Vuelta a Tacos--a tour of Chicagoland's best tacos- I'd like to join you by bike!
Mark

You're more than welcome to join on on our odyssey!

Well, I am officially tentatively RSVP'ing for this. It's still a bit far in advance for me to know for certain, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, I would love to join you for
(at least part) of this tour!

I'll keep an eye on this one, but its too early to commit for me, too. I'm doing at least the metric century the next day, so we'll see... Are tacos the food of champions?

Jenn_in_RoPa wrote:I'll keep an eye on this one, but its too early to commit for me, too. I'm doing at least the metric century the next day, so we'll see... Are tacos the food of champions?

It looks like we could have a small LTH gathering at the century! I've put you down as tentative, Jenn.

For everyone: I think we may eventually have to run a waiting list for the Vuelta. We need to cap the number of riders at 15 for safety, and we're up to 13 as of today. It's still a long ways away, so I imagine folks' plans will change. Please post or PM me if you know with greater or less certainty that you'll be able to join us so I can keep the participant list (upthread) up to date. Of course, we invite any number of people to join us by public transport or car.

Hi all,

Dimitra and I met today to decide the stops for the 2008 Vuelta a Tacos. It was tough to narrow down all of the excellent suggestions, but the day we've planned should give us a good taste of the city's tacos and neighborhoods. We're proposing six stops, covering less than 20 miles. Both the first and last stops are near public transportation, but of course feel free to ride down and/or home if you'd like to add extra miles.

We'll be test riding the route in late August and will post the final directions and safety guidlines shortly thereafter. It looks like we'll be having a big group, so two things to keep in mind: 1) make sure you have some experience with urban riding and 2) though we ride at a leisurely pace, you should be able to ride at a speed of about 10-12 miles per hour. Otherwise, we won't be able to keep to the schedule.

You'll see that it's quite a full day. While it's LTH blasphemy, we are suggesting that you pace yourselves on the bike and at each stop, sharing a taco between 2-3 people. We learned on the Giro del gelato that there is such a thing as too much gelato; we imagine there must be such a thing as too many tacos (especially if you're riding the North Shore Century the following day).

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
11:00-11:30 Meet at La Pasadita
11:30-12:00 Commute to El Gallo Tono
12:00-12:30 @ El Gallo Tono
12:30-12:45 Commute to La Oaxaquena
12:45-1:45 @ La Oaxaquena
1:45-2:15 Commute to Cemitas Pueblas
2:15-2:45 @ Cemitas Pueblas
2:45-3:15 Commute to La Quebrada
3:15-3:45 @ La Quebrada
3:45-4:30 Commute to Nuevo Leon
4:30-5:00 Get beers
5:00-6:30 Dinner @ Nuevo Leon
TOTAL: 6 stops, <20 miles

La Pasadita
1141 N Ashland Ave
Chicago IL 60622
773-278-2130

El Gallo Tono
2925 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago IL 60618
773-539-5364

La Oaxaquena
3382 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago IL 60641
773-545-8585

Cemitas Puebla
3619 W North Ave
Chicago IL 60647
773-772-8435

La Quebrada
4859 W Roosevelt Rd
Cicero IL 60804
708-780-8110

Nuevo Leon
1515 W 18th St
Chicago IL 60608
312-421-1517
312-563-0828

Unfortunately I'm going to have to miss this event. I'm heading back to Virginia for a wedding and won't be able to attend. I will, however, be bringing back some real Virginia Country Hams, so be on the lookout for a guy with a duffel full of pork at O'hare (if I'm paying the new checked bag fee, you better bet it'll be for a lot of ham).

-Dan

I'm sorry to say that I will not be able to join you either. Something just came up for that day. Another time though.

Hi all,

I'm sorry to the folks who've had to bow out. We'll miss you and be thinking about you!

I've been very remiss in my route-posting duties. I'm entering the two busiest and craziest and most dizzying and stressful two work weeks of the year, so I promise to post the final route as soon as I have a few minutes to clear my head. However, the Vuelta is less than two weeks away! We're keeping all of the stops and itinerary as posted above. Dimitra and I test rode a few weeks ago, and I think it's going to be a super duper fantastic day! So much taco goodness...

Below is the updated participant list. If your plans have changed, please me know so that I can update the list accordingly.

By bike
Hellodali (bike)
happy_stomach (bike)
nr706 (bike)
JermAngela + 1 (bike)
germuska (bike)
mark5 (bike)
JimTheBeerGuy (bike)

TOTAL on bike: 8
(We'll cap at 15 on bike for safety; no limit to # of folks by car or el.)

By car/motorbike
Pie Lady (car/el)?
Saint Pizza + great kids (car, Nuevo Leon only)
Santander & Katie (car, Puebla / Quebrada / Leon)
Octarine (motorcycle, Nuevo Leon)?

