Description

A Guided Bike Ride from Chicago to Indiana Dunes National Park + CAMPING at the Indiana Dunes.

We're headed out on an epic 130+ mile bikepacking / bike camping trip with Out Our Front Door, a Chicago-based nonprofit that leads bike adventures to immerse and educate in local history and nature.

REGISTRATION

Register directly with Out Our Front Door on the ride's Eventbrite page.

To secure your spot, you must register with OOFD.

Learn more about the ride details here.

Total Cost: $115 per rider

TRIP DETAILS

• Distance: Day 1: 75 Miles | Day 2: 55 miles

• Pace: Casual, option to ride together as a group. 12-15 mph. Intermediate level.

• Trail/Route: Paved road with minimal gravel incorporated.

• Lodging: Tent (camping gear not provided). We will stay at Dunewood Campsite (IN Dunes National Park) located near Dunbar beach in Beverly Shores, IN 46301 map.

• Support: Semi-supported – you carry the majority of your own camping gear etc. on your own bike. OPTIONAL: (We will allow 1 school-size backpack to be carried in our support vehicle to lighten your load.)

• Meals: More info below.

TRIP DESCRIPTION

This is a challenging yet very doable bike ride. For this ride, our guides will give you an in-depth tour of the South Eastern Chicago and Northwestern Indiana region. As we travel from the heart of Chicago to Indiana Dunes State Park and back, we will learn about the history of steel manufacturing, the regional nature, bridges, beaches and dunes.

The Lake Michigan shoreline of Southern Chicago and Northwestern Indiana reveal the marks of a century-long conflict over land use in the region. Sand dunes, steel mills, power lines, marshland, and a commercial harbor battled for and shared a ten-mile stretch along the lakeshore. We'll learn about the struggle for a National Park and discover the birthplace of ecology, the rise of steel manufacturing, and the geological forces that shaped this land.

Let’s travel back in time to the 1893's World’s Fair as we cruise along Chicago's world-class museum campuses, Daniel Burnham Park , Jackson Park and the beginnings of green spaces in Chicago. We'll pop the famous Calumet Fisheries, one of the last remaining wood-smoked seafood shacks in Illinois for a mouth-watering snack.

And most important of all, spend an evening enjoying that oh so lovely lake and habitats of our region’s only national park

MEAL DESCRIPTION

As we travel on bike from Chicago to Indiana, food is necessary to refuel our bodies and to celebrate a weekend of radical bike travel. We believe in supporting the local economy of the places we visit, and our food destinations and offerings reflect the hyper-local focus of the organization. For lunch we stop in Hobart, Indiana and order from one of the local restaurants. Weather permitting, we enjoy our meal outdoors in the local public square while learning more about the town. After a long day of riding, we roll into camp looking forward to a catered Readers Choice Award winning homemade sauce BBQ meal at our camp destination. We enjoy Wagner’s barbeque, a local spot in the northwest Indiana region. For our vegan and veggie participants, we will provide vegan sausages or hot dogs to grill over the campfire that guides build on arrival. We’ll start the morning with a camp breakfast including coffee, fruit, and oatmeal. With a strong breakfast in our bellies, we get an early start on our ride back to the city. Before hopping onto the lakeshore path that will take us to our end destination, we stop at Grindhouse Cafe in Whiting Indiana. This is a cornerstone small business to the community, and sits just south of the start of our City’s Lake Shore Drive Here in Whiting IN we reflect on the long standing relationship of Chicago and northern Indiana including all the dynamic territory we explored along the way.

Lunch stop on Day 1: Restaurant in Hobart IN

Lunch stop on day 2: The Grindhouse Cafe in Whiting IN

WHAT TO BRING

Required Items:

• Your bike!
• Helmet - encouraged but not required
• Tent & Camping Gear
• Head Lamp
• Cash/Debit/Credit Card for your food and your drinks
• Photo I.D. and Emergency Contact Info
• Two spare inner tubes and tools to replace a flat (guides will be able to assist)
• At least 2 water bottles
• Bike lights, front and rear
• Lock for your bike
• High energy snacks
• Change of clothes, including swimsuit and/or rain gear!
• Phone battery pack
• Camp mug, plate/bowl, eating utensils
• Welcoming, adventurous, can-do attitude

WHAT IS INCLUDED

• Campground fees (sites, firewood, etc.)
• Food for Day 1 dinner and Day 2 breakfast.
• Education about our local history and nature
• Really nice and supportive guides

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED

• Food for Day 1 lunch and Day 2 lunch (we will stop at designated restaurants for food, but the guides will not pay for these meals).
• Snacks

ABOUT THE GUIDES

Our guides are part of a community of volunteers that believe in adventure and helping others find adventure right out our front door. They exude a welcoming, supportive, and inclusive spirit which are foundational values at OOFD. They have love and appreciation for their home and like sharing knowledge about that home with others, thus helping the riders to develop a stronger sense of gratitude for our local history and nature.

The guides will be set with the route and an extensive script about the area you’ll be riding through (a script they may have researched, written, and developed themselves)! They have set up multiple breakpoints along the way to ensure you can go the distance. So if this is your first time out on a long ride, you’ll be surprised by how far you can actually go. They will stick with you and if for any reason you must end the ride early, they will help direct you to the nearest train and way to return to the city.

They will have the tools necessary for most maintenance issues that might arise on a weekend bike camping trip. Our guides will help you with any needed repairs. *If you have your own tools or supplies, especially any that are very unique to your bike, please bring them along. Though guides will have extra tubes and patches, you most definitely should bring at least 2 extra tubes for your bike.

REFUND & CANCELLATION POLICY

Participant Cancellation: No Refunds. No Transfers. | We are a small organization and due to the small group size of our rides, a ticket cancellation/no show has a real impact on the planning of the tour and as such, we cannot provide any refunds for a participants cancellation. By registering, you acknowledge and agree there will not be a refund if you cancel or do not show up for the event. Tickets are non-transferable and can not be resold. Please contact the ride organizer if you are no longer able to attend.

Organizer Cancellation: Full Refund | Nobody wants an event to be canceled. But in the very rare case the organizer does cancel the event at their discretion due to unforeseen circumstances, then registered participants will receive a full refund. To date this organizer has never canceled an event.

Weather and Rain: We do not cancel an event for rain or a storm. We ride rain or shine. Understand that Chicago weather is typically passing, if it gets intense we will wait it out in a provided shelter then continue biking. FYI-Some of the best views and greenery are after a rainstorm.

More information about this ride can be found at: Eventbrite – Battle to the Dunes website