Jan 14, 2019 Jason Aldean Announces 2019 Ride All Night Tour Kane Brown and Carly Pearce will open the trek, which kicks off in May. Joseph Hudak Joseph Hudak Senior Editor, Rolling Stone Country. The 2019 Bike Virginia Tour is scheduled for June 21–26, 2019. The 2019 event marks 32 years of riding for the Bike Virginia Tour. We're going back to one of our rider favorites, the Shenandoah Valley, for 6 days of riding bliss. Join us for the 2 day GRAND FINALE of the GEICO Motorcycle Built to Ride Tour 2019 as it invades downtown Johnson City September 6 & 7! Ride in Bike Show, Live Music, Brews & Food, Pro Builders, Stunt Show & more!
TOUR RIDES
THE RIDES
The annual Highlander Cycle Tour consists of several ride options. They are all designed to share common sections and rest stops so that cyclists on different rides can ride together and have common experiences. Tour routes take riders along lake shores, up hill tops with wide vistas, along scenic valleys, and wander through several small towns and hamlets. The Finger Lakes is a wine growing region and the route goes past many vineyards. The Tour is a charity event with proceeds above expenses donated to charities.
SAG stops are frequent and well stocked. Road rides, in addition to detailed maps and cue sheets, are well marked on paved roads with light vehicle traffic and the Mountain bike course has plenty of epic single track with ride guides as well.
Below are brief descriptions of the Highlander Cycle Tour rides with links to more detail.
Highlander Century and Metric Century cut-off: NEW ROUTES WILL BE UNVEILED IN 2022. See 2021_Century_Map Get .gpx or .tcx data here for core Century: Highlander Century gps Get .gpx or .tcx data here for Metric Century: Highlander Metric gps CUE Sheets for all rides here: See gps data |
Highlander GRAVEL This will be our 4th year of offering a Gravel option. This route will combine some of the Century roads but diverge onto some epic unpaved/gravel/dirt roads in the area. This will include Wesley Hill and the Dugway among others. You'll want to have at least 28mm wide tires (we recommend 35) and 30 teeth or more on the rear cluster. Tune up on your brakes is also recommended. Renamer 5 3 0 – rename files in batches. Follow orange chevrons on the road. See: 2021_Gravel_Map Get .gpx or .tcx data here for core Century: Highlander Gravel gps |
Highlander Lite See: 2021_Lite_Map Get .gpx or .tcx data here: Highlander Lite |
MOUNTAINEER See Mountaineer 2017 Course Directions, OCP Detail Map, Camp Cutler Detail Map, Mtnr._Stid section, . |
IMPORTANT SAFETY REMINDER
The Highlander prides itself on providing a safe, well run, and accommodating event for all participants. The Highlander staff takes the safety of the riders, the spectators, and the communities through which we ride very seriously. To promote this, each rider should have read and follow the NYS DOT cycling guidelines, found here:
If riders do not follow these guidelines, the Highlander may be forced to limit or terminate the ride. Your help and attention to keep the highlander a safe, premium tour is appreciated.
2021 TOUR OF NAPA VALLEY Cancelled
Due to uncertainty regarding large group event restrictions, we have cancelled the 2021 Tour of Napa Valley. We hope to be back in 2022. Please stay tuned!
Virtual~and ~On The Road
As with other areas in the country, the Napa Valley is preparing to reopen. But even though we still can't gather in large groups, go into stores without masks and give out random hugs, we CAN ride our bikes, share our experiences and have a lot of fun along the way. We were happy to have many people, along with Hugo, our Bear on the Bike, ride the 2020 Virtual Tour of Napa Valley! Hopefully we will be back in person in 2021!!
The virtual routes are still the same distances; 35 miles, 62.5 miles and 100 miles. The routes can be completed on a trainer or outside on your favorite wheels. RidewithGPS will track your distances and will reward a premium membership to the rider posting the best ride report onto the Tour of Napa Valley RWGPS account. And if you have a smart trainer, you can upload the tour routes and travel the Napa Valley right from your living room. See the descriptions of the routes below.
To keep you motivated, we will post training challenges on Social Media and via email blast. We encourage you to post about your training so we can follow how you are doing. Registered riders will be entered into drawings for prizes from our Tour Grab Bag.
- A $10 discount coupon towards 2021 TNV registration
- A $15 discount towards the purchase of our Tour jersey with Hugo, who is raring to visit your area; $75 regular cost; $60 with the discount
- Entry into drawings for prizes from our Tour Grab Bag, which contains: T-shirts, Wine Tasting Certificates from our world-renowned Wineries, Certificates for dining at one of our spectacular Napa Eateries.
