Event in north county on Oct. 12
A group of around 500 cyclists will be riding through the vineyards next weekend, as the Asti Tour de Vine kicks off in Cloverdale. In its eleventh year, the Tour de Vine is hosted by the Cloverdale Rotary Club and takes participants on routes through north county that vary depending on individuals’ chosen trip length — 25 kilometers, 50 kilometers, 100 kilometers or 100 miles.
The event both begins and ends at Asti Winery where, following the ride, participants will be treated to a lunch that’s included in the event price. While on the bike routes, there will be rest stops manned by five different nonprofits, who will have homemade food to give out to cyclists.
According to event chair Iris Konik, the first Tour de Vine was introduced as a way to help the Cloverdale Rotary Club pay to fix up Cloverdale’s Kleiser Park. While some of the money made still goes to maintaining the park, Konik said that Rotary now divvies it up between various local causes including being donated to help students, the homeless, the elderly, as well as to organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club.
Additionally, Konik said that each participating nonprofit received 5% of the event proceeds.
While past tours have seen participants from overseas, Konik said that the farthest travelers this year are from Florida and Massachusetts.
“I like the day of the event — seeing the people come,” Konik said. “I enjoy most when they come back and they just rant and rave about how beautiful our area is, how wonderful the rest stop food was. They sit there and they enjoy themselves and a lot of them thank us for putting it on. That’s my favorite part.”
Bike routes
While every bicyclist will start their cycling journey at Asti Winery, different bike routes extend to additional parts of north county as well.
The 25k begins in Asti and extends north to Cloverdale, with cyclists heading down River Road and making a series of turns, eventually heading back via Cloverdale Boulevard and Dutcher Creek Road.
The 50k follows a similar route, but the end of the ride extends farther west toward Lake Sonoma, before backtracking and heading to Asti through Dutcher Creek and Dry Creek roads.
The 100k and 100 mile routes both dip farther south. In addition to the Asti-to-Cloverdale ride, bicyclists will be directed down West Dry Creek Road and on to Westside Road. From there, cyclists will ride to Dry Creek Road from Kinley Drive, continuing on a series of turns that will put them on Geyserville Avenue for a 5-mile stretch.
The 100 mile differs slightly in the beginning from the 100k, as those looking for an extra challenge will head from the Lake Sonoma rest stop to Rockpile Road, tacking on an additional 25 miles of trip.
While the event was still open to participants as of press time, Konik said that she anticipates around 500 participants.
Early check-in for those already signed up will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 11 at Hamburger Ranch and BBQ, 31195 N. Redwood Highway, Cloverdale. Check-in on the day of the event will be at Asti Winery from 7 to 9 a.m.
The registration fee is $85 for adults and $40 for students ages 14 to 17. If the event isn’t sold out, participants can register the day of the event for $105.
