THE SPOKIN’ WORD
FOLKS ON SPOKES BICYCLE CLUB
Serving Chicago’s Southland January, 2018
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Folks on Spokes welcomes new members: JoDell Albi, Shirl Boatman, Patrick Bredlau, Michelle Britt, Ev and Ken Bussema, Cereta Carlie, Robert Charz, Garry MacGregor, Eric Macela, Scott Spilis, and Roman Szczesniak Jr.
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FOS UPCOMING SOCIALS
March 18, 2018- 19th Annual Tinley Park Irish Parade--FOS applied to participate and we are accepted to be a part of their parade. We have a banner to carry, we need members to ride their bikes and others to walk and hand out brochures for both membership and the Easter Ride. We should wear green if possible or something of Irish tradition. Chuck Vasile just sent me a notice that NBC5 meteorologist Andy Avalos will be the Grand Marshall of the 2018
Downtown Tinley Irish Parade. The parade will step off at 2 pm along Oak Park Ave. Line up is at 1 pm at Central Middle School-18146 S Oak Park Ave.
Parking is limited at Service King Collision Repair Centers parking lot-carpool to line up if possible. No open alcohol permitted along parade route or line up.
Please call 708 747 7557 or e mail fernjmb@aol.com and let me know you plan to participate. It will not look good to have just 5 members, so please, we need you to participate and help pass out brochures for our club. Rain or shine-actually, this should be a fun day. Please sign up, thank you.
April 15, 2018- Pancake Breakfast, Ferns house-21117 Main Street, Matteson. Rain or shine, ride or walk or drive-parking at day care center next door north of me. 8 to 10 is continental breakfast, 10 to 1 is pancakes, sausage, egg bake plus.
May 16, 2018 The Ride of Silence--On one night in cities around the world, cyclists gather to ride in silence to raise awareness of cyclists right to ride on the road and to honor the fallen cyclists no longer with us. Lee Chung has agreed to lead this ride and more information will follow. We will also have for those not riding and wishing to give their support a walk at the same time and in silence as well-more information to follow as well.
June-to be announced
July 22, 2018- Annual Ice Cream Social--PLEASE NOTE-this was originally listed as July 8 assuming from the past and also to be the same weekend as the Blue Grass Festival. As many of you know the Blue Grass Festival grows bigger each year and is spreading closer to our gazebo. We requested 1st choice same weekend which turned out to be July 15 and 2nd choice
July 22----due to parking and traffic Frankfort Village granted us the gazebo the 22nd so this year the festival is not on the same date. Actually, the village has been very cooperative letting us use this gazebo for free so we are happy to get this each year-thank you Rick Deering for making this possible.
And so-free ice cream-11 am to 2:30 pm at the gazebo in Praire Park on the trail just east of the town center.
August-to be announced
September 16, 2018- Annual Picnic-Hickory Creek Preserves-LaPorte Road Access-catered-food served 1pm-more info to follow
October 28, 2018- End of Season Bike, Hike and Potluck at Goodenow Grove Food served 1pm family and several clubs invited to join us
November 15th a Thursday, has been reserved for our annual Pizza Party at Aurelios in Frankfort
Thank you to the members who are offering suggestions for some fun socials that we are checking out for this year and if anyone at all has ideas please feel free to let me know as all ideas are welcome.
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Where Do We Ski?
By Al Sturges
These days we mostly ski at Governors State University. Why? Because it’s close (for me, anyway), and there aren’t snowmobilers or many hikers ruining the tracks. True, we have to make our own tracks, but we do that most places. Also we have a choice of skiing in the woods on the south side of the campus or in the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park. There are more trails in the woods and we appreciate the shelter provided by the woods on a windy day.
Locally, there are two places with groomed trails—Camp Sagawau near Lemont and the golf course just north of Pilcher Park. Camp Sagawau can be crowded and the golf course is open, and sometimes isn’t groomed and tracked.
Goodenow Grove can be great, if you go soon after a snowfall before the hikers get out, and there’s enough snow to cover the gravel. The Glenwood Trail at the Indiana Dunes is another favorite, but the narrow, curvy, somewhat hilly trails require a little more skill than other places.
The trails in the Palos area can be good, but often the snowmobilers are there first and there are walkers. The same goes for the Thorn Creek Trail between Park Forest and Chicago Heights.
