Get on Your Bikes and Ride – To Work

Screen shot 2011-04-15 at 9.04.33 PM — This is *not* Ride to Work Week Photo by Ben Seese

With summer approaching and gas prices climbing, more Chicagoans are turning to bikes as their primary mode of transportation. Bike Week 2011 is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and Goose Island 312.

Bike to Work Week (June 9-17) will include a variety of events to celebrate and encourage biking as a way to get around Chicago. The City of Chicago has planned a number of events during Bike to Work Week and Active Transportation Alliance will once again present the Bike Commuter Challenge. The challenge is a free program that pits workplaces up against one another to win top honors for the highest percentage of bike commuters during Bike to Work Week.

The Active Transportation Alliance provides resources and encouragement for participants of the Bike Commuter Challenge during the week of June 13-17. Workplace team leaders receive a free T-shirt for getting their co-workers to commute by bike. In 2010, nearly 500 organizations and almost 5,000 employees competed in the Bike Commuter Challenge. Registration for the challenge begins April 12. Get your workplace involved by visiting www.activetrans.org/bikecommuterchallenge.

Get ready for Bike Week by learning how life on two wheels can be stylish and fun at Bike “Chic”: Commuter Fashion Hits the Runway on Thursday, June 9 at noon on Daley Plaza. Biking to work doesn’t mean you’re covered in spandex!

Meet other cyclists for “happy hour” at Biking the Boulevards on Monday, June 13 at the Goose Island Brewpub at 1800 N. Clybourn Ave. Goose Island and Bike Chicago will present a bicycle happy hour and screening of BIKING THE BOULEVARDS with WTTW’s host, Geoffrey Baer. Baer bikes across Chicago using the city’s network of boulevards to tell our city’s story from the perspective of a cyclist in this 2010 documentary.

Take a lunch break on Tuesday, June 14 with Greg Borzo, author of Where to Bike Chicago for Bike it Everywhere, Chicago: Tales from the Trails. For this event, Borzo will share stories from his rides and discusses the history of biking in Chicago at the Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater beginning at noon.

Ride along for a Loop Bike Tour, on Wednesday, June 15. Join Chicago Neighborhood Bike Tours for a two-hour mini-tour of Chicago’s Loop. Pre-registration is required and the ride is limited to 150 participants. Visit website for details. The ride starts at 6:30 p.m. For details, visitbikechicago.us.

Hop on your bike and head to Grant Park for Bike Chicago Movies in the Park on Thursday, June 16. Enjoy an evening in the park featuring the award-winning 1979 classic, BREAKING AWAY, a coming of age film set in Bloomington, Indiana. The Goose Island 312 beer garden will be on site; the film starts at dusk at the northwest corner of Columbus and Balbo.

The week’s grand finale is the Bike to Work Rally on Friday, June 17 on Daley Plaza. The City of Chicago and Goose Island 312 present the rally to celebrate Chicago’s commitment to being the best big city for bicycling with more than 110 miles of bike lanes, 50 miles of bike paths and 12,000 bike racks. Join more than a thousand fellow cyclists on Daley Plaza for a free t-shirt, breakfast, bike valet and much more. To promote cycling camaraderie, there will be select locations around the city to join group rides to the rally that morning; locations will be identified closer to the date.

Bike Chicago 2011 is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and Goose Island 312 in partnership with 93XRT, Pepsi, Hinckley Springs, Active Transportation Alliance, the Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago Park District, Chicago Police Department and the Messenger Service Association of Illinois.

Bike Chicago is a celebration of Chicago’s commitment to becoming more bicycle friendly and environmentally conscious. As presenting sponsor, Goose Island 312 is passionate about the City, beer and cycling and feels privileged to be a part of the community that made Chicago one of “America’s Best Bike Cities.” To find out where you can enjoy 312 this summer at Chicagoland cycling events, visit 312chi.com.

The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit, member-based advocacy organization that works to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel. The organization builds a movement around active transportation, encourages physical activity, increases safety and builds a world-class transportation network. Formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the Active Transportation Alliance is North America’s largest transportation advocacy organization, supported by more than 6,000 members, 1,000 volunteers and 35 full-time staff. For more information on the Active Transportation Alliance, visit www.activetrans.org or call 312.427.3325.

For more information and details on Bike Chicago 2011, please call (312) 744-3315, (312) 744-3370(hotline) or visit www.bikechicago.us. Follow Bike Chicago on Facebook (Bike Chicago) or on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/marylmay. To see updates on Twitter about Bike to Work Week events search for #B2WW.