Weekend bike ride begins after midnight

Hey bikers, looking for some action after midnight?

Wait, you think I mean what? Oh, get your mind out of the gutter, as my old granny used to say.

No, I’m suggesting you pedal on over to take part in the WHAM Ride that kicks off at midnight Saturday (actually 12 a.m. Aug. 9, but you know what I mean).

This is the third annual Whiting, Hammond, Highland and Munster Midnight Bike Ride. (What, you say it should be WHHAM? Don’t quibble with the name!)

You’ll take a spin through bike paths (many of which are fairly new to the region) and city streets of the Northwest Indiana towns that are a lot closer to Chicago than you think.

The ride begins and ends at Wolf Lake Pavilion, which pretty much is tucked between two Chicago neighborhoods — the (real) East Side and Hegewisch.

If you are a fan of Chicago’s Lakefront Path, you’ll enjoy making your way along Wolf Lake and George Lake during the ride.

You’ll wind through the historic parts of downtown Whiting and Hammond (think “A Christmas Story”) as well as through picturesque neighborhoods and the region’s lovely parks. After a break at Cabela’s (where you can have GoodSpeed Cycles check out your bike before resuming the ride), participants will go through that NW Indiana treasure Wicker Park and the streets of Munster.

The organizers remind that this is NOT a race. Everyone goes at their own pace. (The ride will take between two and four hours.) With that in mind, the ride has its main 30-mile ride and for those who don’t care to ride that long there is a 10-mile route.

Advance registration is recommended, which you can do here. If you don’t get it done ahead of time, there will be day-of signup from 9 p.m. until 11:30 at the Pavilion, where all riders need to check in before 11:30. Oh, and you can ride in teams for a discount.

PHOTO COURTESY WHAM Ride