Pictures from Sunday, February 11 at GSU
From my usual position – at the end
Herringboning up a hill
Prospective member Mary Carrington, Dan Meadows, Chris Oldanie, Former member Chuck Roth and Barbara Sturges
Same except that I replace Chris
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2018 Easter Ride
By Chris Oldanie
Thank you Folks on Spokes Board Members for your hard work, assuring the 37th Annual Easter Ride is off to a good start while I was away in Austria/Germany on vacation. This year’s routes will be of 17, 26, 37, 45, 58, & 79 miles. The two shorter routes will be mostly on flat, beautiful, scenic paved trails supported by one or two sag stops, depending on the distance you choose. The four longer road routes head south along lightly traveled streets with sag stops being offered at the Monee Reservoir and one/two at Goodnow Grove, depending on the distance you choose. A pre-Easter Ride is in the works before the April 29th Easter Ride; more details to come.
 Thank you Susan C. for creating this year’s winning Easter Ride logo and thank you Michelle Davis (Chris’ daughter) for converting the art into vector format for our printer.
Short sleeve shirts if ordered before April 15 are $14, long sleeve $18. $2 more for XXL & XXXL sizes. Pre-ordering is your best way to secure the shirt and size you want.
As of past Easter rides homemade cookies are essential and we advertise them as a feature. If you bake six dozen cookies your registration is waived and you ride for free. Be sure to write cookies on your registration form.
Every year we ask for your help and support when called upon; as always it’s much appreciated! It takes about 50 volunteers each year to deliver the Easter Ride from sign ups, food handling, route marking, advertising, safety, and so on.
As the Winter Olympics comes to a close, the Folks on Spokes Easter Ride come into focus. Now let’s go out and have some fun!
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Pre-Valentine's Day Social Pictures
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WHERE DID THE TURTLES COME FROM?
By Judith Dunn
A long time ago in a land far, far away..oops That's another story.
There were three or four of us who had joined Folks On Spokes right around the same time and really didn't know anything about cycling. Like what to do, where to go, what about traffic, etc. At that time there weren't as many trails available to ride on so we learned to ride on the road. After my first 20 mile road trip on a 3 speed huffy (silly girl!) of course bought a bike that worked a bit better and then met up with others that were slower than the more experienced riders. So we formed the Turtles and that began a whole new adventure. Members of Folks taught us how to ride safely and together as group. Many of us took the LIB classes which helped us gain confidence in biking on the road. (Thank you Bill Lang) We met weekly and went different routes; always slower maybe 8 to 10 mph and always stopping often and at least one ice cream stop on a hot day. That led to various camping trips and our group grew to include all levels of riding. I believe I still have an article from the Windy City News that the Turtles were in the top 10 for excellent rides. Many of the Turtles have graduated to doing centuries, cross country rides and week long tours.
Like Craig says being a Turtle is a state of mind not how long you have been riding. A starting point to learn and grow. Come join the adventure!
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Stops along the way
Where to go for food & drink as you ride the Old Plank Trail
By Sally Kleinschmidt
I can’t believe it is February already, it’s a winter month that has everyone starting to dream about Spring and Summer and all the outdoor activities that come with it. People who are thinking about this makes this year’s Easter Ride seem all that much closer to them. Several different types of people look forward to the Easter Ride. Some are there for the very first time; some have done it once or twice. Some have done it for years, enjoying the camaraderie of the ride with their fellow bicyclists. Some that have done it year after year do it with the competitive spirit, meticulously gauging their time on the route, always going for a personal best or trying to beat other competitive cyclists. But there is one group out there that come to the Easter Ride who are there because they want 2 things, and 2 things only; they’re there because they know at the end they will get their egg salad sandwich and their homemade cookies! Yes, some people embrace endurance activities based solely on the delicious food and drink when they stop for sustenance. For this group, this group that is guided by their stomachs, that’s who this article is speaking to!
If you’re going to do the Easter Ride, you’ve got to train, right? During the winter, many stay fit with stationary bikes and spin bikes. But come the warmer weather, many people begin training with a combination of rides consisting of roads, trails and dedicated bike lanes. Trails especially are good for those who want to stay out of traffic but still get in a good ride. For those that use the local trails, nothing beats the length of the Old Plank Trail (OLP). At over 22 miles, beginning in Joliet, it cuts through New Lenox, Mokena, Frankfort, Matteson, Olympia Fields, Park Forest and Chicago Heights (via Thorn Creek). Although it is quite scenic, it is also very near many cafes, restaurants, snack bars, ice cream shops and bars. I would like to share with you some of the places along the OLP that my husband and I like to “stop along the way!”
