Did you make New Year's resolutions to not procrastinate and to get healthy by riding your bike? Then you should have taken some time on New Year's Day to register for this year's Ride Around Washington.
The 10th annual bike tour might be the first of nearly 100 such week-long supported bicycle tours in the US to already reach its rider limit.
If you want to participate in one of these across-state bicycle tours this year, I'd recommend visiting the 2008 Across State Bicycle Tour index this weekend, following the links for your favorite choices, and making reservations.
RAW deal
This year's Ride Around Washington (RAW) is scheduled for Aug. 3-9 and has the intriguing title “Tour of the Volcanoes.” The week-long tour meanders around the southern Cascades within sight of Mt. Rainier and Mount St. Helens.
Earlier this week, Cascade Bicycle Club event director Peter Verbrugge sent out an email warning that RAW was filling up fast. In fact, of 200 spots, only 48 remained.
“We did not expect such quick sales and do apologize for the short notice of the impending sell-out.”
That was Wednesday. When I check the RAW webpage Friday morning, it reported in red letters — “RAW 2008 is SOLD OUT!”
I've ridden in three of these rides in the past, and I don't recall signing up until late spring or summer. There were always spots available during the Seattle Bike Expo in March.
Other tours
If there's similar interest in such bike rides elsewhere this year, it might be a good idea to find a bike tour you'd like to take and at least check the details and deadlines for registration.
The most popular bike tours have beginning and ending registration dates. Some, like RAGBRAI, use a lottery to choose riders. Others, such as the Tour of Wyoming, are first-come, first-served. (The Wyoming tour typically fills up within 2 hours of registration kick off).
I've listed 80-some across-state bicycle tours, with brief descriptions and links. Use the alphabetical index at the 2008 Across State Bicycle index.
Northwest bike tours
You also might want to check my list of Pacific Northwest bicycle tour outfits if you're thinking of week-long, or shorter, rides in Washington, Idaho or Oregon. There are links for Adventure Cycling Association, IBike, Silver Bike Tours, TerraTrek, Timberline Adventures and Wild Heart Cycling, among others.
If you have your heart set on a bike tour in Washington, there are still spaces available for RedSpoke (Redmond to Spokane) or Washington Bicycle Ride.
Also, the National Bicycle Tour Director's Association lists bike tours operated by members.
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