IPM News’ Arjun Thakkar hopped on his bike to ride 22 miles with cyclists — and see how the experience helps them get in touch with the countryside.
When the full moon comes out — and the weather is nice — a group of cyclists in Champaign-Urbana get excited. They gather at sunset for a bike ride through the prairie, with a break for ice cream at the Sidney Dairy Barn.
The Moonlight Ride leaves from Meadowbrook Park during warmer months on nights with a full moon. The next ride is set for this Saturday, Oct. 4 at sundown.
The journey attracts avid cyclists like Gene Grass, a former president of the Prairie Cycle Club. He said he has been biking since he was about five — and considers it part of his DNA now.
“I enjoy getting up early, going out and being in the country, doing a north-south route, seeing the sun come up among the corn tassels and seeing the light flickering, seeing the shine off of the soybean fields,” he said. “Hearing the birds, seeing the blackbirds, sometimes seeing goats and llamas out there in the people’s farms … and get into a nice little zen meditative space.”
Grass is among the pioneers of the moonlight ride. Since 2012, he and other cyclists have been organizing community rides out to Sidney and back, trying to keep the 22-mile journey recreational and accessible.
The long distance does not prevent riders of all kinds of skill levels from coming together.
“We have 8-year-olds, we have 80-year-olds, we have people bringing their small babies a couple of years old in trailers,” Grass said. “It’s a family event is what this is.”
The group includes cyclists who are pedaling for speed as well as others who chat along the way. Grass said someone always stays at the very back to assist people who may have mechanical issues with their bikes.
He said the ride is also a great way to get in touch with nature.
“Sometimes during the summer when the moon is high and the moon is bright on a clear night, we will sometimes turn off our headlights and — you know, if we see a car coming because we’re on the county roads there’s rarely anybody — and see your shadow on the ground. Your eyes adjust, you see everything out there. It’s beautiful.”
As I speak with Grass, a few dozen riders start to gather and mingle. I caught up with Eli Harris, a freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Biking is the main way he gets around campus, and he and his friends have now started exploring other parts of town.
“I just want to see how far I can go, you know?” he said. “I’ve never really done this before. The other day, we went on a bike ride. It was probably like 10 to 15 miles and it was it was fun, so [I will] see if I can keep up, I guess.”
Emily Wood is taking her first time on the ride too. The last time she was biking regularly was about a decade ago in college, when she broke her arm after someone driving a car hit her.
“I’ve been a little bit nervous to get back on and ride through town, but it’s been really nice in Urbana because there are so many, like, designated places to ride, and so it feels pretty safe for the most part,” she said.
‘There’s something to it’
Just a moment later, after a few safety announcements, the group starts pedaling down Race Street.
We pass by U of I cattle farms, and some riders try and hold their breath until they are further away from the smell of manure. Before we know it, our path becomes flanked by cornfields on one side and soybean crops on the other.
Even though everyone is clearly pedaling hard, the journey feels oddly peaceful. There are barely any car drivers passing by us, and when they do, they are pretty courteous and give us plenty of space.
The main sounds we hear throughout the ride are chirping crickets chirping and loose gravel crunching under our tires.
I bike from group to group, stopping to chat with a number of different riders. Some tell me how much they love the moonlight ride, while others explain how they would like to see more designated and protected bike lanes for their day-to-day rides.
The moon lifts up above the horizon as riders head east on county roads.
The moon comes into sight and lifts up above the horizon as we pedal. It feels as though only a few minutes have passed when we reach the Dairy Barn.
Riynard Wilson and his friend have already got their order in: a caramel crunch sundae. He tells me he used to ride around Chicago and usually goes biking by himself, but he has enjoyed cycling with a group.
“[You meet] some people from all different walks of life and we have one passion, that’s bicycling,” he said. “I just like how it brings together the community. So, I really love it and just now, exercise-friendly and, you know, want to be thinking health is wealth … and think about being here for the future for my family and my son.”
While I’m waiting in line, I also chat with Yerlik Zharylgapov, a landscape architecture grad student from Kazakhstan who thinks there was a lot to admire about the journey.
“Maybe it’s because I’m not from the states, and to me, everything looks cinematic, but this moment of riding along the trail, there’s something to it,” he says. “I think everyone should try it … when you bike, you connect with nature, but when you drive, it’s like you’re separated from it. But it’s something, it was so cool.”
The ride also turns out to be educational for some.
I bump back into Eli Harris, who says he has learned a lesson about the importance of bike lights.
“I didn’t realize there [were], like, things you had to do to make your bike legal. I don’t have a blinker or a helmet. I’m not actually sure if those are, like, real rules or not or [if] they do it for safety,” he says.
I explain to him that the Illinois Secretary of State’s Rules of the Road requires cyclists to have front lights on after dark, and either a reflector or rear lights as well. Cyclists are also encouraged to wear a helmet.
“We might need to look into that,” he tells me, laughing. “On campus, like, there’s bike paths so it’s, like, fine. So I might need to invest in something like that, so I don’t get arrested.”
Riding back home in the moonlight
By the time I get a small cup of ice cream for myself, much of the group is getting ready to head back. I wolf down my order and hop back on my bike.
The sky has darkened by now, so we turn on our lights and, with caution, start pedaling. On the ride to Sidney, the sun was setting behind us. Now, the moon is shining on our backs.
Jeff Yockey with Champaign County Bikes points something out to us.
“Hey Trevor? That’s where we’re going,” he says, pointing northwest to Champaign-Urbana lays in the distance.
“Where the bright lights are?” another rider asks.
“Where the bright lights are,” Yockey replies.
We continue pedaling in the dark, taking breaks to wait for each other and to confirm the best routes home.
And sure enough, when there are no vehicles nearby, we turn our lights off for a moment to see our shadows in the thick moonlight.