- A RidewithGPS Premium Membership for the best ride report posted for each route on the Tour of Napa Valley account
- A chance to win a FREE entry to the 2021 Tour of Napa Valley (see below)
- Clif bars provided by our sponsor, Clif Family, and mailed to your door
- Handsewn commemorative COVID-19 facemask mailed directly to you
As you ride in your area and post your pics, we will be riding the Tour routes and posting pictures of the beautiful Napa Valley as well. Between August 14th – 16th, wear your Tour Jersey, ride and post your picture or video to be entered into a drawing for a FREE Entry into the 2021 Tour of Napa Valley.
Join us on this virtual journey. Wear our Tour of Napa Valley jersey and take Hugo the bear along with you. Post your ride to FB, Instagram or the Tour of Napa Valley RWGPS account. The virtual routes are still the same distances; 35 miles, 62.5 miles and 100 miles. The routes can be completed on a trainer or outside on your favorite wheels.The Registration Fee is $25 and includes:
- A $10 discount coupon towards 2021 TNV registration
- A $15 discount towards the purchase of our Tour jersey with Hugo, who is raring to visit your area; $75 regular cost; $60 with the discount
- Entry into drawings for prizes from our Tour Grab Bag, which contains: T-shirts, Wine Tasting Certificates from our world-renowned Wineries, Certificates for dining at one of our spectacular Napa Eateries.
- A RidewithGPS Premium Membership for the best ride report posted for each route on the Tour of Napa Valley account
- A chance to win a FREE entry to the 2021 Tour of Napa Valley (see below)
- Clif bars provided by our sponsor, Clif Family, and mailed to your door
- Handsewn commemorative COVID-19 facemask mailed directly to you
As you ride in your area and post your pics, we will be riding the Tour routes and posting pictures of the beautiful Napa Valley as well. Between August 14th – 16th, wear your Tour Jersey, ride and post your picture or video to be entered into a drawing for a FREE Entry into the 2021 Tour of Napa Valley.
Send us a written report of your ride and we will post it here! Pics welcome as well.
Mark and Clyde's 44th Tour of Napa Valley
23 August 2020
Ride Report (virtual) Tour of Napa Valley
Aug. 15, 2020
This was the 44th time I've done this ride, having done it every year since inception in 1977. This year, with coronavirus, all centuries have been cancelled, so this would be my first and probably only 'organized' ride of the year. The folks at Eagle Cycling Club, when they cancelled the ride, offered the option to do a 'virtual' tour. In my simple mind, you either do a century or you don't. Virtual doesn't count. Turns out that the option meant you could do any 100 mile ride you wanted and still get credit for doing the century. I elected to do my three bakeries ride. Date selected for the effort was Sat. Aug. 15, the day before the actual event had originally been scheduled to take place. To ensure that the ride actually covered 100 miles, Clyde would be the bike of choice, since he has an odometer. It would require more effort to pedal up all the hills, since Clyde is a fair amount heavier than Junior, but the oversize tires would provide a bit of cushioning on the shittier roads encountered in various sections of the route. As we are in the middle of a heat wave, the temps would be in the 100 degree range for a good part of the ride, but with two water bottles and three planned stops, this would not present any insurmountable problems.
We pulled out at 6:05. It was already in the 60's, so no jacket was needed. A first for around here. The first portion of the ride, out Novato Blvd., down Pt. Reyes/Petaluma Road, Nicasio Valley Road and on Sir Francis Drake thru Samuel P. Taylor park to Olema were quite pleasant. Headwinds were mild to non-existent; car traffic was minimal and many portions of that part of the route are actually well paved. At Olema we headed north to Pt. Reyes Station on Hwy. 1, arriving at the Bovine Bakery at 8:35. A cherry chocolate cookie and a buttermilk/blueberry scone would get us to the next bakery. In the interest of doing as many miles as possible before it got really hot, I ate the cookie there and put the scone in the handlebar bag, to eat along the way. By 9:00, we were out of town, heading north on Hwy. 1. It was gradually getting warmer, but was still pleasant. Traffic on Hwy 1 was light, and this stretch of the road is pretty smooth. I had done all of the route so far, earlier in the week and have done it so many times that I have memorized the various hills and curves. At mile 41, we normally turn off onto Marshall/Petaluma Rd. to head home, but today, we continued north. Hwy. 1 gradually gets hillier and car traffic got heavier as it got later, and we got closer to the town of Tomales. At Tomales, we headed west for a mile to catch Middle Road. Middle would get us off of Hwy 1, and away from the cars all the way to Valley Ford. It has more climbing than Hwy 1, but the superior scenery, including an Estero, and the lack of cars make it worth it. Middle Rd. has been used off and on by the Marin Century, in both directions over the years, so no surprises here. We rolled into and thru Valley Ford and, after leaving town got onto Valley Ford/Freestone Rd. Up to Pt. Reyes Station, we had run into a fair number of other cyclists, presumably wanting to get their rides done before it got hot. After Pt. Reyes Station, we only saw a very few on Hwy 1 and then no more. Valley Ford/Freestone Rd. gradually climbs to Bodega Hwy, which takes one past the edge of Freestone. Pulling into the Wildflour Bakery, I was relieved to see that the line of customers wasn't too long. It was getting warmer quickly. They even had misters going overhead in the customer line area, to keep everyone cool. Three scones, one for the road and two to bring home seemed like a good idea. I found a shed behind the bakery to eat my scone in the shade, refilled the water bottle and even took a photo of Clyde, in front of the bakery. In the time we'd been in Freestone, it must have gotten at least 10 degrees warmer. At 11:30, we headed out.
