Elgin by Bike
Bicycling Elginites on the Fox River Trail, Photo property of City of Elgin
September 1st marked the beginning of a month-long program going on in downtown Elgin called “Elgin by Bike.” How does Elgin by Bike work?
1) Go to any participating location to pick up a wallet guide.
2) During the month of September, ride your bike like crazy to downtown businesses.
3) At each business, show your helmet as evidence that you rode a bike, and ask for them to initial the wallet guide.
4) Once you’ve received 10 initials, turn the wallet guide in to the Downtown Neighborhood Association.
5) Get free stuff and possibly win a new bike!
It’s really that simple. This is part of a summer-long City of Elgin bike safety program that has been going on, funded with federal highway safety funds by way of IDOT and administered by the Active Transportation Alliance and myself, League of Illinois Bicyclists employee.
Here is a list of participating businesses:
- Al’s Cafe & Creamery
- Andersen’s
- Artistic Framing
- Bangkok House-Shanghai Restaurant
- Butera Market
- Camaroncito Loco
- Casa Lara
- The Centre of Elgin
- Domani Cafe
- Douglas Street Sports Bar & Grill
- El Faro
- Elgin Books & Coffee
- Elgin Jewelers
- Elgin Public House
- Elgin Symphony Orchestra
- Fusion Mind/Body Studio
- Gasthaus Bar & Grill
- Hand & Sole Nail Spa
- Interior Thoughts
- J.J. Fish and Chicken
- Janus Theater
- JR Photographics
- Keeney’s Sporting Goods/P.K.’s Antiques
- Kim’s Black Belt Academy
- La Puesta Del Sol
- La Tazza Cafe
- Mad Maggie’s
- Martini Room
- Nick’s Liquors
- Pittsburg Paints
- Quizno’s Subs
- Rancho Vargas
- Ravenheart Coffee
- Razor’s Edge & Lydia’s Hair Salon
- Red Bar Winery & Bistro
- Salon Couture
- Shockey Jewelers
- Simple Balance Holistic Center
- Simple Root Therapeutic Massage
- Spanky’s Gyros III
- Studio One
- Top Notch Tattoo
- Villa Verone
- Wrona Brothers
- Ziegler’s Ace Hardware
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I don’t own a bicycle helmet but at times I ride a bike. I wonder if I could have my wallet guide initialed if I show them my bike instead of a helmet?
I want to thank the Downtown Neighbors Association for the wonderful gift basket full of gift certificates they had donated as a raffle prize at Larkin High School for the show Annie.
I bought a raffle ticket for their basket and for one other basket and I was delighted to win the DNA basket.
My wife and I had a great lunch at The Elgin Public House and the best sirloin steak sandwich I ever ate at Al’s. I still get hungry thinking about that steak at Al’s. It was suppose to be a strip steak but they were out of strip and asked if sirloin was ok. I hit the lotto so to speak with that substitution.
We still have some more certificates to use and I am especially excited to use the gift certificate to Hemmens for a show this year.
We saw Dennis DeYoung who was the lead singer of Styxx do a concert with a full orchestra at Rosemount Theater a few years ago. It brought back memories of my one and only girl friend’s Larkin High School Junior Prom in 1973. Styxx was the live prom band with two hits at the time. Lady and Lorelei.
Styxx went on to many more hits but the band and Dennis had a falling out and they don’t perform together anymore.
Brenda and I are still together having produced two wonderful children and Lord willing this September 14 it will be our 35th wedding anniversary. Praise the Lord I am still able to sing she is my lady.
It sure would be nice if the Elgin Symphony Orchestra could book a concert with Dennis DeYoung of Styxx and the orchestra back him up. I would love to use my gift certificate for that.
Us baby boomers had it made in the late 60’s and early 70’s with live prom bands at Larkin. I wasn’t there but I am told in 1969 the second prom band was CTA who later became the hit group Chicago.
I was a shy guy at St. Ed’s and never went to prom there.
I wonder if there were any famous prom bands at Elgin High?
From one of their early records I will close with:
“Does anyone really know what time it is.”
Common Sense Clarence Hayward
Wow, it’s great that they got so many businesses to participate!
I have been thinking more about how you have to show a bike helmet to get the initials so you can enter the contest to win a bike. A person could take a bike helmet into all those stores and never ride a bike downtown to do it.
I think before the merchant gives the initials on the card they should look to be sure that there is a bike outside to go along with the helmet.
The thanks goes to DNA for the participants.
Merchants should be on the lookout for people who would admit to sitting outside a venue to listen to music just so he wouldn’t have to pay $5 for a ticket inside the event, too.
Those people with that type of instability are the ones who would cheat the system by buying a bike helmet at a garage sale and walk from place to place to “cash in”.
All in the name of common sense.
LOL.
It is legal to sit outside the fenced out area if I wanted to. It would be cheating to just walk around with a bike helmet and I would not do that but I could see how someone might be motivated to do that.
I don’t know how anyone can get around downtown on a bicycle with all the construction. And if they are encouraging bikers, why make all the streets narrower?