We live at Wolf & Laraway, kind of a mid-point for getting on to OLP at Wolf road. Many times we ride west to the trails’ end on East Washington Street in Joliet, then turn around, making a stop or two on our way back to Wolf. If we need something right away, we can always make a donut run at Home Cut Donuts on East Washington in Joliet! But, if it’s later in the day, we usually press on until we reach the New Lenox area, where heartier options await. If you’re willing to leave the trail and ride on Laraway Rd, stop at the Calistoga plaza. There’s Arrowhead Ales, Badda Bings or Italian Fiesta Pizzaria, they are definitely good options. Pressing on going East and closer to the trail there’s the Bluestone Common plaza which houses Bulldogs Alehouse, a Chili’s, a Starbucks and a Portillo’s. Delicious pizza pie near this complex is available from Chicago Dough. Across the street, good ice cream awaits at Raffy’s, a homemade candy shop that gets their ice cream from the Plush Horse in Palos Heights. If it’s a traditional breakfast we’re after, Country Charm is a little further east of Raffys! Closer to Wolf is the very 1st Tribes, a brewpub that has expanded into Tinley Park. There’s even a Panda Express at the southwest corner of Wolf & Lincoln Hwy for some takeout for us to bring home!
But what about going east from Wolf? After we reach the trails’ end going east, we turn around where the trail connects to Thorn Creek and there are plentiful options on our way coming back, so many that I’ll probably miss some. Good take-out comfort food is easy to get to; Main Street Deli and Grill is just barely off the trail near the Metra station at Main & Maple in Matteson. If you’re willing to ride a little further off the trail along Main, there’s Freeh’s Again & Hidden Manna café. Near the Lincoln Mall area, there’s Jamaican Jerk Flavors, A. Fusion (an Asian fusion spot) and good old Pizza Hut. After that, there’s not much heading back west until you reach Frankfort, where many places await. If it’s Sunday during the warmer months, the downtown Frankfort market will be going on, with many delicious choices within the market itself, too numerous to mention. Nearby restaurants, cafes and bars include Trails Edge at Smokey Barque, Cup A Joe cafe, Fat Rosies Taco & Tequila bar, Old Plank Tavern, White Street Café, Francescas and Durbins Pizza. For ice cream, go to Kernel Sweetooth or get gelato at Mama Rosetta's Gelateria. Still craving more ice cream? Stop at the Creamery near the pedestrian bridge over LaGrange. Finally, at the Prairie Crossings plaza which is by northeast corner of Wolf & Laraway, there is a Panera Bread and a Meatheads sandwich shop.
hat’s a lot of places to go eat! If you enjoy eating as much as you enjoy riding, you can’t go wrong riding along the Old Plank Trail. There is one last recommendation I want to give you. If you ride west to Joliet and are willing to ride about 8miles further, I encourage you to catch the I&M canal trail to get to Lockport from Joliet. Lockport is home to several restaurants, from Italian to Vegan. What we really like about Lockport is that it has several places that you can dine al fresco, if the weather is good. There is even rooftop dining at The Embers Tap house, the roof overlooks the Illinois State museum area and the I&M canal; it gets quite busy in the summertime with patrons having cold drafts on a warm day! Well, as you can see, there are lots of choices that satisfy when you ride the OLP & beyond. For a lot of us, having a good, hard ride is a reward in itself. But for some of us, satisfying our stomachs after the good, hard ride is the point of the ride! Ride on, ride well, and enjoy the cafes & other establishments that Old Plank Trail can lead you to.
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Miller Woods hike
9 F.O.S. participated in the Miller Woods hike, Sat., 1/27. The “upper” parking lot was open which made access easy. The tiny, lower one we have been forced to use B4, on Sundays, was actually blocked by a dumpster & construction trailer. The Weather cooperated: bright, sunny
temperature climbed to 50.. The scenery was beautiful as we meandered thru and around the inland lakes and then out to Lake Michigan. The return trip (as traditional) was a “bushwhack” up and over the dunes until we intersected the official trail. It was a vigorous climb
rewarded by stunning, panoramic views in all directions. This is really a nice hiking area that I think is not well known
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FOS Miles Report
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