Good Bicycle Samaritans

February 24, 2013 8:28am
By Erica Demarest, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

Logan Square & Humboldt Park Newsletter

LOGAN SQUARE—The key to good health?

For one Lakeview bike messenger, it might just be cookies, marshmallows and cheddar-bay biscuits.

Dustin Valenta, 27, was critically injured Feb. 8 in a Wicker Park hit-and-run while riding his bike home from yoga. His injuries—which include a punctured lung, 23 broken ribs and a cracked skull—have kept him in the intensive care unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital since the accident.

Valenta doesn’t have health insurance.

On Saturday, the all-female cycling group Tiny Fix Bike Gang raised more than $1,000 for Valenta with a good, old-fashioned bake sale at The Bike Lane in Logan Square.

“As soon as I heard about the accident, I put the word out,” said Lorena Cupcake, 26, who helped organize the event. “We can help him pay rent while he’s in the hospital. This money is a dip in the bucket compared to the medical bills he’ll have, but it helps.”

Cyclists across the city whipped up cookies, cupcakes and other baked goods. Those who couldn’t attend made online donations.

The Chicago Diner, Valenta’s former employer, made an unsolicited cookie donation; Chicago Vegan Foods dropped off marshmallows; and The Bike Lane offered a 15 percent store discount to anyone who bought bake sale items.

“A lot of people would give us a twenty and say, ‘Keep the change,’” Cupcake said.

None of the women organizing the event knew Valenta personally. Chicago has a tight-knit cycling community, they said. People take care of each other.

“It could’ve been any of us,” explained Karen Altes, 36, of West Rogers Park. “[Valenta] wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was riding in the right part of the street. He was wearing a helmet.”

“It’s f--ked up that in America, people making cookies is your secondary form of insurance," Cupcake said. "But we have a great community behind us."

According to Valenta's family, a parked car "doored" him on Milwaukee Avenue near Wood Street - that is, the car opened its door into Valenta's path, knocking him into the street. A truck then ran over him and fled the scene.

Despite Valenta's injuries, the Tiny Fix members still call Chicago a "very safe" cycling city. They advised knowing which roads are safer or wider than others and taking steps to remain visible at night or in bad weather.

“I still feel like riding by bike to work is better for me, for my health and mental health, than taking the CTA or driving,” Altes said.

The women urged anyone involved in a bike crash, however minor, to take photos and report the incident.

“If one person had gotten that truck’s license plate,” Altes said, “we would know who it was, and his insurance would be paying for Dustin’s bill.”

“We would kill for a blurry Instagram photo right now,” Cupcake added.

Wrigley Field Road Tour

Registration for the fourth annual Wrigley Field Road Tour opens to the public Thursday, March 7th.


The Wrigley Field Road Tour is an annual 100-mile charity bike ride led by Chicago Cubs Board Member, Todd Ricketts, and SRAM Executive Vice President, F.K. Day, to benefit the global work of World Bicycle Relief and the local work of Chicago Cubs Charities.

Registration for the 2013 Wrigley Field Road Tour is $100 plus a minimum contribution of $400. Participants have until August 22nd to fund raise the $400. (Those who prefer can make a $400 contribution at the time of registration.)

All participants who raise $1,000 or more for the global work of World Bicycle Relief and the local work of Chicago Cubs Charities will be eligible to win one of WFRT’s exclusive prizes.

We encourage creativity in raising funds. In the past, we’ve had customers who had fund-raising concerts in their home or who have had garage sales in the name of charity.

What great fund-raising ideas do you have planned for the 2013 WFRT? Let us know so we can brag about how creative our customers are.

New Bicycle path coming to Hoffman Estates

A new bike path and route coming to Hoffman Estates through federal funding will provide more "continuity and connectivity" for Northwest suburban bicyclists.


Mike Hankey, the village's director of transportation, said the village hopes to pick a consultant to do the Shoe Factory Road/I-90 Bicycle and Pedestrian project by the end of this year.
Construction, however, may be delayed until 2015 or 2016 due to the widening of I-90, Hankey said.

The project will include the paving of an existing trail in the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve; the creation of a north-south paved path along the Canadian National railroad tracks that will go under the I-90 and Hoffman Boulevard bridges; and the installation of bike route signs on streets through parts of Prairie Stone business park north to the Prairie Stone Wellness Center. The total length of the project is about 2.4 miles.

"It was a concept that actually goes back a number of years," Hankey said, adding that ideas for the project were mentioned in the village's 2010 bicycle plan and 2007 comprehensive plan. "One thing that was consistent among all those documents was a desire for ways for people to cross the tollway by means other than driving."

Federal funds from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program will cover $676,000 of the estimated $845,000 project, Hankey said. The remaining cost will split by the village, the Hoffman Estates Park District and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, he said.

More than 300 applications were submitted for the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program. Hoffman Estates was one of only 54 projects selected to receive funds.

