El Tour de Tucson
Saturday, November 17, 2012
The 109-mile main event will start and finish at Sixth Avenue, south of Broadway Boulevard, which is across from the Children's Museum Tucson in downtown Tucson. Details on this and all other El Tour events, including the 79-mile, 60-mile, and 40-mile rides, are available on perimeterbicycling.com.
Event activities include a 10K/5K Run, Training Classes and Training Rides, Bike Patrol Certification, a three-day Bicycle/Fitness/Health EXPO with Beer Garden, Orientation Meetings, a Wellness Hour, a Dedication Dinner and, for the fourth year, Indoor El Tour.
Finally, for the 27th time since 1983, cyclists of all ages and abilities will cycle the perimeter of Tucson, Arizona enjoying the cactus-studded mountain views in the 109, 80, 66 and 35-mile events and in the 4-mile and 1/4-mile Kids & Family Fun Ride events.
History
El Tour was established in 1983 with the objective of becoming the nation's largest charity-fundraising bicycling event. Founder Richard DeBernardis set out to prove that a bicycle event could generate as much money as any fundraiser, while educating the cyclists and the community about the healthful benefits of cycling.
El Tour has grown from a 198-person bicycling event that raised $5,500 for the American Diabetes Association in 1983, to a two-month series of activities that attracts 9,000 cyclists who raise millions of dollars.
Downtown Amenities
You'll find plenty of parking and great post-ride restaurants here. Looking for accommodations or even some other bike routes to ride before or after El Tour?
Downtown Restaurants
Downtown Parking
Bill Walton loves riding his bike in Tucson.
Read this testimonial from Bill after he rode the 2011 El Tour de Tucson:
We were just in Tucson for one of the best things that I’ve ever done—your fabulous Tour de Tucson 2011, and I wanted to write to say THANK YOU. We are so appreciative –of EVERYTHING. It was exhilarating to participate, and to celebrate what we love so dearly with so many thousands of other celebrants. Plus, I had the additional privilege on riding my bike on alternate days in some of the other regions of your spectacular metropolis—particularly both major sections of the Saguaro National Park.
Thanks for empowering us; thanks for making our dreams come true;, I love Tucson more than ever now. Thanks for having us, thanks for helping us to roll on forever and thanks for allowing us to enjoy the ride.
I LOVE MY BIKE, and now I love El Tour de Tucson. Let’s work together to see how we can make it even better.
Thank you,
Bill Walton
www.billwalton.com
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Triathletes
Looking for great local training resources? Head on over to the Winter Training Capital and find out why Tucson is the premier location for triathletes!
El Tour Fun Facts
Southwest Airlines' in-flight magazine, Spirit (June 2001) named El Tour de Tucson "one of the premier organized rides in United States."
"Tucson best road-biking city in the country" says Outside Magazine, August 2010.
"America's Best Cities for Bikers" - Tucson #5 (Forbes.com, April 2010).
El Tour's prominence has helped Metropolitan Tucson's consistently ranking by a major bicycling magazine as one the country's top five bicycle-friendly communities. The area's excellent bike-lane system includes more than (700 miles) of paved bikeways, including bike lanes, shared-use pathways, and residential bike routes, and makes it possible to travel anywhere in the city by bike.
Watch an El Tour Start!
