Elmhurst Bicycle Club Newsletter

The first week of February saw 42 EBCers journey north to Ironwood at the western end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for the eleventh annual EBC cross-country ski trip. Although we didn’t have sun every day during our stay, we had ample snow and mild temperatures (mostly in the upper teens and twenties during the day). Trail conditions were absolutely wonderful, with several trail systems in the vicinity to choose from.

Snowshoers

ABR was the area of choice for most, but many of us also skied at Wolverine Nordic, Sylvania Outfitters, and/or Milje’s. Both ABR and Wolverine Nordic also feature marked snowshoe trails, which several of us enjoyed. A few of us went downhill skiing at Big Powderhorn, and those of us who skied at Wolverine Nordic experienced skiing on one of the Big Powderhorn slopes while on one of the cross-country trails. Other options included hiking, visiting nearby waterfalls, reading, shopping, and (of course) socializing. .

Our hosts were Morgan and Linda at the Indianhead Motel in Ironwood, which was our home base. And what gracious hosts they were, sometimes joining us for socializing, games, or skiing. Each morning we would all gather in the motel lobby for continental breakfast and to discuss our plans for the day. In the evening we split into early and late dinner groups to avoid overwhelming any one restaurant. There were cocktail parties with munchies in the motel lobby each evening before dinner, and games such as Mexican Train and Bananagram after dinner. On two days we had special lunches at ABR – pasties (a Cornish miner’s meal which is a UP specialty) on Monday and brats on Thursday. .

All in all, it was a great trip. So plan to come join us next season (dates to be announced later and will be posted under “Upcoming Events” on the EBC website).

Bench at ABR

Back in Feb of 2009 on our Annual U.P. Ski Trip, a group of us decided to donate a bench in the name of the Elmhurst Bicycle Club to our favorite cross-country ski facility. There was a "stop and rest" bench at the bowl and we thought it would be nice if there was one at another spot where it would be nice to rest a while and enjoy the beautiful sights of winter.

Our hosts Angela and Eric picked a spot and those of us that were on that trip each contributed to purchase the bench, have it installed, and put a plaque on it for others to enjoy. When we arrived at ABR that Monday and skied up to see it we could imagine also how it would be in the summer when it overlooked the Montreal River in the shadow of some beautiful trees.

If you join us next year for a fun week of cross country skiing and/or snowshoeing you will get a chance to see "Our Bench,” until then take a look at pictures from this years' trip.

(Editor note: ABR stands for Active Backwoods Retreats, a family owned father and son (Dave and Eric Anderson) business started in 1995.)

14 Years and Still Going Strong

In January 1997 Ted Sward led four hikes. They were at Bemis Woods (2), Bullfrog Lake, and Waterfall Glen. A ride recap for the January 5 hike by Dave Polkow, the EBC ride-Captain, was printed in the February newsletter. “Ted Sward’s group of 8 hikers enjoyed a beautiful day of hiking at Bemis Woods. They covered some wide trails, narrow trails, and ½ mile of no trail.”

This season Ted continued to lead great hikes in December and January over the same kind of trails. There were nine Tuesday hikes at seven different Forest Preserves in DuPage and Cook counties. He was joined by as many as 22 hikers. These hikes provide a great alternative to biking where the participants get to enjoy the outdoors, stay active and socialize as well.

Thanks Ted for another great season. We’re looking forward to next winter.

Bike Advocacy Report - February, 2010

Here is an overview of what is happening with bike advocacy and the Elmhurst Bike Task Force.*

Safe Routes to Schools – In order to remove some of the barriers to walking and biking to school and with the help of several PTA presidents, it was identified that the current student crossing guard program is not very effective. With the help of ATA**, the AAA student crossing guard training was identified as the most commonly used program. It has been sent out to 3 elementary schools in Elmhurst. Once these schools have piloted the program, it is our hope that District 205 will institutionalize the program and mandate its use in all the schools.

Changes are being made to the District 205 Curriculum - The PE and Health curriculum committee has decided to use the ATA bike/ped curriculum at the 4th and 5th grade levels, along with the classroom health materials. The new text covers bike/street safety in the 3rd grade, and they will use the ATA material in the 6th grade as well. The ATA materials will be sent to the PE teachers at each elementary school so they can use some of the activities and talk about walking and biking to school. Churchville Middle School will be hosting their second annual fitness night on March 24th. The Elmhurst Bike Club will co-sponsor a table with the Bike Task Force for this event. I will be looking for a couple of Club members to help that evening.

Bike Friendly Community Application – The Task Force members have been given a draft of our Bike Friendly Community application. A sub-group will meet shortly to talk about the areas in the application that need additional work.

Bike parking guidelines – We have found model bike parking ordinances from Wheeling and Champaign/Urbana to offer to the Elmhurst City Council. This ordinance requires any new construction or reconstruction project in Elmhurst to consider whether bike parking would be appropriate. It doesn’t cost money for this ordinance and it brings bike parking into discussion as the developers work through their planning process.

Bike rack/bike storage committee -The Task Force has identified suitable bike storage boxes. Mike Hughes (Dir. Public Works) has put $15,000 in the new parking garage budget for bike parking/bike storage though this is no guarantee given the state of the City budget. Because these bike boxes are geared for people wanting to bike to Metra, it is possible that there is Metra grant money available and the Director of Public Works will look into that.

Route Map committee – Steve Sinderson is looking for funding to print a first run of the maps for the 2010 bike season. A tri-fold “Bike to Metra” map, already in production by LIB, shows suggested bike routes from the perimeters of Elmhurst to the Metra station.

