Welcome
Greetings y’all,
Hope you have been able to enjoy this fairly mild Autumn. Things have been very nice over here at OOFD. We are in “off-season” mode which means a lot of planning to make next year even better as well as doing the behind the scenes work such as booking bunches of campsites and even setting up our new CRM, Neon One. Lots of exciting upgrades for us as we build out this new fully integrated system which promises to make things on our end and our participants/donors end easier and more streamlined.
Oh yeah. And we are entering the heart of fundraising season! So please read on to find out how you can support OOFD including a fundraiser party on December 14 at Sketchbook Brewery in Skokie! And as always, you’ll find some gratitude sprinkled in as you read about our 3 Star New Guides of the 2025 guide crew:)
5 Year Plan Launch Party and Fundraiser December 14th
Come celebrate and donate to support Out Our Front Door as we launch our new 5 Year Strategic Plan! We're pumped to announce that the core concept of our 2026 - 2030 strategy is Reciprocity.
Join us to learn more about how we intend to give back to our amazing community of riders, volunteers, partners, and -- of course -- our beautiful natural environment. The party starts at 1:00pm on Sunday, December 14th at Sketchbook Brewery in Skokie.
We will have some awesome raffle prizes for folks that sign-up to be a recurring donor. Some of our partner orgs will be present so we can highlight the work they do, and encourage some giving to their organization.
Tickets are free, with a suggested donation of $10. More details and registration available here (on our new events platform in our CRM! Let us know if you run into any issues registering.)
If you can’t come and want to make a donation to support us as we approach the end of the year, you can do so here.
Tickets for Party Here
Upcoming OOFD Events
It feels so weird to see this section so sparse, but at the same time, it is refreshing to be able to take a bit of a breather from so many events and really focus on other aspects of the org. That said, we still have a couple of events upcoming in December.
Decemberg - Winter in the Woods
December 13-14
The last bike camping/cabining trip of the year! This 45 mile ride up to Camp Reinberg in Palatine for a night in heated cabins. This ride is famously fun and has been sold out for weeks.
5 Year Plan Launch Party and Fundraiser at Sketchbook Brewery
Sunday, December 14
See above for more details. 1-330pm. Some of the hearty Decemberg bike campers/cabinners will be swinging through the event too. Optional live music after the party starting at 4pm. Deets and sign-up here.
Volunteer Gratitude - Three Star New Guides: Olin, Allison, Tom
Each year, the OOFD board’s Volunteer Committee chooses 3 Star New Guides to really shower with gratitude. They take info from the guide and participant post-ride surveys, consider anecdotal stories or personal experiences riding with the guides, and then settle on three that they think so well bring the spirit of the OOFD values to our rides and do it in some next level way.
And the 2025 3 Start New Guides are Olin Postlethwait, Alison Hogikyan, and Tom Newsome.
Olin Postlethwait
Olin is everywhere and a fixture in the cycling community. We are fortunate that he has chosen to dedicate some of his time to OOFD. His first time as lead guide was the epic Battle to the Dunes, a huge ride with many moving parts. Olin stepped up to make that ride his own. His spoke cards took participant gifts to the next level. And he simply is ready and happy to step in when needed including on this year’s Flock Off the Block Ride when he stepped in at the last minute as a lead guide. Guide after guide complimented his leadership skills, but more than that, what sets Olin apart is his enthusiasm. If there were a good vibes award, he would win.
Allison Hogikyan
Allison is one of those jack-of-all-trades type guides. Put her on dinner duty, she’s got it covered. Send her to the front with a hot-shot group of fast riders? No problem. Lead guide for the first time on that steaming hot Gratitude Ride? Crushed it. Mechanical problems? Not to worry. She is one of the best mechanics of the whole OOFD crew and does it with such competence and a sincere desire to help. In the words of adult program director, Dave W, Allison is always taking the initiative and being where she needs to be—a reliable fellow guide through and through.
Tom Newsome
Throughout this season, Tom has served as a lead guide, sweep guide, and executive chef. Tom was the (first-ever) OOFD Camp Chef on Valhalla this year and fully embraced the role, planning a cookbook-worthy menu. Unfortunately, he had to miss the ride, BUT he still prepped the food! Among several meals, the collard green melts were exceptional and set a new standard for sandwiches! That's trademark Tom, dedicated to making special and memorable OOFD experiences for all. He always brings such a creative and welcoming spirit to any OOFD event.