Tentatives
DaveG (bike)
Schuyler (bike)

A side note for any LTHers thinking of doing the North Shore Century the day after the Vuelta:
I am definitely doing at least the metric century and plan to start at 6:30-6:30am that Sunday. If anyone wants to meet at Dawes Park and ride together, let me know. I'll likely be riding as slow as molasses because of my belly full of tacos, but I'll bring good cheer! You should be warned, however. This summer I've done a lot of riding combined with GNR-eating. This past weekend, I did the Chicago Bicycle Federation's metric century Boulevard Lakefront Tour. It's very, very disappointing to get to a pit stop and find bananas, apples and Clif bars when you've grown accustomed to getting off your bike for the city's best gelato or tacos al pastor! My tired (post-LTH picnic) self at mile 50 or so yesterday started, seriously, to think, "Why even ride if you can't stop at GNRs???" In other words, be prepared--I think the North Shore Century will be fun, just not as fun as the Vuelta.

Count me as a definite, rather than tentative, on a bicycle. Also I believe that my family will be joining us via automobile for dinner at Nuevo Leon (but probably skipping the other stops).

I am still planning on doing the metric century the next day also, though I'll need to get in a few longer rides before then as a warmup. The 20 miles a day I'm doing right now is just not the same.

I'd love to join up with this ride and possibly share news of it with readers of Time Out Chicago (where I am the Sports & Rec editor). Please keep me posted, and pass along any details (even if it's just the starting point) as soon as you can.

thanks
tim

As of now I'm out due to work constraints but I am trying to get someone to cover for me so I can attend.

Sorry for not ringing in sooner - I'm gonna have to pass, and take a day off before the century...I'll keep my eye out for more biking events this/next year, though!

Jenn - will you be at the North Shore Century? Want to meet up with a few of us, at least for the start?

Octarine wrote:As of now I'm out due to work constraints but I am trying to get someone to cover for me so I can attend.

Mike, I remember you telling me about work at the picnic, so I took you off the list. However, I would be elated to put you back on if you can join us. Let me know if you manage to get someone to cover for you at work.

Jenn_in_RoPa wrote:Sorry for not ringing in sooner - I'm gonna have to pass, and take a day off before the century...I'll keep my eye out for more biking events this/next year, though!

Jenn--it's too bad that you'll miss the Vuelta, but it's very judicious of you to take a day off before the century. Maybe one day I will be that wise . Do say hi if you'll be at Dawes Park on Sunday morning. Dimitra and I will definitely be putting together more Giro-Tour-Vuelta fun, so I hope you'll join us in future calorie-positive biking adventures.

I may have to back out of this one. Pie Dude for sure isn't coming. I might be able to come to a few, (and I'll sure try!) probably the earliest ones, but I'm not 100% positive. But since I'd be driving, this shouldn't hinder anybody. Hope to see you at some point...

Viva los tacos...!

Hi all:

With the Vuelta a Tacos only three days away, we are posting the final route and directions and some extra notes for our fellow riders. We're looking forward to a beautiful Saturday of riding the city's neighborhoods and tasting some of its best tacos. If you are still on the tentative list, please let us know if you'll be joining us so we can get a final count. Thanks and see you Saturday at 11:00 at La Pasadita!


VUELTA A TACOS - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20TH

11:00-11:30 Meet at La Pasadita - GNR, carne asada

11:30 – 12:00 Commute to El Gallo Tono
North on Milwaukee
Right on California (at Fullerton)
Left on Irving Park (~4 miles)

12:00 – 12:45 at El Gallo Tono

12:45 – 1:00 Commute to La Oaxacena
West on Irving Park Rd.
Left on Pulaski (be very cautious at this very congested intersection)
Right on Milwaukee (2.25 miles, ~15 min)

1:00 – 2:00 at La Oaxacana

2:00 – 2:30 Commute to Cemitas Pueblas
South on Milwaukee
Right on North Central Park Ave.
Right on North Ave. (2.5 miles, ~15 min)

2:30 – 3:15 at Cemitas Pueblas

3:15 – 3:45 Commute to La Quebrada
West on North Ave.
Left on Cicero
Right on Roosevelt (4.6 miles, ~30 min)

3:45 – 4:30 at La Quebrada

4:30 - 5:00 Commute to Nuevo Leon
East on Roosevelt
Right on Damen
Left on 18th St. (4.89 miles ~30 minutes)

5:00 - 5:15 Get beer

5:15 - 6:30 Dinner at Nuevo Leon


La Pasadita
1141 N Ashland Ave
Chicago IL 60622
773-278-2130

El Gallo Tono
2925 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago IL 60618
773-539-5364

La Oaxaquena
3382 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago IL 60641
773-545-8585

Cemitas Puebla
3619 W North Ave
Chicago IL 60647
773-772-8435

La Quebrada
4859 W Roosevelt Rd
Cicero IL 60804
708-780-8110

Nuevo Leon
1515 W 18th St
Chicago IL 60608
312-421-1517
312-563-0828


A few notes:

If you have a cable lock, do bring it as with some of our stops, there are limited places for locking up the bikes and it might be easier to lock a few bikes together with cable locks.

We’ll be traveling primarily on busy main streets, so be prepared for traffic and congestion and be extra careful.

