Bicycle Rally + Ice Cream Social

The Western Illinois Museum and Monk River Bicycle join together to take history on the road with a Bicycle Rally and Ice Cream Social. Grab your bicycle, or put on your walking shoes for the first rally where clues will guide participants from one site to the next. Teams of three to five people can walk or ride, and try to visit as many designated sites during the hour and a half rally. At each site teams will learn about significant events and the community’s accomplishments.  The tour is full of fun facts from the past and participants might even find themselves singing opera at Chandler’s Opera House lawn – just to get the next clue! Teams are encouraged to come up with a catchy name and even dress up! 

This family-friendly, all age-event will celebrate the team’s accomplishments at the end of the tour with a well-deserved old-fashioned ice cream sundae. The museum’s annual Ice Cream Social was one of the many fundraisers Gil Belles organized for the museum. Gil was an avid cyclist and it made sense that a Bicycle Rally would be the perfect addition to this annual event.  Tickets for the tour and ice cream social are $40 a team (up to five people) or guests can just enjoy the ice cream social and cheer on the teams for $7 a person. Make a reservation online on the museum’s website or at the door on the day of the event.

The event is co-organized with Monk River Bicycle which is located at 819 East Macomb Street in Colchester, Illinois. Owner Will Terrill has developed the route for the rally and will be on-hand with advice and encouragement!

Tours depart from the museum located at 201 South Lafayette Street. Registration begins at 1:00 pm and the rally will be held from 1:30 to 3:00, after which awards will be presented.  Old-fashioned sundaes will be served from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.  For more information or to buy a ticket visit their website at www.wimuseum.org or call 309.837.2750.

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Photograph courtesy of the WIU Archives and Special Collections