Bison or Bust! The Tertiary Trek: National Bison Day Ride to Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Public & Free

Hear Ye Hear Ye By way of bipartisan act of Congress and signed by President Obama into federal law, National Bison Day will be henceforth observed the first Saturday of every November! To celebrate this momentous occasion of the newly-dubbed “National Mammal” join a glorious mixed road & light gravel ride to a bison herd / obstinacy at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

“Bison or Bust! The Tertiary Trek”
This remix of our inaugural 2024 ride is on the preserve’s 30th anniversary, for which they domesticated their roughest gravel segment. Lunch orders will be delivered to the bison preserve’s welcome center. Rendezvous include Metric Coffee (All), Blackberry Market (A & B), Jitters Cafe (All), Midewin Welcome Center (All), and The Junction vintage shop (All) for the after party. Everyone returns same-day to LaSalle St. Station by a specially-reserved Metra car. Before Joliet, anyone starting with “A” group can switch to “B” by just waiting. Everyone can switch to any other group at Jitters in Joliet, as well as the Midewin Welcome Center. Join our Strava club for updates!
 

“What are the ride rules?”

• DO NOT PET THE FLUFFY COWS!

1. All participants read, understand, and agree to the release / disclaimer / waiver at the bottom of the site before joining the ride
2. Helmets required strapped onto your noggin’
3. Bring a front and rear taillight as well as the tools, supplies, and know-how to change their own flats and address any mechanicals they may experience. From the 15th to 30th of October Comrade Cycles is offering free bike safety checks for our ride participants so get a checkup before the ride to cruise worry-free
4. Observe best ride etiquette at all times: call out all slowing, stopping, speed bumps, holes, doors, cars, riders, runners, walkers, kids, turns, mechanicals, flats, gaps, and especially any pursuing buffaloes
5. Keep your hands on your handlebars at all times, so flap your wings for rough roads instead of pointing. No riding without hands, we are too close together, roads are too unpredictable, and we have too far to go!
6. Keep your eyes on the shoulders of the rider in front of you. They’ll call out and relay hazards as well as take the best line between them.
7. That means if the rider ahead of you hits that minor road hole or whatever you do too, because it’s better than erratic unpredictable riding. No twitchy, racey, or unsafe group riding. There are plenty of other opportunities in other groups for that.
8. No zooming in-between riders in peloton to make it three riders wide. Two wide? Stay that way. Single file? stay that way. It’s not a race, no need to jockey for position, and we will ask people to leave if they risk other riders’ safety
9. Good vibes only! *All with good vibes are welcome* no matter their color shade, class, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, profession, abilities, biking expertise, and strength.
10. Good vibes only! That means no threatening or chauvinistic behavior of any kind is allowed be it racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, ethnic supremacism, or other forms of prejudice, threats, cruelty, or hatred nor are members of such ideologies permitted.
11. No dangerous behavior is allowed and participants must follow all safety instructions of their ride leaders
12. No unsolicited ‘coaching’ is allowed, especially any ‘helpful pushes’
13. No triathlon aero handlebars are allowed they’re too unstable for the peloton
14. No headphones
15. Rides A and B require drop bars or something convincingly equivalent, like bullhorns. Point being that hybrid, flat, swoop, bull moose, albatross, wet noodle, whatever supercool other handlebars are only allowed for C group. This is just for safety in a peloton.
16. No darting between riders. Is the peloton two riders wide? Keep it that way. Is it single-file? Keep it that way. Stay in your lane and ride with predictable behavior. This is not a race and anyone riding in ways that endanger others will be asked to find another ride.
17. Join The ride Group appropriate for your abilities based on both practice and distance. Generally speaking, if you’ve been riding that distance in a week you’re ready to ride it in a day.
18. Veteran brakeless fixed gear riders welcome but behind the peloton so pedal strikes don’t wipe others out.
19. XXAndrew MichalskiXX or any other saboteurs

“What group should I join?”

For both Nachusa and Midewin routes the chillest group rolls at party pace, approximately 14mph, for around 40 miles. Both Midewin and Nachusa have a "B" group rolling for about 87 miles at 16-20mph once rolling. Both Midewin and Nachusa have an “A” group rolling at 18-24mph for about 130 miles. Whatever pace and distance you ride in a week you should able to do it in a day if you prepare well. Please practice riding in groups, calling out obstacles and "slowing" or "stopping" (see ride rules).

No groups are true drop rides. However, on “A” group we have a lot of miles to cover before dusk so if you have a really bad mechanical more involved than a flat, we must ask that you either link up with the next group riding by (when possible) or catch up at the next rendezvous by taking a shorter break to depart with us again. Study the routes and tabs atop the Ride With GPS event page carefully to make your choice. Keep in mind the ride is planned to be very adjustable:

• Midewin Routes
  • Until Joliet, you can downgrade from "A" group by just waiting for "B" group.
  • You can change to any group at Jitters cafe in Joliet, and at the Midewin visitor's center.
  • Midewin Routes
    • Until Joliet we ride decently close to the train lines for the Heritage Corridor Metra train, but please keep in mind it does not run on weekends, and National Bison Day is always on the first Saturday of November. If you find yourself bonking your ejection seat lies on the Lincoln Service train home from Summit or Joliet, Carl Sandberg or Illinois Zephyr train home from La Grange, or in a ride share to the nearest Rock Island line Metra station, a line which begins at Joliet Gateway Station.

“What’s the timetable?”

TBA

“Do you have a waiver?”

Riding in groups and on roadways is extremely dangerous. Serious bodily injury and death can occur even when you and those around you are exercising extraordinary care. You must ride at your own risk. Thank you for being careful! By joining any of our rides all cyclists hereby release ride organizers, agents, sponsors, advertisers, partners, volunteers, affiliates and all other persons and entities from all liability. (Thanks Breakfast Club ATX!)