"It seems to me like not just in Hoffman Estates, but in the larger metropolitan area, there is an increase in people walking and biking," Hankey said. "I think there is an increase and a strong interest, among some people at least, for improving connectivity and continuity."

The project will create another way for some people in residential areas to get to work, and it will provide more access to the 59/90 entertainment district, Hankey added.

"It's looking at ways to incrementally build those links in the regional system," he said. "You can't really do everything all at once."

Happy Birthday George

UCI Track World Championships

Cyclist Steven Burke (center) of Great Britain during practice ahead of the UCI Track World Championships at Minsk Arena on Tuesday in Minsk, Belarus.

Michael Steele - Getty Images

The Cold Weather Bicycle Commuter

Is this you,
or does this represent who you are?

Then God Bless You!

I get in my car,
parked outside,
and for the first 15 minutes,
I'm cold.

Then I see you.
Do you ride your bicycle because you want to
or because you have to
because you don't have a car
and you need to get places. 

I'm never as cold when I see you
Enduring all that nature throws at you

Here's to you (arm and beverage extended)
I salute you and admire you
and though we have not met
Ride on my friend

and I wish you better weather days ahead

North American Handmade Bicycle Show

February 22-24, 2013


Colorado Convention Center

Chicago Bike Winter Art Show

Happy Birthday Rihanna

Bicycle Poetry - The Two Wheeled Good by Hino Hinesy of London

hardly stopped by very much

through rain snow and heat and sleet

driven home by pedalled feet

waterproof and wind resistant

long spun limbs turn on insistent

that no bus, train or car

or suited warming post-five bar

shall deviate them from their route

as dusk stalks day-glow on their shoot

With bike lights lit like Viking torches

to guide them soon-wet porches

dashing back in one good stint

all fuelled by smugness for their

carbon foot prints

Ride your bicycle to see maple syrup harvesting

North Park Village Nature Center


5801 N. Pulaski Rd. Chicago IL 60646

(312) 744-5472

Free

Age Range: 6 years and older

Bring out the entire family to help tap a maple tree and learn the whole maple syrup story from sappy beginnings to a sweet, tasty ending. Adults & families with children age 6 and up. Registration required.

Abominable Fat-Bike Race

Abominable Fat-Bike Race

Presented by: Bradley Park Trail Crew

Bradley Park Rd

Tomahawk, WI

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Don't try this at home....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cycling Art from Michael Valenti

From the professional peloton to rural roads and city streets, the hearts and souls of cyclists are forever connected. The shared suffering, glory, fun and passion for the sport of cycling are the subjects of Michael’s work. Welcome to a world filled with travel, whimsy, history and heart.

Each of the images is original art created by Michael Valenti for the use of his clients and for reproduction as fine art prints. The cycling poster was very popular during the Paris poster period in the late 19th century with many original works still being sold by galleries around the world. With his work, Michael proudly carries on the tradition of cycling art in a poster format.

Giclée printing is the standard of excellence for fine art reproduction. All of the images are printed with this method on heavy weight watercolor paper using archival inks. Your fine art print will last you many years without fading or discoloring.

Your image is carefully rolled and shipped in a heavy tube. You should expect your print to arrive in less than a week. Frame it nicely. 

Shipping is FREE.


michaelvalenti.com

Mardi Gras

Enjoy Fat Tuesday!

Tour of Lower West Side

Community Area #31, the Lower West Side is 3 miles southwest of the loop. It is bounded on the south and east by the South branch of the Chicago River and on the north and west by the Burlington Northern Railroad. The oldest section is known as Pilsen, named for the city in Bohemia, where many of the earliest settlers to the area immigrated from. The initial popularity of the area was as a place for Bohemians to rebuild after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The area west of Pilsen was known as the Heart of Chicago, and soon became as popular as Pilsen, and as immigrants from different countries came to America, many of them settled in Heart of Chicago. Many of the residents of both main sections of the Lower West Side were laborers and worked in the city’s factories, in the nearby stockyards or meat packers, or as tradesmen. The housing is most often modest brick worker’s cottages and practical multi-unit housing, and the area is dominated by several monumental churches, whose influence and congregation’s popularity helped bring population and development to the area, including St. Paul’s, St. Pius and St. Adalbert. Beyond the churches and residences, the Lower West Side also includes grand treasures by the biggest luminaries of Chicago architecture.

Some of the scheduled stops will include visits to the Daniel Burnham designed Fisk Power Plant, the Pond and Pond designed Gad’s Hill Center, the William Carbys Zimmerman designed Dvorak Park Fieldhouse and the Schmidt and Garden designed Schoenhofen Brewery. Join them for a day on your bike digging the Lower West Side.

Happy Birthday Cristiano Ronaldo

Summer Dreamin' - Ladies, this one's for you.....

Graham Nash Photo