Also, we had 8 guides celebrate their 5 year anniversary as a part of the OOFD crew which includes: Sara Thornton, Matt Weiss, Maggie Marek, Sarah Anderson, Jacob Hannan, Rich Lytle, Ashley Lyons, Zach Schroeder, and Hope Williams. We got all of these guides custom engraved Opinel knives.
Events We Did in November
After running 19 different events in August and September, and then the big 80+ person Sun Harvest in October, we finally took a little bit of a breather in November. Here is what we were up in in November.
OOFD Board of Directors Annual Retreat
October 31-November 2
Once a year, the OOFD Board of Directors get together and hole up for a weekend of reflection and planning. This year, we were at a house in Fox Lake, deep diving the data from our 2025 ride season, reviewing our 5 year plan, and making big plans for 2026. It is such an inspiring weekend, and even more so because we were able to welcome two stellar new board members, Shawn Cobbs and Alma Olavarria Gallegos.
Monthly Hang at Exchequer Pub (The Loop)
Tuesday, November 4 from 730-1030pm
It was the last Monthly Hang of the year at one of the best pubs to hangout in all of the loop. We filled that front bar with close to 30 folks. Such a warm, cozy closeout of our Monthly Hangs of 2025.
Volunteer Appreciation Party
Thursday, November 13th
Dang! This party rocked. We had nearly 50 of our volunteers and their plus ones out to Sketchbook Brewery in Skokie. We got everyone’s first beverage and Pita Inn for dinner, and we showered our volunteers with gifts from 2025 guide patches to books to posters. And we even lucked out with Sauna Club being at the brewery that night and karaoke. We definitely can throw a good party, and this one is always one of the best of the year! The warmth and friendship in the room was palpable and goodness, how often do you get that many rad bike adventurers in one room?!
Other Awesome Events Upcoming
Cool bike rides never stop in Chicago, regardless of what month it is. Here are a few great ones coming up, a few of which are this weekend!
Cosmic Bikes’ Cranksgiving Ride
Saturday, November 22
Come out this Saturday and ride with one of Chicago's loveliest bike shops and friend of OOFD, Cosmic Bikes in Jefferson Park, for their 4th annual Cranksgiving. It's a great ride for a great cause. It's a bike ride-slash-food drive on Saturday. Nov. 22. Starts at Cosmic bikes and ends with closing ceremonies at Lake Effect Brewing. Deets and sign-up here.
Cycling Solidarity - Street Vendor Ride
Saturday, November 22
Organized in partnership between CyclingxSolidarity & the Street Vendors Association of Chicago, this ride will start at Daley Plaza with secondary start point at Plaza Tenochtitlan at 18th St/Blue Island in Pilsen. They will ride out at 10am from Buckingham at a chill pace to support various street vendors during these challenging times. This is the grand finale of the Street Vendor Bike Tour Series where they will visit the beautiful Little Village community. Each vendor will provide a brief introduction to help build community in their vibrant neighborhood. Afterwards, you're encouraged to stay in the neighborhood to explore the shops and other attractions. Deets and sign-up here.
Cycling Solidarity - Burrito Brigade
Sunday, November 23
Once a month, on a Sunday, over 500 burritos are made by volunteers at a church on the southside and delivered all over the city. Over 250 of those burritos are delivered to the bike team in Pilsen. Deets and sign-up here.
Critical Mass
Friday, November 28
Meet at Daley Plaza and ride bikes with a bunch of awesome, “happy Friday” kinda folks. Leaves around 6pm. Deets here.
Thank you as always for reading these newsletters. As an organization, we are always so full of gratitude for you all, our volunteers, our participants, our supporters, and of course, nature. And it's the time of giving thanks, so just know, we thank you. For everything. Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving holiday and see you out at the 5 Year Plan Launch Party and Fundraiser on Sunday, December 14 at Sketchbook Brewery in Skokie.
And to close, a simple and powerful quote from Adonia E. Lugo in their book Bicycle/Race - Transportation, Culture, and Resistance.
“Riding a bike has given me more of a sense of physical power than I’d ever had; and not just physical, I felt like I could change the world.”
Much love,
Glenn and the whole OOFD crew
