Celebrate winter biking in Chicago on Jan. 18, and get ready for the biking event of the summer

Ethan Spotts
Active Transportation Alliance
312.427.3325 x 287 (o)
312-919-1423 (c)
ethan@activetrans.org

Celebrate winter biking in Chicago on Jan. 18, and get ready for the biking event of the summer
Get a free cup of coffee and meet others who turn their pedals all year long

Celebrate Winter Bike to Work Day at Daley Plaza in Chicago’s Loop on Jan. 18 for the annual celebration of cyclists who don’t let low temperatures stop them from pedaling to work. Warm up with free Caribou coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, as well as free slices of Eli’s Cheesecake from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Daley Plaza, located at Washington and Dearborn Streets.

Get a jump on your summer when online registration opens at 9 a.m. the same day for this year’s MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive to be held on Sunday, May 26, 2013. Save $8 registering online through Friday, Feb 1. Get an additional $2 off and a free CamelBak™ water bottle when you stop by an MB Banking Center for an online promotion code.

Winter Bike to Work Day has long been celebrated alongside city hall and the Picasso sculpture. This year the location offers a special attraction—the newly-unveiled Dearborn Street protected bike lane runs on the east side of the plaza. If you have not yet biked on the Loop’s first protected bike lane (which includes the first bike-specific traffic lights in the region), Winter Bike to Work Day provides the perfect opportunity to try it out!

Rally attendees will receive free fleece balaclavas, courtesy of The Chainlink and Bike Winter. There will be raffles for several great prizes, including a case of Clif Bars and a free MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive registration.

Winter Bike to Work Day, organized by the Active Transportation Alliance, commemorates the coldest day in Chicago history—Jan. 20, 1985—when the official temperature at O’Hare International Airport was 27 degrees below zero.

MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive allows cyclists to enjoy the city skyline and stellar views of Lake Michigan on the only day of the year when Lake Shore Drive is open to cyclists and closed to car traffic.

New this year, you can ride for a cause and support the local and global efforts of Active Trans and World Bicycle Relief. Participants can get involved by creating a personal fundraising page or joining an existing team.

The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit, member-based advocacy organization that works to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel. The organization builds a movement around active transportation, encourages physical activity, increases safety and builds a world-class transportation network. The Active Transportation Alliance is North America’s largest transportation advocacy organization, supported by more than 7,000 members, 1,000 volunteers and 40 full-time staff. For more information on the Active Transportation Alliance, visit www.activetrans.org or call 312.427.3325.

MB Financial Bank is a locally-operated financial institution that has been delivering competitive personalized service for over 100 years to businesses and individuals who live and work in the Chicago metropolitan area. MB has approximately 90 locations throughout the Chicagoland area.

MB Financial Bank’s holding company, MB Financial, Inc., a financial services holding company which is traded on the NASDAQ as MBFI. MB Financial, based in Chicago, has approximately $9.5 billion in assets. Information about MB Financial can be found at www.mbfinancial.com.

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