Need one more good training ride for RAGBRAI? Here are details on “Tour de Greene,” a new ride on Saturday, June 17, from Jefferson. It uses part of the Raccoon River Valley Trail and offers routes of 20, 40, 75 and 100 miles around Greene County. Your $10 fee includes lunch at the county fair. You’ll also be helping a new local bike club, Cyclists Of Greene, launch its first major event.
JEFFERSON, Iowa, July 12, 2010 – Bicyclists will be riding all over Greene County this Saturday, July 17, as the new Cyclists Of Greene bicycle club in Jefferson is hosting the first-ever “Tour de Greene” ride.
The ride will start and finish at the Jefferson Depot, and the $10 registration fee includes lunch at the Greene County Fair after riders complete their tour. Four different routes are being offered, with distances of 20, 40, 75 and 100 miles. The terrain ranges from flat to mildly-rolling hills. Riders will go through nine of the 10 towns in the county.
The ride is open to the public.
“This is our bike club’s first major event,” said Jefferson Mayor Craig Berry, who also serves as club president. “Besides the trail, Greene County has a network of secondary roads that are just great for bicycle riding. Our idea is that by having the Tour de Greene a week before RAGBRAI, we’ll probably attract some riders from all around the state who are interested in a last good training ride. That’s why we’re having the 75- and 100-mile routes. But we also wanted to have the two shorter routes for leisure riders. And we really liked the idea that this would be happening while the county fair is going on next to the trail.”
Berry said he and club members think the ride could turn into a nice attraction for the county in years to come.
Club member Bill Doubler has done the routing, and he is also coordinating the lunches for riders at the fair.
Registration will be at the Depot before the start of the ride Saturday. The 75- and 100-mile riders can start their rides anytime after 6:45 a.m., while the 20- and 40-mile riders will depart after 7:45 a.m.
All riders will start their routes by riding from Jefferson to Cooper on the Raccoon River Valley Trail. The 25-mile riders will then go east to county road P30, north to E53, then back to the Depot. The 45-mile riders will go from Cooper to Rippey, north through Grand Junction and Dana, then west through Paton, south on P33, and back west to the Depot.
The 75- and 100-mile routes go west from Cooper on E57, north on P14, west on E53 to Scranton, north on E33 and P14 to Churdan, then west and north to E13, east through Adaza to P29, south to E18 and then east. Those riding 75 miles will go south on P33, then west to the Depot. The 100-mile riders will continue east on E18 through Paton, then south on P46 to Rippey, west on E57 to Cooper, then back to the Depot via the RRVT.
The only town in the county that won’t see any of the riders is Farlin.
Questions can be addressed to Craig Berry at (515) 370-1468. Bill Doubler at (515) 370-3110 or Chuck Offenburger at (515) 370-2659 or chuck@Offenburger.com.
