleurish

A gift Certificate from Madeline's Confectionary Arts Studio

Two $15 gift certificates from Beads N Botanicals

A $25 gift Certificate from Furniture Lounge

Two $10 Gift Certificates from Common Ground Food Coop

They took Art to the Streets, We're taking the Streets to Art

Lion's Club ride is this Sunday http://www.monticellolions.org/lions-bike-ride.php -- no pre-registration, ride starts 8:30 (registration 7:30). Some of us will be riding out there, departing at 6:30 and just taking Kirby out forever so if you want to join us ... anywhere from Anderson Rd. to Monticello you can jump on board. I'll be riding the Big Red Thing to prep for GITAP so we won't be going all-fired fast. If you're looking for that May Century, here's how to make it happen :)

The ride of silence happens May 19 2010 at 7:00 p.m. We start at the parking lot near the assembly hall at First and St. Mary's. The route will be N on first to Stadium Drive, then across 45 (Neil Street) to Randolph and through downtown Champaign, then South on First and then down Green Street, then a bit North on Busey to Main and through downtown Urbana, then South on Vine to ILlinois, then (change from last year) all the way to go Left on Goodwin, R on Gregory, L on Fourth (this is now a light wiht a very long pedestrian only section), the R on St. Mary's back to the starting point. It's about 9 miles and we'll be going less than 12 MPH and regrouping whenever we get spread out.
In the past we've had about 35 riders; clothing & appearance can help differentiate this from a recreational or Critical Mass or whatever ride. Black armbands (a garbage bag cut into strips works) or a sign on bikes indicating who you're riding for can be effective;
We're going to try to have cards to hand people who may be wondering what the ride is about (so we can stay silent). Map is attached...

FYI, Sherry won't be riding with us at least for a bit more because she needs more surgery from last summer's hit and run by the SUV.

The purpose of this ride is
• To HONOR those who have been injured or killed
• To RAISE AWARENESS that we are here
• To ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD; that drivers recognize that there’s room for all of us out here, and that a bicyclist may be around the next corner and has every right to be.
We are looking for respect, not retaliation; for visibility, not vengeance. Let us show how to share the road by a positive example. Please follow the rules of the road. Ride as you would in a funeral procession; ride predictably.
Point out potholes and road hazards; signal turns and if you slow down. Momentary inattention is the number one cause of accidents -Be aware of what is in front of and BEHIND you, watch your line, and keep your hands near your brakes.
We are riding as a group, silently but use your judgement regarding both. Allow for breaks in the group when it makes sense.

Wind gusts over 40 mph rather preclude a "saunterly" level ride, so I'll go out to Meadowbrook but don't expect to go out on the prairie. Perhaps we can go around the block and athen to Wines at the Pines :)