Now that your summer bicycle travels are over …

Fall is here, and it's time to tie up some loose ends from your summer bicycle tours.

The Adventure Cycling Association is seeking nominations to give recognition to people or groups who contribute to the success of bicycle travel in its annual Bicycle Travel Awards. Can you think of a person or group that made your bike tour better?

The non-profit also is asking bicycle travelers to submit amazing photos, above, from their tours for the 3rd annual Bicycle Travel Photo Contest. What award-winning photos did you take on your trek this past year?

Travel awards

The annual Bicycle Travel Awards cover four categories for people or organizations that promote bicycle travel and make conditions better for bicyclists.

The four categories are:

June Curry Trail Angel Award — Named after the “cookie lady”, left, the award is given to people or groups encountered on bike tours who make travel easier. Last year's winner was the City of Farmington, Missouri.

Pacesetter Bicycle Travel Award — Targeted for those who contribute to the success of bicycle travel across the US through extraordinary efforts. See details. Jim Klobuchar of Minneapolis who organized an annual ride around the state.

Sam Braxton Bicycle Shop Award — Honors bike shops that provide excellent service to the touring bicyclist. 2010 winner was Bike Newport in Newport, Oregon.

Adventure Cycling Volunteer of the Year — Goes to those who inspire others to travel by bicycle. Chuck Pengilly was honored in 2010 for his work in the Adventure Cycling library.

If there a person or group you'd like to nominate, then follow the link to each category and follow the directions.

The deadline is Sept. 30, 2011.

Photo contest

Adventure Cycling also recognizes some outstanding photos that bicyclists take on their travels in the Bicycle Travels Photo Contest. The winning images will be published in Adventure Cyclist magazine and at the website, and the shooter will receive a two-year membership to the non-profit and a $100 gift certificate to the Cyclosource store.

Contestants can submit 5 photos each to the Adventure Cycling Contests Flickr group. Some photos are already posted.

The photo contest website urges contestants three times to read the full rules, so I guess you'll want to read the photo contest rules before entering.

Here's the Adventure Cyclist spread for last year's winners.

The deadline is Nov. 30, 2011.