If you haven’t done so already, please familiarize yourself with:

THE SAFETY GEEK’S GUIDE TO RIDING IN GROUPS
Stay alert – Much as you would like to be mentally savoring that last taco or thinking ahead to the next you will try, pay attention to everything going on around you and try not to let your mind wander.

Be predictable - Other riders will expect you to continue straight ahead at a constant speed unless you let them know otherwise. Avoid sudden turns, stops, or erratic moves.

Use hand signals - Use hand and verbal signals to communicate with riders and other traffic: Left turn - left arm straight out to the side; Right turn, left arm out and bent at the elbow pointing up; stopping or slowing: left arm pointing down with your palm to the rear, or call out “slowing” or “stopping.”

Only pass other riders or cars on the left – When passing another cyclist or pedestrian, call out "on your left" to warn them that you are passing.

Announce hazards – Riders behind you may not have a good view of the road ahead, so point out and loudly announce potholes, glass, gravel, grates, and other hazards. Also, if a parked car looks like it’s about to make a move (turn signal on to merge into traffic, driver looking like they might be about to open the door, point them out to riders behind you.

Be super careful at intersections - When approaching intersections requiring vehicles to yield or stop, call out "slowing" or "stopping" to alert those behind you. When passing through an intersection, look to your left and right and loudly warn the cyclists behind you if there is a car near the intersection by yelling “car left” or “car right”. If there is no car visible, you may yell “clear.” However, everyone is responsible for making sure they are clear to go through the intersection. Even if someone ahead of you yells “clear”, that doesn’t mean you should just breeze through. You should still slow down and look both ways before crossing the intersection.

Move off the road when you stop - Whether you are stopping because of mechanical problems or to regroup with your companions, move well off the road so you don't interfere with traffic. When you start up again, each cyclist should look for, and yield to, traffic.

Ride single file – Most of the streets we will be riding will have pretty consistent traffic so you want to stay single file and not weave back and forth between riding single or double. The only exception to this is when we are merging as a group into the left hand lane in order to make a left hand turn. We can then bunch up a bit to “take the lane.”

And lastly, don’t forget your helmet!

We're still planning on making some stages by car - at this point, it looks like the Puebla / Quebrada / Leon phase. I'll update if the plan changes. Viva la Vuelta!

Hi ! I didn't realize there was a cap and heard about this event.

May I RSVP for 3 bike riders? I know at least 2 more that want to come but if there is a cap, I'll keep to my closest bike buds.

Please & Thank You.

Michele - It looks like we have room for 3 so count youself in. Sharon will update the list shortly.

I get off work at 4 on Saturday. Depending on how the day went, I shall try to meet you for dinner at Nuevo Leon.

Hi all,

I've updated the participant list above. Please note that, after some last-minute cancellations, we can take seven more people at this point. Post here if you'll join us. I will be PMing all of the confirmed folks in a minute with our cell phone numbers in case you need to reach us between now and 11:00 at La Pasadita. I very much look forward to spending my Saturday biking and eating tacos with you. The forecast looks lovely--sunny and low 80s.

Cheers,
Sharon

P.S.
I'll have photocopies of the route directions to share with everyone tomorrow.

I'm beyond psyched for this, see you all tomorrow!

I've got a busy morning, but will do everything in my power to try and meet you at El Gallo Toño. If the rules of the Vuelta permit it, I'd recomment sharing a huarache or two rather than or in addition to tacos. The huarache, imo, is where the restaurant shines.

Not being part of the tour myself, I'll be having the really good pozole. Riders are more than welcome to share.

I'm still in and I'm +2 now! See you tomorrow!

Sharon and Dimitra, I'm knocked out by your clear-headed organization of this event.

Happy trails to you all.

Thanks Dave! It's actually easy and great fun. What more fun thing to organize than people eating great food and biking

Let me be the first to post early results of this outstanding event, at which I ate 5 times as much as the other participants, and exercised 1,000 times less.

Here they are at El Gallo Toño:


Huarache con chicharrones - my personal favorite:


Huaraches con hongos, also darn good. Just-made, chunky, deliciously limey guacamole on top left:


Though the language barrier made small things like water glasses and silverware hard to come by, smiles from the staff and the upbeat music playing on the juke box made up for it.

Thanks to all the riders for making a stop in my hood, and good luck the rest of the day!

I saw the riders at the intersection of North and Central Park! I honked and yelled, "go tacos!"

grace

The riders made great time all day (I could barely catch up by car, finally making it to the last stop at Nuevo Leon), and were in good shape and spirits at 5 PM after a day of downing tacos. I was especially delighted Saint Pizza and the kids made it out to give all of us some perspective on the pure joy of eating when actually hungry.

Like the Cubs today, NL hit the spot, especially when accompanied by Jim and Tom's beverage selections (Lindeman's Framboise Lambic, the new Half Acre ale, Three Philosphers). The amuse was a soft corn tortilla over some mild stewed pork in green salsa, perhaps fished out of the weekend's pozole batch, and I gather all of the individual orders (ranging from tacos to spiced pork and even a burrito) were satisfying.

A dual brava for another wonderful tour in a series that has been a true highlight of LTH 2008.