PORT ANGELES — One of the biggest cycling weekends of the year is coming to the North Olympic Peninsula.
Hundreds of cyclists are expected to ride across valleys, coastline and up and down hills Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 2-3).
The events are the second annual Tour de Lavender, two different rides presented by the Sequim Lavender Farmers Association, along with the Black Ball Ferry Line’s Ride the Hurricane.
The Tour de Lavender’s first ride, a 71.3-mile “Metric Century Plus” ride, is Saturday.
In a change from the first edition of the event, cyclists will begin in Sequim at the Boys & Girls Club and travel through the Dungeness Valley, stopping off at lavender farms and continuing along the Olympic Discovery Trail through Port Angeles to the Elwha River Bridge and back.
“Lavender farmers are always looking for ways to bring people here and promote the area,” ride director Tom Coonelly said.
“Dan Abbott of George Washington Inn and Washington Lavender had the idea for the ride and went to the three cycling clubs in Sequim, the Sequim Spoke Folk, Women on Wheels and the Easy Riders, to create the race.”
The second ride of the Tour de Lavender, a 34.5-mile Family Fun Ride that transits through the Dungeness Valley, can be completed Saturday or Sunday.
Both rides incorporate visits to Purple Haze Lavender, Jardin de Soleil, Olympic Lavender, Washington Lavender and Lost Mountain Lavender farms.
Coonelly said each of the farms will have food, a family activity and, maybe the most vital factor in ensuring a successful family outing, portable toilets.
Entrants in either ride can visit all five lavender farms and receive stamps for a tour passport in a bid to win a Specialized Sirrus bicycle provided by All Around Bikes (formerly Mike’s Bikes) of Sequim.
“It’s a great road bike and the odds of winning it are pretty high,” Coonelly said.
Each ride will be supported by volunteers from the bicycle clubs, with food, water and electrolyte-laden drinks available on the metric century ride at the Port Angeles Transit Center, the Elwha River Bridge and back at the Boys & Girls Club.
“If your bod is just flat bonked, we stop and can feed and water and give you an electrolyte drink to get you going,” Coonelly said.
Last year’s ride started in Kingston but organizers learned from participants that the increased summer traffic along state Highway 104 and U.S. Highway 101 can make riders nervous.
Both routes of this year’s rides travel along U.S. Highway 101 for a brief half-mile portion, but it’s in a stretch with a wide shoulder. The routes then return back to country roads and trails.
Both rides are still accepting riders.
The late-registration fee is $55 for the Metric Century Ride and includes a cap, water bottle and lavender gift.
Late registration for the Family Fun Ride is $45, with riders younger than 12 only $10.
Participants will receive a T-shirt, water bottle and lavender gift.
For more information, visit: www.tourdelavender.wordpress.com.
Ride the Hurricane
The other ride, Ride the Hurricane, is in its fifth year.
With 400 to 500 riders expected, this ride gives cyclists free reign over the Hurricane Ridge Road in Olympic National Park from 7 a.m. to noon Sunday.
Riders can pick from a 24-mile round trip from the Heart O’ the Hills campground or a 36-mile round trip that begins at the Peninsula College parking lot.
The event will supply four aid stations which will have water and snacks available along with portable toilets.
The Summit House atop the Ridge will be open and snacks and beverages will be available.
Celebratory “I made it to the top” photos also will be taken and available online after the event.
A first-come, first-served spectator shuttle will leave the Peninsula College parking lot at 7 a.m. and leave the summit at 9 a.m. With another round trip starting at 10 a.m. and returning from the summit at 11:30 a.m.
An informal after-ride party is set for the Peninsula College parking lot from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Registration is $40, with $5 going to maintenance and development of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Each rider will receive a goodie bag with sponsor information and a custom Ride the Hurricane Jacket.
All riders are required to sign a waiver and all riders must wear cycling helmets.
For forms, registration and more information, visit www.portangeles.org/pages/RideTheHurricane/
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Sports writer and outdoors columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
