Xmas lights ride

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Permalink Reply by Jared on December 9, 2013 at 1:27pm

You may want to check out this book, though its a few years old.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Christmas-Decorations-Chicagoland/dp...

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 9, 2013 at 1:30pm

I'm not aware of an existing ride like this, but it sounds like a great idea. There are certainly neighborhoods in Chicago as well as surrounding suburbs where Christmas decorations are a competitive sport (e.g. Beverly neighborhood; Lincolnwood). The trick will be to plan the ride with enough variety and keep it to a comfortable distance.

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on December 9, 2013 at 1:38pm

Evanston Bike Club used to have a Christmas lights ride that went to Sauganash. That ride has not been held in a few years.  Many of the houses in the neighborhood just south of Pratt @5000 or so west still have amazing displays. However, its not as extensive as it used to be.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 9, 2013 at 1:41pm

I'll second Kevin's suggestion about Beverly and Lincolnwood and Dave's about Sauganash.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on December 9, 2013 at 5:39pm

Northside Mass did this last December: http://massup.us/nscm?d=20121214

I used that exact Mary Edsey book for planning (Jared), but ultimately we were limited to what was achievable distance-wise given our fixed starting point.  It was pretty magical, especially the odd trio that serenaded us at the restaurant.  I'd described it as follows:

For December NSCM we've planned a 15 mile round trip to American Science and Surplus to give everyone a last chance to find amazingly weird and interesting gifts, and taking streets chosen to maximize holiday decorations exposure.  Then ending at Marie's Pizza, which is famed for it's over the top gaudy holiday decorations.

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