Prairie Cycle Club – Bicycle Club for Champaign County, Illinois

The idea of a Ride 5/30 to support Habitat for Humanity is too good to abandon. This is not sanctioned by Champaign County Habitat for Humanity, but by members of the cycling community determined to support Habitat's goal to "help improve the lives of families needing decent shelter." We'd like to make the ride happen anyway.

Meet at the same starting point (since those who heard about the ride via word of mouth may not realize the "official" ride has been canceled) Habitat for Humanity of Champaign Co. & ReStore
119 E University Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820

Donations will be accepted for Habitat and maps & cue sheets will be linked shortly (when I find the address; it's the same stuff as before). More details as folks put 'em togehter...

The ride of silence happens May 20, 2009 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 Lincoln, then Pennsylvania, Fourth and back to the lot. 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; if riders wear black armbands (a garbage bag cut into strips works) or have a sign on bikes indicating who they're riding for, then it communicates what we're doing to passersby.

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.

Two extra chances for riding this week - the All Member Welcome Ride on Thursday May 7, Assembly Hall Parking Lot First and St. Mary's (SW corner), 6:15... your fearless leaders will go at a very gentle pace but you can set your own agenda... then those so disposed can drift over to Houlihan's on the corner afterwards.

Then Friday evening, it will be something like a Full Moon rising around 8:30 - which is also when Civil Twilight ends. Hey, even if it's cloudy, let's sneak out to MEADOWBROOK PARK to see what the East Side of the World looks like. Suggest routes would be the 9-mile horsey loop http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2795158 or Anne's Favorite Almost-Philo, Almost-Tolono 20-mile loop http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2795175 (and those miles are what Google says, not some random rider ;))

It's linked below! There is a *lot* going on this National Bike Month.

May 2 - Interpretive bicycle ride in Arcola
May 7 - All Member Welcome Ride
May 10=15 Bike to Work Week
May 17- Monticello Lions Club Ride
May 20 - Ride of Silence
May 30 - Tour de Build

Interpretive Bicycle Tour of Arcola-area Fences

05/02/2009
8:00am - 12:00pm
Where
Illinois Amish Interpretive Center
111 S Locust St
Arcola, IL, 61910-1713
United States
Free. Open to the public.
Illinois Amish Interpretive Center
111 S Locust St
Arcola, IL, 61910-1713
As part of a community storytelling initiative, the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center will sponsor an interpretive bicycle tour of fences, in the Arcola area.

Folks are invited to explore the different uses and understandings of fences from those who know them best - their owners.Whether the fence is used for decoration, agriculture, boundaries for children or animals, privacy, or as spite fences, no local fence is without significance.

Group and individual tours will leave the IAIC between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM.

For more information, please contact the IAIC at 1.888.45.AMISH.