Friends of the Parks

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LATE Breaking News Greetings from the Ride Director Thank you for supporting Friends of the Parks. We look forward to seeing you tonight. The weather is GREAT! And if I may add a personal note, my older daughter's softball team JUST won their league's 1st place championship this morning (allow me a little parental pride!), so the day has started out well for me! And I've already lost my voice, too. Our pre-registered riders will receive an electronic survey Sunday morning - please fill it out and let us know your thoughts. I've gotten to know so many of our riders and volunteers throughout the years - it's been my pleasure and I thank you for helping Friends of the Parks keep our parks and children's playgrounds clean, green, safe and fun for all. Decorate your helmet, light up your bike and have FUN tonight! Ride safely, stay to the right and enjoy our beautiful city!! Cheers, Nancy Trying to convince your friends to come along? We've compiled this powerpoint presentation of photos from the ride's history, for those that prefer a downloadable format to show your friends and family! Riders - Two Important Areas Along the Route Along our 25-mile route, we have two small areas we want you to be aware of. Montrose and Paulina (1 block west of Ashland, approx. mile 14). A sewer project at this intersection is almost complete and the road is open. However, there is a drop/cut in the pavement to be aware of. Please ride cautiously. Sewer covers are not even with the pavement, and there is a 6’ x 12’ gravel area in the westbound lane. We will be riding eastbound on Montrose, so make sure to stay in the eastbound lane! Also, the police will NOT close off the northbound lanes of lower Lake Shore Drive at Lake Point Tower (Grand Avenue and Lake Shore Drive). For many years, the police have allowed our cyclists to ride on the street from Grand Avenue south to Randolph, where they connected with the lower lakefront bicycle path. WE CANNOT RIDE SOUTH ON THE NORTHBOUND LANES OF LOWER LAKE SHORE DRIVE! Use the sidewalk! Use the path! Great Weather for The Ride! Once again, great weather is predicted for Friends of the Parks' L.A.T.E. Ride! Weather.com predicts "0% precipitation" for Saturday! (You may know that we chose the date for the ride based on the Farmer's Almanac. We looked at dates that had the least amount of rainfall over the last 100 years - and the ride has never been rained out since 1989!) Hooray! If you haven't yet registered, you can feel confident that we'll have great conditions - so come on down and register in person! Still Wanting to Register? After twelve noon on Friday, the ONLY way to register for the ride is IN PERSON at Buckingham Fountain between 10:00pm and midnight. If you have not pre-registered for the ride and plan to register IN PERSON, please print this on-site registration form now, fill it out and bring it with you to the event. (Note that only pre-registered riders receive a free t-shirt; those registering night-of may purchase a t-shirt for an additional $10 while supplies last). Cash, checks and credit cards accepted on-site ($2.00 fee charged per rider for credit card payments). Final Event Schedule For our long-time riders, please note that the ride begins 90 minutes earlier than in years past! The ride itself begins at midnight (not 1:30am)! Again, The ride itself begins at midnight (not 1:30am)! Getting there: Check our Parking section for options (do NOT park on Columbus Drive!). Please enter Buckingham Fountain’s plaza area from the Columbus Drive side. If you are registering the night of the ride, go straight to the On-Site Registration tent. If you are pre-registered, stop by the Pre-Paid Packet Pick-Up tent. (If you already have your packet, just be ready by midnight for step-off. The ride takes off in five waves between midnight and 12:45am). Along the Columbus Drive sidewalk, you’ll find portable toilets, water and the First Aid station. You’ll also see the stage along Columbus Drive and Congress Boulevard. Sponsor booths will be located throughout the Buckingham Fountain area. 10:00pm - Midnight: Night-of-Event Packet Pick-Up and On-Site Registration, helmet sales and bike repairs by Village Cycle Center, plus live music by Four Man Band. 11:00pm: Head for the stage for our annual BEST LIT BIKE and BEST DECORATED HELMET contests. Prizes will be awarded. Be creative! 11:50pm: Look for your color group (Blue, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow) along Columbus Drive. Listen for instructions. Midnight - 12:45pm: Step-Off! We’ll release riders south along Columbus Drive starting with VIP riders followed by five regular waves in about eight-minute intervals. Rider numbers are color-coded according and will be released in this order: 1)VIPs 2) Blue 3) Green 4) Red 5) Orange 6) Yellow Note: Please start with your assigned group! If you and your friends aren’t in the same group, you should begin the ride together in the later group. For safety reasons, no riders are allowed to start before midnight. A "sweep" van will follow the last wave of riders. 