It was now seriously hot. Leaving Freestone, the cyclist is immediately faced with a climb into what I call the Southern Sonoma Hills. A scenic area with little car traffic, rough pavement and a lot of uphill. We worked our way thru the initial climb, some up and down on Barnett Valley Road, which amazingly enough had been repaved within the last month. Turning on to Burnside, we crawled up the final climb to the summit of the road. This marked the last long climb of the ride. There would be more climbs, but they would all be fairly short. The next hour or so was spent going south and east, up and down thru the hills, with more down than up, as the heat continued. Having done the route many times over the last several years, I knew what to expect, which made it easier, at least psychologically. Finally, we left the hills when we pulled onto Roblar Rd. and headed east. Roblar T's into Stony Point, one of the major north south roads of Sonoma County, with loads of cars, but a good wide shoulder. A mile north on Stony Point brought us to West Sierra Road, which took us east over a small hill, into Cotati. It was a relief to pull into the Red Bird Bakery, at around 1:30. The air conditioning felt great, they refilled both water bottles with ice water, the Magic Bar was perfect, as usual, and I got two of our favorite giant peanut butter, Oreo style cookies and a plain croissant to go. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't very hungry, and the Magic Bar was all I could handle, along with nearly a half a bottle of water. After taking a photo of Clyde to commemorate the momentous occasion, it was time to head out and do the final leg of the ride.
Ride 2019 Tour Tickets
A few blocks brought us to Old Redwood Hwy, which heads south, towards Petaluma. Pavement is pretty good, the road is flat and there is a decent shoulder. We turned off at Ely to climb the short, medium steepness hill which took us to Corona, which brought us into the northern section of Petaluma. We were now about 80 plus miles into the ride. Having done the Cotati to Novato section many times over the past year or so, it was now just a question of keeping the cranks turning, conserving water and watching the scenery go by. We worked our way thru Petaluma, got on the frontage road from Petaluma to the Marin County Line, then onto the frontage Road, bike path and ultimately Redwood Blvd, which took us to San Marin Dr., which took us to the final, downhill run to Novato Blvd, a few blocks from home. At 3:15, we pulled into the driveway, having completed 99.7 miles. Bev reported that the temperature was 102. It felt great to get off Clyde for the last time, take a warm shower and drink a few glasses of cold water.
Mission accomplished. I had completed my 44th consecutive Tour of Napa Valley, after a fashion, under less than ideal conditions and kept the streak going. Hopefully, in 2021 we will all be able to do the ride in the normal fashion.
These are the organizations supported by Eagle Cycling Club fundraising efforts
The Flat 35
Tour And Ride Inc
This is an out and back along the most picturesque portion of the Silverado Trail. Local riders call this a flat route, not Florida flat but Napa flat. Be sure to take a short break after about 17 miles to recharge. This ride includes 1,580 ft. of climbing (in gentle rollers)
The Metric Century – 62.5 miles
The route starts out on the 35-mile course, so you get the best part of the Silverado Trail. Then it starts to get real as you head up and out to Pope Valley. Take a break along here and pretend you are at our Pope Valley/Whiskey River rest stop. Be sure to hydrate because you climb out of Pope Valley on Ink Grade, a 4-mile climb. Get to the top and enjoy a rewarding descent down Deer Park. This ride includes 4,199 ft. of climbing and some of it is not so gentle.
The Full Century
Mt. Veeder returns after 2 years. Before following the Metric Century route to Pope Valley, century riders head down valley to Napa to an added loop over this iconic mountain by the Bay. The climb contains the some of the more rugged vineyards of the Napa region and 21 wineries hidden among them. This climb can be tough in the heat but the views at the top are well worth the effort. This ride includes 6,242 ft. of climbing, some of it quite serious.
Jerseys & T-shirts
The 2020 jersey and T-shirts are pictured below and are available for order. Adobe muse cc 2017. When you register, you can order both of these unique and timely designs. Or you can order the jersey directly from the manufacturer HERE. Ride with us and with Hugo, who is prepared for any adventure with his facemask and preferred beverage.