Updates

The Elmhurst Police Department has developed a bikes and pedestrian brochure based on a University of Colorado template brochure. The task force has offered additional points to include in the brochure as well as a suggestion to add photos from Elmhurst. Ideas included a bullet point for wearing helmets and stating the distinction between pedestrians walking against traffic, but bikes moving in the same direction as traffic, tips on staying off the sidewalks in designated business districts. This type of brochure is meant to raise awareness. These brochures could be included in the welcome packets for new Elmhurst residents that the Chamber of Commerce co-ordinates. They distribute 800 packets to new families per year.

The Prairie Path crossing signage at York Road is being moved closer to the path. The signs will show both pedestrian and bike crossings.

The Police Chief has authored a request to the City Council to give the abandoned and/or unclaimed bikes collected in Elmhurst to the charity Working Bikes. Eric Wood, an Elmhurst resident and volunteer with Working Bikes, would help coordinate this effort if approved by Elmhurst City Council.

I have also opened a discussion of ways to collect more bikes. Eric Wood, of Working Bikes, will be working GreenFest – a natural place to collect unwanted bikes. The Task Force could sponsor a bike collection at GreenFest in July. It could also consider collecting bikes during the April spring cleanup week in Elmhurst.

The Salt Creek Greenway Trail update: Construction has begun on the Trail underpass at North Ave. Hopefully the trail will be opened early in the biking season this year. Since the exact date of completion can’t be predicted, there will be a grand opening, ribbon cutting celebration tentatively set for September 25, 2010. This one event will involve all agencies who have been working on this project as well as all the communities along the trail. There will be a bike ride from Busse Woods to Brookfield Zoo where each community along the way will host its own celebration of the trail. I hope that the Club will consider being involved with this event, perhaps organizing a small “invitational metric century” on that day.

The Elmhurst Park District will discuss with Boy Scout troop #82 their possible involvement with a bike collection drive as a service project. They will also talk with them about the Prairie Path cleanup on April 24. Bob Hoel is official point man on the Prairie Path clean up on the Elmhurst section and this year it will be sponsored by the Elmhurst Bike Task Force.

Elmhurst College has sent out a questionnaire to those who participated in their Parking Initiative to assess the future of their bike giveaway program. Though there are 200 new bikes on campus, visually you could not tell.

Coming Events

Mar 9-11 – National Bike Summit, Washington, DC. Bob Hoel will attend. This is a workshop environment where he will work with other communities and the U.S. Dept of Transportation. One day is set aside to meet with our reps and senators to talk bike and transportation issues. Good experience.

Mar 24th Annual Family Fitness Night, Churchville Middle School. The Elmhurst Bicycle Club hosted a table last year and I would like to partner the Club and the Task Force to spread the word about what Elmhurst is doing to be more bike friendly and to raise awareness of biking opportunities through the Bike Club. The Task Force was in agreement that this was a good idea. Only 3 – 4 people are needed for the table and volunteers will be solicited at the next Task Force meeting and Bike Club meeting which occur before the event. This is a great time to get word out about the Club and to solicit more family memberships.

April 24 - Annual Prairie Path clean up will take place in conjunction with Earth Day. For the past two years I have coordinated the volunteers for the Elmhurst section. This year the clean up will be handled as a Bike Task Force activity. The event is planned to run from 9 to 12 noon and will cover the area from Rt. 83 to I-294. Because the Park District is responsible for the maintenance of the Path, we will track volunteer hours. This is a good family event that sends the right message to kids. If you know of any groups that might be interested, please contact me. Projects like this are good for service hours.

Elmhurst Farmer’s Market – Every Wednesday from June through October. Last year the Bike Club had a table, once in June and another in July, to encourage biking to the Farmer’s Market. Various bags and baskets were on display to show what equipment was needed to shop by bike. I will work with Jason Janes, president of the York & Vallette Business Association (YVBA) and organizers of the Market on ways to encourage people to bike to the market. With the construction of Good Earth parking becomes limited but there is good bike rack parking at the SW corner of the municipal lot. A free cup of coffee or coupon at the YVBA businesses might be an incentive to bike rather than to drive. Afterall, the Market is just off the Prairie Path.

June 14-18 - Bike to Work/Metra Week. The new Elmhurst Bike to Metra brochure being produced by the League of Illinois Bicyclists should be ready. In the past a table at the Metra Station was hosted by ATA, DuPage County and the Elmhurst Bike Club to promote biking to the train station. The Bike Task Force is invited to participate as well. More details later.

July 31 - GreenFest will be held again in Wilder Park. The Bike Club has hosted a table in the past to promote biking for recreation and transportation. The Bike Task Force has expressed interest in co-hosting the table. There was general agreement that this would increase visibility of the Task Force. This is another opportunity to push Club membership.

* Bob Hoel is chairman of the Elmhurst Bike Task force EBTF
** ATA - the Active Transportation Alliance ATA

Strength Training for Cyclists, some tips

Strength Training for Cyclists, some tips Hey EBCers:

I just bought this book: Weight Training for Cyclists (2nd Edition) by Doyle and Schmitz and really like the material in it so I figured that I would pass on the tip to EBCers. Even if you don't race, just substitute "club ride" or "invitational" when they say race and it still applies. I like the book since it was written for cyclists (not body builders!) and it emphasizes a strength training program that you can design yourself without a personal trainer or a gym.

Another good reference I found was this site by a medical doctor who is also a cyclist:

http://www.cptips.com/weights.htm

He summarizes basically what is in the book (the book having more detail of course). The study listed in this web site is only one data point (they found that the subjects did not necessarily produce more power at the end of the 12 week program), but other studies I have seen show otherwise.

Besides.... we aren't getting any younger and these two are established facts: