*[Quoting Dale Krimmer to Leah Rozhon]
On 01-02-97  19:28, [About bike trails]*
Hi Dale,
Nice to hear from you.
 DK> on several rides along the Chicago lakefront - they have a walkway
I don't get to the city a lot.  I did the Lakefront Boulevard Tour one
year.  That was fun as we had a route that took us along the historic
boulevards that city fathers laid out years ago.  It was early Sunday
morning and few people were out.  That was good because some of the
areas looked a little risky.  But there's safety in numbers as they say.
.
 DK> extend 25 miles or so.  They used to have a ride in September called
 DK> "anything on wheels" that benefitted the women's rehabilitation center.
I don't recall hearing about this ride.  It sounds interesting, though.
Especially the frequent stops with all the goodies. :-)   Is this a
yearly event?  16 miles isn't a long ride for the effort of driving in
there.  I live about 50 miles northwest.
 DK> nighttime ride out of, I think Grant Park that left in waves between 9
 DK> and 10.  They went right up Rush St., about 8 miles to the north, then
 DK> came back along the lake and ended up at Navy Pier.  I was told there
 DK> were approx. 7,000 bikes on that one, and they reached what is referred
 DK> to as "critical mass," where no vehicular traffic could travel on the
 DK> streets!  Probably was a good thing that we had several police officers
 DK> throughout the group, riding with us, since there are always motorists
 DK> that get quite irate.
I did this ride with my girlfriend in '92, (I think).  It was called the
Moonlight Ramble and sponsored by CABDA.  It was 25 miles through
Chinatown, Printer's Row, and the night life district.  A couple times
there I feared for my life!! :-)   Bikers were everywhere, some of them
drinking and not paying attention to what they were doing.  I had all I
could do to pay attention to the bumps in the road and be careful that I
didn't collide with another bike.  And there were a couple
confrontations with motorists by bikers who wouldn't move over.  If it's
the same ride you're talking about, it ended at North Pier with a party.
But it was midnight already and my friend and I felt like we'd been
through a real ordeal, so we called it a night.  And all we got was a
water bottle!! .
That ride was discontinued because of the problems and liabilities.  But
there's another one called the LATE ride (Long After Midnight Ends) that
leaves Grant Park at 1 am and goes 25 miles.  That ride has grown into
1000s of bikers as well.  My husband and I were volunteers for
registration and breakfast set-up a couple years.  I wish I had the
nerve to do the ride, but that first experience stuck with me!!  Now,
however, I have a mountain bike I could use.  I did the Moonlight Ramble
on a road bike with racing tires.  Not too smart.....
 DK> Wisconsin does have a fine trail network, and it should soon
I have the bike maps from the Dept. of Tourism, and they have special
publications for bikers outlining trails and the towns they run through.
Nice to have for that weekend ride.
I've done the Sugar River Trail and the Sparta-Elroy.  Very nice.  Our
club does a lot of biking in southern WI, there in the Kettle Moraine
area.  La Grange is a favorite starting point.  Last summer we did an
invitational ride in Door County that took us through the state park
there, as well as the town's of Bailey's Harbor, Fish Creek, and others
I don't remember the names of.  I'd love to live in some of those places
where I could just ride out my driveway and have a 25 or so mile ride
with low traffic.
 DK> the 400 trail last fall that runs from Reedsburg (close to Wisc. Dells)
 DK> to Elroy, and found out that we were in Elroy (birthplace of the
 DK> Governor) for their big party and grand re-opening of the main street
 DK> and downtown area! Free food & drink most of the afternoon, all kinds
 DK> of flea market booths, and got our picture taken with hizzoner Gov.
You were in the right place at the right time!! :-)   How long is that
trail?  I think our next trail ride is going to be in Minnesota from Red
Wing to Cannon Falls.  We've heard good things about that trail, and the
area is beautiful.
 DK> Thompson. Have you ever thought about doing one of the rides
 DK> across a state, like BAMMI?  We have one here, which used to be
Only thought about it.  We aren't campers and haven't really gone long
distances.  I'd like to try, but I think I'd need to get in better shape
first.  And then arrange for a motel or B&B to stay at.  I like a bed!
 DK> sponsored by the Milw. Sentinel, which goes the first week in August,
 DK> lasts a week, and covers a little over 300 miles.  I have gone on that
I get a zillion mailings for rides like this.  One that sounds cool goes
from around Rhinelander along the Wisconsin River (I think) almost the
whole length of the state.  I'm not sure just how far I could go in a
day and then if I'd be able to get on the bike the next day! :-)
 DK> I plan on going to the midwest bike expo at Rosemont, usually
 DK> in February some time, where I usually get dates for all kinds of rides
I went to Rosemont the first year it was there.  I came home with a
bagful of stuff and a weekend of reading.  We did get some good ride
ideas.  I'm not sure if we'll go again this year.  Depends on what we
have going that weekend.  I liked it, though.  And it keeps getting
bigger and bigger.
 DK> around Chicago.  Maybe we can link up & ride together some time!
That would be fun.  If you get down this way and want to go on a club
ride, there's an Event Line at 815-477-6858 for info on what's
happening.
It's been nice talking to you, Dale.  Let me know if there are any good
rides in your area.  Milwaukee isn't that far.  I see a lot of rides by
the Cream City Bike club.  Are you involved with that?  Take care.
TTYL, Leah
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