TOUR DE CHAMPAIGN
On July 11 and 12, pro bicycle racing is coming to Champaign, as the Tour de Champaign takes over downtown on Saturday and the South Farms Research Park on Sunday. From kids’ races to Cat 1 professional criteriums with $3,000 first place prizes, there’s a bit of something for everyone. The Saturday course is a 1-kilometer square, and Sunday will be a 0.8-mile course.
You can download the full event flyer (in Word format) here, but let it be known that there will be a total of 17 races over the two days, and that’s going to take a lot of volunteers to keep things running smoothly.
So, if you can spare a couple of hours, they sure would appreciate it. Shoot Karl Crapse an email at quickkarl@gmail.com and let him know you’re interested, and I’m sure he’ll put you to work.
ILLINI 4000
The Illini 4000 crew is rolling across the country this summer, raising money for cancer research, and they’re making their annual stop in Champaign-Urbana this afternoon. Actually, if you are one of those folks without a day job, you can meet them at the Nature Center at Homer Lake at 1:30 p.m. if you’d like to roll into town with their group. They’ll be pulling into the Alice Campbell Alumni Center (601 S. Lincoln in Urbana, 1 block south of Illinois St.) at 3 p.m., so head over and cheer them on as they ride down Lincoln Avenue.
BIKE PARKING AT TASTE OF C-U
If you’re headed to the Taste of Champaign-Urbana this weekend at West Side Park (and you should, if for no other reason than to visit the Smile Politely booth), then make sure to ride your bike. Just like last year, Champaign County Bikes is operating a bike corral, and when you park your bike, you’ll get a coupon for a free drink at one of the Pepsi tents.
TREEHUGGER CELEBRATES/DENIGRATES “GIRLS ON BIKES”
And finally, if the world of bike-riding seems a little too free of objectification for your tastes, TreeHugger has come through with some casual sexism in the form of “6 Reasons the World Needs More Girls on Bikes.” This ground-breaking work features such insights as: girls don’t like to bike because they sweat and the helmets mess up their hair; and girls are stylish and wear pretty clothes. Now that TreeHugger took that angle, it’s probably only a matter of time until we see a Dutch city bike Barbie.