By Gina Kenny, Outreach Director

Since I began working part-time for LIB at the end of 2006, I have been almost invariably asked one question at events: Have you ever done GITAP? My answer had always been “no,” in large part due to the fact that 2006 was also the year that my son was born.

With my son about to turn nine this summer and his year-long obsession with camping, this year was the year to finally be able to say “yes” when asked if I was doing GITAP.

GITAP, as many of you know, is our annual Grand Illinois Trail and Parks bicycle tour. This year’s GITAP started and ended in Kewanee, with routes of 55-60 miles most of the days. We had around 295 miles, opting to stay off the bikes on the layover day in Canton.

With 200 people, there were obviously many who had done GITAP for several years and others, like myself that were newbies.

A group of three teens from Park Ridge were also participating in GITAP for the first time. Matt Weiss, Andrew Lazare and Ian Sheffert decided to ride their bikes throughout central Illinois for six days to celebrate their graduation from Maine South High School. “It was a fun thing to do after graduation because it is more on our own.  Obviously, our parents are not here,” Weiss said during the tour.

On the other end of the spectrum were those that have done GITAP more than five years – or more than 10 years! Several riders received awards from GITAP organizer Chuck Oestreich during the event.

While many of our riders come from our state, GITAP draws riders from across the country. This year, Texas residents Donna and Don Metivier chose GITAP to complete their goal of riding in all 50 states.

This year’s tour went from Kewanee to Hampton, Galesburg, Canton and Chillicothe before returning to Kewanee. We camped in a variety of settings from Illinwek Forest Preserve to city parks and Carl Sandburg College, in Galesburg. We ate lunch in cafes as well as occasionally outside convenience stores. We took breaks at playgrounds and bought items in antique and collectible stores.

Did we have an idea of what exactly we were getting ourselves into? Nope. We learned that riding with a tagalong is probably not the best choice – even when you are switching off pulling duties with someone — but that the experience was one that neither I nor my son will forget.

Planning for the 2016 GITAP is already underway. My son and I plan to be there. Will you? Send us an email at [email protected] with the subject GITAP Mailing List, and we will be sure to notify you when our 2016 tour details and registration are available.

(For the full set of photos, view our GITAP 2015 album on our Facebook page.)