Although summer seems like a long way off, across-state bike tour organizers are updating their routes for next year's events.
In the past week, Cascades Bicycle Club's Ride Around Washington (RAW) and the Argus-Leader's Tour de Kota announced their 2011 mass-participation bike rides. Each one is in excess of 400 miles.
Dozens of these week-long bike tours are already updated for next year. Check out Across-State-Bicycle Tours for the latest.
RAW
The Cascade Bicycle Club's Ride Around Washington (RAW) bike tour returns to the Cranberries to Apples themed route from 2001. The 448-mile bike tour (using the longest options), rolls out from Aug. 20 – 26, 2011, from the Pacific Coast to the eastern flank of the Cascades.
The bike tour starts in Raymond, on the estuary formed by the Willapa River and the Pacific Ocean south of Olympia. The first two days of about 75 miles each takes the cyclists over relatively flat valleys to Chehalis, then to Packwood.
Day 3 is an 89-mile ride from Packwood to Yakima over White Pass that takes cyclists from lush Western Washington and over the Cascades to the arid landscape around Yakima. Day 4 is a “rest” day in Yakima, enabling cyclists to either hang-out or take a 50-mile ride around the Yakima Valley.
Leaving Yakima on the fifth day, RAW riders will pass through the Yakima River Canyon to the Ellensburg Plain then west to Cle Elum. The final day is marked by a climb over Blewett Pass to the Bavarian-themed tourist town of Leavenworth.
Registration
As has been the case in recent years, the popularity and small size of RAW (230-250 riders) means that it fills up soon after registration opens. I've ridden three of these, and I'd rank the routes and amenities (showers, food and camping locations) as excellent.
The Cascade Courier print edition reports registration opens at 9 a.m. Jan. 10, 2011. I'd suggest making repeated visits to the website for latest information.
Tour de Kota
2011 marks the seventh year that the Sioux Falls, SD, Argus Leader has sponosored a week-long Tour de Kota bicycle tour. It follows a tradition of newspaper-sponsored tours set by the Des Moines Register with RAGBRAI and the Denver Post with Ride the Rockies.
Next year's tour — the College Campus Cruise — rolls out from June 5 – 10, 2011. As the name suggests, it overnights at several South Dakota campuses.
The ride starts at Augustana College and ends at the University of Sioux Falls, both in Sioux Falls. Along the 430-mile route the cyclists will overnight in Brookings (South Dakota State University), Madison (Dakota State University), Mitchell (Dakota Wesleyan University), Freeman (no campus), and Vermillion (University of South Dakota).
With most students gone for summer vacation, the host sites allow cyclists the option of staying overnight in the student residence halls.
For the first time, the Tour de Kota is bringing in Habitat for Humanity of East Central South Dakota as a nonprofit partner. This will enable cyclists to raise money as part of the Tour.
See more information at the Argus Leader (“Tour de Kota bike route unveiled”) and the Tour de Kota website. Registration is now open. Cyclists can choose day-by-day or the entire week.
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