Following is an announcement of a unique museum/planetarium education
activity which combines astronomy, conservation,  environmental science,
and bicycling. We would appreciate your distributing this as widely as
possible.  Thank you.
Sheldon Schafer, Lakeview Museum   [log in to unmask]

INTERPLANETARY  BICYCLE RIDE
Sponsored by UNITED STATES CELLULAR

The longest and fastest bicycle ride in the Solar System
JULY 20 & 21, 1996
Peoria, Illinois

Partners
Illinois Valley Wheelm'n
Lakeview Museum of Arts & Sciences
Friends of the Rock Island Trail
Peoria Astronomical Society
Peoria Academy of Sciences

Follow the orbits of planetary explorers through the
"Worlds Largest Model of the Solar System"

A RIDE FOR EVERY LEVEL
Depending on your planetary destination, there are options for every
member of your family, for riders of all ages and abilities.  For Example:
Jupiter - Saturn - Jupiter  (Rock Island Trail)         1.4 Billion miles
(10 mi.)
Sun - Jupiter - Sun  (Sunday Morning City Streets)      2.0 Billion miles
(13 mi.)
Jupiter - Uranus - Jupiter (Rock Island Trail)          3.6 Billion miles
(25 mi)
Sun-Mercury-Venus-Earth-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn-Sun 3.9 Billion miles (30mi)
Jupiter - Neptune - Jupiter (Rock Island Trail)         6.4 Billion miles
(45 mi)
Pluto via  the Kuiper Comet Belt (Trail & County Roads) 14 Billion miles
(100mi)

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE REGISTRATION FEE
--Saturday, July 20, 1996 - A "Century" ride to Pluto and back.
--Sunday, July 21, 1996   Tour the inner solar system from the Sun to Saturn
--Bragging Rights - who else can say they've cycled to Pluto
--Reversal of the aging process - since ride speeds will be in excess of
the speed of light (186,000 miles/second), there are relativistic
implications. Some observers predict that riders may return younger than
when they started.
--Beautiful Central Illinois scenery & special rest stop exhibits
--Well marked  routes & high-quality maps
--Outstanding food and drink at each stop and end of ride pasta & garlic
bread
--Support vehicle service & showers
 --Evening Star party. Observe the planets through the telescopes of the
Peoria Astronomical Society.
--Exciting Premium Package
For a registration form  (early 2 day fee $18/rider, $40/family, after
July 12 add $3/rider), Please send a stamped, self addressed envelope to:
Interplanetary Bicycle Ride
Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences
1125 West Lake Avenue
Peoria, Il   61614 - 5985
or E-mail to [log in to unmask]

What is the Community Solar System?
Lakeview Museum's Community Solar System is a unique museum exhibit on
the Solar System spread across 60 miles of Central Illinois.  The exhibit
consists of a model of the sun and nine planets, where size and distance
are represented on the same scale.   Interpretative materials and a
teacher's guide are also available.  Since the space between the planets
is enormous relative to the sizes of the  planets, few models exist in
the world which show the true scale of our solar system, since they would
need to be miles across.  Lakeview Museum's model includes  true three
dimensional models of each of the planets of our solar system.  In
addition to the planets, there are over 90 Unnamed Comets of the Kuiper
Belt  located throughout the World, including Germany, Denmark, Norway,
Russia, Japan, Ecuador, Chile, and Antarctica.

The model is recognized as the world's largest with entries in the 1993,
94, 95 and 1996 editions of The Guinness Book of Records.   For more
information and photographs, see the July, 1993 issue of Sky and
Telescope (page 99-100)  or the
March 1995 issue of Discover Magazine (page 42-45).