Lance Armstrong has the Livestrong Challenge, Levi Leipheimer has the King Ridge Gran Fondo in Santa Rosa, and now Chris Horner is rolling out the Cascade Gran Fondo bicycle ride near his hometown of Bend, Oregon.
The 39-year-old RadioShack cyclist is known as much for his humor as his pro cycling career that stretches back to 1996.
Now he's hosting a weekend fund-raiser event that's scheduled for Aug. 18-20, 2011. It features an “Evening of Stories” the first night, a VIP dinner the second, and a 75-mile Gran Fondo-style bicycle ride through the Cascades on the third day. The tentative route would go around Mt. Bachelor.
He wrote on his website:
“This is one of my favorite rides in Bend, Oregon. It shows some of the best views that central Oregon has to offer, which are also some of the best in the world. I'm excited to be able to showcase all that Bend has to offer to everyone who comes to visit.”
Registration opens March 1; check Horner's Twitter account or email info@cascadegranfondo.com for details.
Gran fondos got their start in Europe where serious amateurs and recreational cyclists gather to test their legs on route used in a pro cycling race.
That has evolved into rides in North America where a portion of the bike route is closed to traffic and participants are timed on a particularly tough climb or a time-trial section.
The gran fondo will be a charity bike fund-raiser for LiveStrong, World Bicycle Relief, and the Mount Bachelor Ski Education Foundation.
Horner finished 4th overall in last year's Tour of California and 10th overall in the Tour de France in 2010. He won the Tour de Georgia in 2003.
The photo above shows Horner after winning the 2010 Tour of Basque Country, a particularly hilly six-day stage race in Spain.
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