Nearly 20,000 Salute Summer with a Bike Ride on Lake Shore Drive
Nearly 20,000 bicyclists pedaled their way into summer today for MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive, an annual fundraiser that benefits the Active Transportation Alliance’s work to improve biking, walking and transit.
“Summer in Chicago has begun! The weather was great as families and friends cruised up and down a car-free Lake Shore Drive having the time of their lives,” said Active Transportation Alliance Executive Director Ron Burke. “Twenty thousand people on bicycles transformed this highway into sheer biking bliss.â€
Lake Shore Drive opened to bicyclists at 5:30 a.m. From downtown Chicago, participants took over eight lanes and 15 miles of this iconic roadway to bike to their hearts’ content north to Bryn Mawr Avenue and south to the Museum of Science and Industry.
After the event, riders gathered in Grant Park to lounge, eat pancakes from Goose Island, listen to music, check out sponsor booths and win give-aways. The band Trash Martini entertained festival-goers with lively tunes.
The event is sponsored by MB Financial Bank, NBC5, SRAM, Schwinn, Fairmont Chicago and WXRT FM.
The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit, member-based advocacy organization that works to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel. The organization builds a movement around active transportation, encourages physical activity, increases safety and builds a world-class transportation network. Formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the Active Transportation Alliance is North America’s largest transportation advocacy organization, supported by more than 7,000 members, 1,000 volunteers and 35 full-time staff. For more information on the Active Transportation Alliance, visit www.activetrans.org or call 312.427.3325.
MB Financial Bank is a locally-operated financial institution that has been delivering competitive personalized service for over 100 years to businesses and individuals who live and work in the Chicago metropolitan area. MB has nearly 90 locations throughout the Chicagoland area. MB Financial has approximately $10 billion in assets. MB Financial Bank is a subsidiary of MB Financial, Inc., a financial services holding company which is traded on the NASDAQ as “MBFI.” Information about MB Financial Bank can be found at http://www.mbfinancial.com.