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Greetings
Good morning, {{Constituent First Name}},
The dog days of summer have arrived. We hope you're staying cool! Ride Illinois is using the summer months to plan 2025 Let's Ride, Illinois and discuss legislative priorities for 2026. Oh, and we get out on our bikes from time to time too! Keep reading to learn the latest 🚲
Ride Illinois highly values our members and supporters. Member support powers our advocacy for safer roads, better bike infrastructure, and a more bike-friendly Illinois.
Member Kellie shared, "Membership in Ride Illinois allows me to have a voice in state and federal legislation focused on making cycling safe and accessible for all."
Ride Illinois earned a 2025 three-star rating from Charity Navigator, so you can give with confidence 👏👏
Ride Illinois is proud of our accomplishments and transparency with the public and our members. We maintain our Charity Navigator profile as a away to capture what your donations help us accomplish.
Ride Illinois continues to work diligently with our lobbyist and partners to advocate for bike-friendly legislation in Springfield. Thanks to all who contacted their elected officials this spring via Ride Illinois Action Alerts!
📰 A recent article from Illinois Public Media succinctly outlines the status of bills from the 2025 spring legislative session that pertain to bicyclists.
Discussions about legislative priorities for the 2026 legislative session have begun. Our goal is to determine a short list of impactful priorities by fall. Stay tuned for updates 👈
E-bike Guidance for Municipalities
Ride Illinois developed guidance that encourages municipalities to embrace new mobility modes while retaining a focus on public safety. Municipalities that thoughtfully integrate new mobility modes are places where people – especially younger people – prefer to live, work, and play.
E-bikes, e-scooters, and micromobility devices are popular as they offer an inexpensive, environmentally-friendly, enjoyable mode of travel for recreation, transportation, and everyday trips. Our guidance offers a practical approach to municipalities as they integrate these mobility modes into their communities.
👉 Please share the guidance with your local elected officials!!
Education & Safety
Discussing e-bikes and OCEV's with Fox 32 Chicago
Ride Illinois had a recent opportunity to chat with Fox 32 Chicago about e-bikes, Out-of-Class Electric Vehicles (OCEVs), and the flurry of strict, short-sighted local ordinances that have been passed in several Illinois communities this summer. Click here to watch the session.
Request Materials and Swag from Ride Illinois
Ride Illinois offers safety, education and promotional materials focused on educating the public and sharing the many benefits of riding a bicycle for recreation, transportation, and everyday trips! 🥳
Planning a community event? Organizing a Back to School gathering? Advocating to make your community more bike-friendly? Encouraging co-workers to commute by bike? Ride Illinois' materials can come in handy! 👏👏👏
👉 Click here to submit a request and we'll ship the materials to your home or business within a few days 📦
This fun event coincides with of our favorite time of the year. Let's Ride, Illinois celebrates the joy of biking, connecting with our communities, and getting more people out on their bikes. Whether it's a neighborhood cruise, a family ride, or a larger organized ride, every ride counts!
Host a community ride or find on near you. Ride Illinois has developed tips and tools to support you. Registration is open and we already have a few great rides lined up.
👉 Click here to learn more and to register a ride in your community!
Bicycle Friendly Community Surveys
As a service to our members, supporters, and Illinois residents, Ride Illinois is pleased to share an invitation to complete a brief online survey.
The following communities recently applied for Bicycle Friendly Community recognition through League of American Bicyclists:
Aurora, IL
Batavia, IL
Elmhurst, IL
Evanston, IL
Grayslake, IL
Kane County, IL
Niles, IL
Skokie, IL
Washington, IL
If you ride a bicycle in any of these communities, even occasionally, LAB welcomes your input. Click the button below to complete the survey. Survey responses will inform LAB's award decision and provide feedback to the communities about how they can become more bike-friendly!
Those who can drive or afford a car may not understand what it’s like to rely on walking, rolling, transit and asking for rides. But for nearly a third of people living in the U.S. – people with disabilities, young people, seniors and people who can’t afford cars or gas – this is their every day.
America Walks created the Week Without Driving experience so that those who have the option to drive can learn firsthand about the barriers and challenges that non-drivers face and work with non-drivers to create more accessible communities for all. Click here to learn more.
Safety Experts Urge ‘Bold Action’ to Combat Traffic Violence
Under the theme “Make walking and cycling safe,” the World Health Organization launched “Promoting walking and cycling: a toolkit of policy options” that presents practical guidelines and interventions designed for all sectors – from governments at all levels, international agencies, and urban planners to health advocates, businesses and schools.
This toolkit presents a compendium of policy options for walking and cycling, highlighting the multiple benefits that promoting and enabling safe walking and cycling for recreation and transport can bring to individuals, communities, the environment, and the economy.
Community
Podcast Recommendation: The Outspoken Cyclist
The Outspoken Cyclist Podcast is one of the longest running and most popular bicycling podcasts in the industry. To date, there are over 660 episodes with almost 3000 interviews. spanning over 14 years. Topics range from advocacy and legislation to competition, books reviews, and – well, just about any topic that relates to the bicycle.
What bike-related books or podcasts do you recommend? From epic adventures to practical advice, to the benefits of biking, there are plenty of options! Send your suggestions to info@rideIllinois.org.
Generosity
Affiliated Clubs & Community Organizations
Ride Illinois is grateful to the bicycle clubs and community organizations that support our work. Their efforts at the local level are a critical component to progress at the state level.
The Bicycle Club of Lake County was established in 1978. BCLC has offered rides in length from 10 miles to daylong tours of 75 miles or more, including the Ramble Ride each June.
Click here to learn about generous clubs and organizations.
Corporate Members
One of the leading healthcare organizations in Illinois, Memorial Health is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that provides a full range of inpatient, outpatient, home health, hospice, behavioral health and primary care physician services. With numerous sites of care throughout central Illinois, they deliver high-quality, patient-centered care in support of their mission to improve lives and build stronger communities through better health.
Retro Glow Cycle Shop celebrates the art of cycling with a full service bike shop located in Lombard – Just off the Illinois Prairie Path! Retro Glow is a small family owned business offering a variety of services!
Ride Illinois appreciates the support of businesses, companies, and organizations for their generosity.Click here to learn more about our generous Corporate Members from a variety of industries.
Grants & Other Opportunities
Metro East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD)
The FY2026 Grant Cycle offers four unique funding opportunities for qualifying applicants in Madison and St. Clair Counties, IL. Each grant opportunity is listed below by program name and status. Eligible applicants can receive up to one MEPRD award per grant program, per fiscal year. Application deadline is May 29, 2026.
Events Calendar
Ride Illinois is pleased to promote the rides and event offered by affiliated bike clubs and community organizations, plus other impactful organizations. Here are some events we think you'll appreciate:
Ride Illinois recently shared bike safety tips at Kids Fest 2025 at Wampum Lake in Thornton (L) and was interviewed by NBC5 about bikes, safety, and the many benefits of bicycling (R).
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