Friends of the Parks

	Find us on your favorite sites: Add bookmark to:
LATE Breaking News There is no rain date for The L.A.T.E. Ride. Therefore, check the latest weather report before heading to Buckingham Fountain, and bring rain gear if it looks necessary. In the case of light rain or fog, the event will go on as scheduled. In the event of heavy rain or lightning after the ride has begun, participants should find the nearest shelter until conditions improve. Normally, bad weather will pass quickly. In its 23-year history, The L.A.T.E. Ride has never been rained out! If possible, notice of imminent bad weather will be given via on-site announcements and support vans and course marshals along the route. However, riders should also pay attention to the weather and seek shelter if necessary. Stewart's Coffee Online Coupon Enjoy delicious Stewart's Coffee at The L.A.T.E. Ride... and enjoy it at home, too, with this coupon. Stewart's coffee truck will be onsite before the Ride and during breakfast at Buckingham Fountain. Stop by their coffee truck for some delicious brew! Wondering why the 2012 Ride is earlier? For 2012, the City of Chicago determined that the Taste of Chicago is shorter and later than ever before. "The Taste" will run from Wednesday, July 11 through Sunday, July 15. Set-up for The Taste will run from July 5-10, and tear-down will take place July 16-21. That means The L.A.T.E. Ride had to be moved one week earlier. So start off your 4th of July celebrations by staying up all night with us on Saturday night/Sunday morning July 1. The L.A.T.E. Ride is a great way to begin a fun-filled week of red, white and blue! Ride as a Team! Riding with a "team" is an awesome way to experience The L.A.T.E. Ride! Our program is flexible so you can make your team whatever you want it to be. Teams can be made up of friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers (it's a great "team building" experience for employees), or a combination of all. Host a bridal shower as a "team" and celebrate the bride-to-be by staying up ALL night together. Celebrate someone's birthday, anniversary or graduation. Ride with your social or business club. Invite your Facebook high school or college friends to reunite. You can all decorate your helmets, light up your bikes, tie balloons to your handlebars : come up with a fun theme! Teams can be any size... except that size does matter when it comes to perks. See below. Recruit 10-14 team members : Team captain gets a free L.A.T.E. Ride training shirt. Plus, team members get access to a fun Team Meet-Up tent before the ride. Recruit 15-24 team members : Team captain gets a free L.A.T.E. Ride training shirt. Plus, team members get access to a fun Team Meet-Up tent before the ride, and a team picture featured on The L.A.T.E. Ride website! Recruit 25 or more team members : Team captain gets a free L.A.T.E. Ride training shirt. Plus, team members get access to a fun Team Meet-Up tent before the ride, and a team picture featured on The L.A.T.E. Ride website! Plus, the entire team gets a guaranteed spot in the first (Blue) wave of cyclists. Note: The L.A.T.E. Ride reserves the right to ADD more fun team "perks" as the ride gets closer! Start Your L.A.T.E. Ride Team-Building Today! Create your own team. Register yourself and be sure to join the team you just created! Share your team name with your friends. They will be able to find your team from a drop-down menu on the registration page. See who has registered for your team by going to signmeup.com, logging in, and clicking My Groups. You will be required to create a signmeup.com log-in to complete this form. Events Galore! Check out the great events going on this spring and summer in Chicago, the suburbs and beyond! Enjoy bicycling, running, walking and more to benefit great causes! The L.A.T.E. Ride T-shirts in Exotic Places Going on vacation soon? Traveling for business? If so, pack your L.A.T.E. Ride t-shirt and make sure to snap a picture of yourself in that exotic place! For many years, we featured photos of L.A.T.E. Ride participants wearing their ride t-shirts during hikes in National Parks, during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, at the Great Wall of China, along Highway 1 in California, at an Irish Pub (in Ireland, that is!) and many other locales. We want to display those fun photos again. Send your photos to lateride@hotmail.com. Identify the people in your picture(s) and your location and we’ll post the photos on www.lateride.org soon. Thanks!