Bike Clinic at Harvest Market

A bike clinic was held at Harvest Market in conjunction with Bike-to-Work Week in Elgin.

Stephan Pickett from the Bicycle Garage in East Dundee explains the basics of maintaining your bike.

About 15 people stopped by to learn more about taking care of their bikes. Stephan pointed out that a bike is a machine, not a toy, treat it as such. As more and more people are using their bikes as an alternate form of transportation, the care and feeding of your machine takes on new meaning.

Downtown Elgin Top 10 List - August 6, 2008

1 - Bike-To-Work Week

2 - Harvest Market

3 - Chicago Bandits

4 - Tech Seminar

5 - Variety Pack

6 - Elgin Pub Crawl

7 - Boriqua Fest

8 - Theater & Art

9 - Book Drive

10 - Volunteer

Click to view details

Click here to have the Top 10 List delivered to you every week. All those who sign up in August will be placed in a drawing to win a $10 gift card from Ravenheart Coffee.

Elgin Cycling Classic 2008

I got to enjoy Sunday morning in the Lords Park neighborhood volunteering as a corner marshal. It was a beautiful day for bike racing through the hills and turns of the tree lined streets.

UPDATE: Newspaper links
Frenzied finish in Elgin Cycling Classic - The Courier News
Photo Gallery - The Courier News
Wisconsin man wins Elgin Cycling Classic - Daily Herald

The Master Men 40/50 race is about to start.

The Master Men's race in progress.

Councilman John Steffen in the center during the Cat 5 race.

Bob Mihelich of Elgin is cooling off after his first bike race. Fans, Erin and Reed found a shady spot to cheer him on.

Sgt. Glenn Theriault was busy checking on the corner marshals and keeping us supplied with water while supervising the route.

Three of the Elgin Cycling Classic committee members, John Steffen, Betsy Couture and Darlene Hulin take time for a photo op.

The race is possible because of the efforts of volunteers and the generosity of the sponsors:
Sherman Health
The City of Elgin
Cla-Val
Fox Valley Endodontic Specialists, Dr. Cindy Rauschenberger
TranSystems
YWCA
Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin

FoxFireFest - August 1 - 3, 2008

Watch the video here!

FoxFireFest, as the name implies, is an event focused around the glow of fire on the water, including a mystical night-time fire and light show on the river, accompanied by unique theatre, art, dance and musical performers.
August 1 - 3, 2008
FREE - More info here>
Friday 5 pm to 10 pm
Saturday 12 pm to 11 pm
Sunday 12 pm to 9 pm

Festival Park
136 South Grove Ave
Downtown Elgin

Free parking
or ride your bike and use the free bike corral.  

Entertainment
Friday
6:00 pm Elgin O.P.E.R.A.
7:30 pm Elgin Symphony Orchestra (ESO)
9:30 pm Fireworks

Saturday
12 - 4 pm Childrens Activities
4 - 8 pm Teen Activities
6:00 pm Starship
8:00 pm Blues Traveler
10:30 pm Fireworks

Sunday
12 - 4 pm Childrens Activities
3:30 pm Elevation
5:30 pm Sister Hazel

AAUW Art Showcase
Saturday 12 - 6 pm
Sunday 12 - 5 pm

Elgin Cycling Classic
Sunday, 8 am - 5 pm in the Lords Park neighborhood

Food Vendors
Chinese Wok, (840 Summit Street, Elgin) -Combo Fried Rice, Egg Roll, Beef Teriyaki and Crab Rangoon
Dairy Queen, (1022 S. McLean Blvd, Elgin) - Blizzards, Ice Cream Bars, Lemon Chill Cups, Chocolate Bananas
Maui Wowi, (2310 Fairfax Rd., Elgin)- Fresh Fruit Smoothies, Hawaiian Coffee Smoothie
Jethro's, (9911 N. Clark, Richmond, IL)- Funnel Cakes, Curly Chips w/Cheese, Deep Fried Oreos & Twinkies
White Cottage Pizza, (220 S. Randall Rd., Elgin, IL)- Sausage Pizza, Cheese Pizza, Bread Sticks w/ Garlic Cheese
Casa Lara (previously Jalapeno's), ( 7 Clock Tower Plaza, Elgin)- Tacos, Quesadillas, Flautas
JJ's Chicken & Fish, (79 Clock Tower Plaza, Elgin)-Chicken Wings, Ribs, Pulled Pork Sandwich
Gasthaus Zur Linde, (15 N Grove, Elgin)- Bratwurst, Thuringer, Corn on the Cob
Big Sammy's Hot Dogs, ( 2490 Bushwood Drive, Elgin)- Hot Dogs, Bag of Chips
Elgin Public House (219 E. Chicago St., Elgin)- Hamburger/Cheesburger, Veggie Burger, Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Lucky's Bar and Grill, (335 N. McLean Blvd., S. Elgin)-Nachos Grande, Italian Beef Sandwich, Italian Sausage Sandwich
Victors Grill, (6235 N. Keystone, Chicago) -Shish-k-bob, Gyros, Polish Sausage
Sloppy Joe's, (210 Penny Ave, Unit D, Dundee, IL)- Sloppy Joe's, Chocolate Chip Cookies
JC's Barbecue, (116 Penny Ave., East Dundee, IL) - BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich, ½ Smoked BBQ Chicken, Pupusas

FoxFireFest incorporates the best elements of the previous Fine Arts Fest, but has expanded to showcase the wide variety of cultural amenities and performing arts groups centered in the Elgin area, with two stages offering non-stop entertainment. The food and beverage area will also feature an eclectic mix for all ages, including a beer garden.

Fox River in Elgin

Bike path under the Highland Ave. bridge.
View from the south side of the Highland bridge.
Walton Island
The flag sculpture at the north end of Walton Island.


A low quality video of the power of the water coming over the Kimball Street Dam. I didn't think a still shot would do this justice so I used the video mode.

Cycling in the News

As gas prices go up, so do the number of cyclists.
Recent news:

Mayors’ Conference to consider biking resolution from Planning Livable Communities

Bicycling in the news... from Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

Barrington Hills cracking down on cyclists from Daily Herald

Plans are underway for a Bike to Work Week in Elgin. It is scheduled for August 4th through the 8th and follows FoxFireFest and the Elgin Cycling Classic. Everyone is encouraged to ride their bikes to the fest where the Elgin Community Network(ECN) sponsors a bike corral.

Remember to obey the rules of the road and please wear a helmet, Lt. Bob Bedard of the Elgin Fire Department demonstrates what can happen when you don't on Elgin Today at 6:35 into the segment. Here is a link to the League of Illinois Bicyclists for more safety tips.

You don't have to wait until August to use your bike as a means of transportation. Take a ride down to Harvest Market on Thursdays from 10 am to 6 pm. Ride downtown for lunch, coffee or a visit to the post office. Use the downtown map for other ideas.

So pump up the tires, grease the chain and wipe the cobwebs off. It's time to save some gas, get some exercise and enjoy the community.

Bike Racks and More...

New bike racks have been installed on DuPage Court. Two racks in the style of old fashioned "high wheel" bikes bookend the court. Other bike rack locations here.
Six loop racks dot the court.
A new restaurant called Mad Maggies is coming soon at the Grove Ave side of the court and Al's Cafe has a new projecting sign over on the Spring St side.
One more thing...

The new trees are in on Grove Ave, a welcome sight. So ride your bike down to DuPage Court and have a malt, take in the sights and sometime in the future you can have a pizza too.