A lot of the activity and advocacy happening in the suburbs of Chicago comes from the many bike clubs. Members gather regularly for rides planned by leaders, who also might organize advocacy efforts such as to improve local bicycling infrastructure or encourage other residents to ride.
Each club has its own character. Some are just about gathering periodically for easy rides and hanging out afterward, such as for coffee, lunch or drinks. While some are no-drop or “nobody left behind,” others have tiers of riders based largely on speed. Some provide peer training for racing. Some clubs run large organized rides, or “invitationals,” that have become well-known in the area. Others mix in activities besides bicycling.
When clubs meet … without riding
Editor’s note: These are edited excerpts from Ralph Banasiak’s Nov. 5, 2025, Daily Herald column.
When weather conditions get questionable in the late fall and especially after daylight-saving time ends, bike club calendars still display group rides, some through January, but the schedules grow thinner.
For some individuals, “ZMRs,” or zero mile rides, replace the more conventional morning “show-and-go” outings that end with a strong, hot beverage.
ZMRs, with just a cup of joe, social fellowship and no mileage recorded, may be rewarding enough.
‘Bike club plus’: When other sports take over
Especially at long-established clubs, cold-weather activities supplant biking, with some pursuing off-season fitness via cross-training.
Hiking and skiing are common, although a mixed bag of winters recently has meant either capitalizing on unexpected snowfalls or trekking north with the skis, poles and snowshoes.
“We’ve expanded the club to not only do winter hikes on Saturdays, but we will change our Tuesday night rides to hiking starting in November,” said Timothy King, president of the McHenry County Bicycle Club.
“We’ll always be a bike club, but now we’re a ‘bike club plus’ with road riding, trail rides, gravel rides and kayaking in warmer months, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the colder months,” King said.
When clubs add volunteer work
Some clubs demonstrate appreciation for the routes they travel with volunteer cleanups.
Don Mobley, Bicycle Club of Lake County president, said a twice-annual roadside cleanup has been a club mainstay since 2001 in both the spring and fall. The club even boasts its own cleanup sign posted along St. Mary’s Road.
The Schaumburg Bicycle Club similarly is signed up with the village to clean a section of a local bike path each year, along Wise Road.
Friends of Cycling in Elk Grove volunteers assist at the annual Busse Woods Habitat Restoration workday each November. They work to restore habitat by removing invasive plants like buckthorn.
Special year-end and holiday charity rides
Other clubs offer special rides as riding season downshifts and holiday season gears up.
Arlington Heights Bicycle Club Treasurer Bill Kragh has led riders to Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery in late October since at least 2017, combining biking with Chicago-area history. The graves of Ernie Banks, George Pullman, Potter Palmer, Marshall Field, Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham have been among those visited.
Kragh has also led members to other VIP resting places: Mount Carmel Cemetery (Al Capone, Catholic cardinals), Rosehill Cemetery (Jack Brickhouse, Schwinn family members) and Woodlawn Cemetery (Jack Ruby, Mike Royko).
Jason Fair, Fox Valley Bicycle & Ski Club president, said the club again joined Cranksgiving at The Bike Rack in St. Charles to help families in need. The Cranksgiving riders each November shop local stores and bring food to the bike shop, which steers it to the Salvation Army St. Charles (Tri-City) Corps. An optional 12-mile ride from the shop follows.
In Homewood, Cranksgiving at Goodspeed Cycles asks riders to buy from a food and store list, then deliver the food to Rabid Brewing. Donations benefit the Restoration Ministries food bank in Harvey. Steve Buchtel, the bike shop’s sales and events manager, reported cyclists transported 244 pounds of turkeys/fixings in 2024. Chicago’s Cosmic Bikes also participated last year.
The full club list
Here’s what I’m sure is not an all-inclusive list, though I’d be happy to add what’s missing.
- Arlington Heights Bicycle Club, which organizes the popular Arlington 500 ride, typically around the Barringtons, each June.
- Bike Walk Berwyn
- Black Girls Do Bike, Chicago
- Cycle Brookfield
- Carol Stream Parks Foundation Bike Riding Club
- Chicago Area Mountain Bikers, or CAMBR, influential in building new mountain bike trails as well as races in the area.
- Chicago Randonneurs, club of self-supported long-distance riders, with some big rides out in the suburbs.
- Christian Cyclists Club and Race Team, with regular long and fast rides in suburbs like Plainfield, Sugar Grove and Crystal Lake.
- Bike Walk Des Plaines
- Downers Grove Bicycle Club
- Friends of Cycling in Elk Grove, which organizes a Busse Woods Night Ride in August.
- Elmhurst Bicycle Club, active in DuPage County infrastructure advocacy.
- Evanston Bicycle Club, which organizes the North Shore Century (with various distances) each September.
- Fox Valley Bicycle and Ski Club, which organizes the popular Swedish Days ride in late June.
- Bike Glen Ellyn
- Joliet Bicycle Club, which runs a July 4 ride on the open roads between (west of) Plainfield and Morris.
- Bicycle Club of Lake County, with a big ramble on June 8.
- Major Taylor Cycling Club Chicago, with regular rides in south suburbs.
- Maywood Rolling Wheels Club
- McHenry County Bicycle Club
- Mount Prospect Bike Club
- Naperville Bicycle Club
- Oak Park Cycle Club
- Bike Palatine Club
- Park Ridge Cycling
- Plainfield United Methodist Church Cycling Group
- Ride Riverside
- Round Lake Area Bicycle Club
- Schaumburg Bicycle Club
- Streamwood Biking
- Velo Club Roubaix, which “brings together dedicated cyclists from Chicago and the north and northwest suburbs who ride for both performance and camaraderie.”
- Westchester Cycle Group
- Wheeling Wheelmen Bicycle Club, which has organized the legendary Harmon Hundred ride, in honor of equally legendary Northwest suburban cycling advocate Phyllis Harmon, and a St. Patrick’s ride. It serves a wide range of skill levels and speeds.
- Windy City Cycling Club, “Chicago’s LGBTQA+ cycling organization” with rides into the suburbs sometimes.
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To add to your list – Bike Club of Lake County! http://Www.bikebclc.com
Done! I was told about your club and it looks great — and I love Lake County riding.
Hi Neil,
Great website! I learned of it from Don Mobley, the president of our Bicycle Club of Lake County. Thank you for putting this together.
Thanks also for mentioning our Ramble event in your list of Bike clubs in Chicago’s suburbs. I chair that event and appreciate any publicity we get.
Hi, Mitchell. Thank you for the kind words, and I’m happy to include your club and ramble. There’s not a separate web page for that ramble yet, right?
Nevermind, I found the web page on the ramble and added a hyperlink to it above.
My cycling club, Velo Club Roubaix, is one of the premier clubs in the north suburbs, with about 80 members. We have scheduled road rides, A and B levels, on Saturday and Sunday, plus members doing gravel routes, primarily the DPRT, and a handful of mountain bikers.
Our brand new, updated website is at https://www.veloclubroubaix.com. We have a great directory of road routes (linked to RideWithGPS), all available to the public.
Fantastic, Elliot. I’ll add the club to the list.
Thanks so much Neil!! Great seeing and hearing you on the Active Transportation Alliance Suburban Advocacy Connect Zoom call today.