2:30am - 5:00am Post-ride refreshments at Buckingham Fountain. Cycle at your own pace and plan to end your trek between 2:30am and 5:00am. (Please present your tear-off breakfast coupon to receive complimentary breakfast. We also have an optional All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast for $7.00 provided by Goose Island. If you already purchased the pancake breakfast, your name will be on a list (we don’t give out tickets) at the pancake area. If you have not purchased the pancake breakfast, you may pay for it at the breakfast tent (not during on-site registration before the ride); cash only! Please try to bring exact change. Sunrise over the lakefront bicycle path will occur at approximately 5:30am. Need to rent a bike? Check out recent updates to our rental partners Friends of the Parks’ L.A.T.E. Ride 2010 - Chicago History Trivia Questions We’ve created a list of 20 questions related to Chicago and, indirectly, to this year’s ride. Test yourself! (Answers will be displayed at Packet Pick-Ups and online here on Thursday, July 8.) 1. Kate Buckingham donated Buckingham Fountain to Chicago in 1927. In whose memory did she dedicate the fountain? 2. How many gallons of water does Buckingham Fountain contain? 3. What was the original name of Grant Park? 4. Roosevelt Road was named after which US President Roosevelt - Theodore or Franklin? 5. When was Soldier Field's original construction completed? 6. For which US President is Adams Street named - John Adams or his son, John Quincy Adams? 7. Who was Archer Avenue named after and why was he important to Illinois? 8. What place was Pilsen named after? 9. Is Goose Island (the brewery) named for a real island? 10. What large flag sculptures can be found at two different borders of Humboldt Park? 11. For whom is Humboldt Park named? 12. For whom is Logan Square named? 13. Horner Park was named after Henry Horner, who was Illinois' first ___________ governor? 14. Who was a famous architect that in 1909 prepared the "Plan of Chicago" with his co-author Edward H Bennett. 15. How many miles long is the lakefront bicycle trail? 16. What is on the totem pole near Belmont Harbor along the lakefront path? 17. Lincoln Park is named after President Abraham Lincoln. For what is President Lincoln most well-known? 18. Approximately how old is Lincoln Park Zoo: 50 years old; 100 years old; 150 years old? 19. What year was the Valentine’s Day Massacre where Al Capone's henchmen killed seven members of Bugs Moran’s gang in Lincoln Park? 20. Which is the oldest: the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, or Shedd Aquarium? Extra Credit: Name all the movies filmed in Chicago. You need at least 10 to get credit! Residents band together to restore Grand Crossing Park On June 18 and 19, we participated in a major playground renovation at Grand Crossing Park (76th and Inverness). A combined effort of the Grand Crossing Advisory Council, Children's Memorial Hospital, Kohl's Department stores, Parkreaction, Speedy Gonzalez Landscaping, Friends of the Parks and the Chicago Park District, more than 142 volunteers took part in this community-build, completely renovating a forlorn and dangerous playground and turning it into a fully-accessible, state-of-the-art facility, complete with separate little and big kids areas, a climbing wall, and two swing sets. You can also read this link from the Chicago Tribune Front Page article from June 19. Friends of the Parks is working to make this a model program for more community-builds throughout the City. It is our hope that our next playground community-build will be this fall at Cole Park, as we dedicate the Thomas Wortham IV Playground to the memory of this slain Chicago Police Officer and president of the Cole Park Advisory Council. Step-Off Time Moves to MIDNIGHT Since 1989, the ride itself has started at 1:30am. In 2010, the 25-mile ride will begin at midnight! (Join us at Buckingham Fountain as early as 10:30 p.m. for live music, on-site registration, refreshments and visits to sponsor booths.) More details to come... Events Galore! Check out the great events going on this spring and summer in Chicago, the suburbs and beyond! Enjoy bicycling, running, walking and more to benefit great causes! The L.A.T.E. Ride T-shirts in Exotic Places Going on vacation soon? Traveling for business? If so, pack your L.A.T.E. Ride t-shirt and make sure to snap a picture of yourself in that exotic place! For many years, we featured photos of L.A.T.E. Ride participants wearing their ride t-shirts during hikes in National Parks, during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, at the Great Wall of China, along Highway 1 in California, at an Irish Pub (in Ireland, that is!) and many other locales. We want to display those fun photos again. Send your photos to lateride@hotmail.com. Identify the people in your picture(s) and your location and we’ll post the photos on www.lateride.org soon. Thanks! Join us on LinkedIn! If you have a LinkedIn account, and you're proud of your support for the ride, come join our group!