L.A.T.E. Ride: Light Up the Night

There are cycling events. Then there's Chicago's iconic L.A.T.E. Ride. Celebrating its 26th year in 2014, this non-competitive nocturnal bike ride will take place over the longest days of the year: Summer Solstice weekend. 

"Light Up the Night with Friends of the Parks"! Participants are encouraged to have fun with nightglow garb and 'light-up' trimmings. Awards with be given for the most creatively decorated bike and bike helmet at the pre-ride party that starts at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 21. 

A wildly popular annual event, The L.A.T.E Ride is presented by Friends of the Parks (FOTP), an acclaimed non-profit park advocacy organization founded in 1975 and dedicated to preserving, protecting and improving Chicago area parks and forest preserves. 

Participation in The LATE Ride helps Friends of the Parks make parks cleaner, safer and helps provide park programs for all Chicagoans to enjoy. The 2014 L.A.T.E. Ride will fund FOTP's Chicago Plays Program, an initiative that will build more than 100 new playgrounds for children in Chicago's neighborhoods. 

In addition to the Chicago Plays Program, Friends of the Parks recruits over 5,000 volunteers annually who help on Earth Day and other events to clean, plant and improve Chicago's parks and preserves; teaches environmental education to 800 elementary and 125 high school students; awards $10,000 in seed grants to park advisory councils; and hosts free lectures, tours, seminars and conferences for citizens and park advocates in Chicago.