PORT ANGELES — Though it still won’t have the Canadian riders, the annual Ride the Hurricane bike event will be back Sunday in full force up Hurricane Ridge Road.
Expect to see as many as 800 bike riders going up and down Hurricane Ridge Road. Leslie Robertson, events coordinator for the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, said the event reached the National Park Service 800-rider cap weeks ago. There is a waiting list of more than 190 riders on top of that hoping for empty slots.
Robertson said the Chamber of Commerce put a lot of energy into advertising the event, which ran last year but with a number of COVID-19 restrictions.
“We really tried to kick up the promotion a notch this year,” she said.
In addition to 5,000-foot-plus elevation gain up Hurricane Ridge Road called The Legacy Ride, there will be a 100-mile ride, called the Ride the Hurricane Olympic Discovery Century route. Robertson said that more than 200 cyclists will go on this ride, which will return down Hurricane Ridge Road, go west toward the Elwha River, then back east to Agnew, finishing at the Port Angeles City Pier.
Riders can check in beginning at 6 a.m. at Port Angeles City Pier, though there will be early check in from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday evening at the Port Angeles Visitors’ Center at 121 E. Railroad Ave. next to the Port Angeles City Pier.
The riders will have Hurricane Ridge Road all to themselves Sunday morning to prevent conflicts with motor vehicles. Drivers are reminded that the road will be closed to vehicle traffic at the park gate beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday. It will reopen at noon.
Though the event is considered more of a ride than a formal race, there will be a timed leaderboard up the hill. The downhill ride will not be timed for safety reasons. There will also be aid stations up the hill providing support to the riders.
Robertson said it was a shame that Canadians could not ride in this year’s event as the border will remain closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. She said everyone in Port Angeles has enjoyed the large number of Canadians that have come over on the Coho for the event each summer.
“We really miss the Canadians,” she said. “We can’t wait to get them back.”
For more information on the ride, people can go to the event’s Website at https://ridethehurricane.org.
