Sign-up Begins For Tour de Gulch XII

We’ve traditionally referred to the Tour de Gulch as “the best ride west of Castle Rock on the third Saturday in June.” But to tell you the truth, it has become one of the best celebrations of mountain biking and friendship in all of Southwest Washington. Do you really want to miss it?

Your ride guide will make sure you get to see some great single-track

The 12th Annual Tour de Gulch is sponsored by Boone Dog Bikes, Fort George Brewery, and the Tour de Gulch Board of Directors. Start time is 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 20th.

And yes, you can earn one wheel toward the Fist of Five on the 2009 Growlers Gulch Ride Circuit by simply attending the TDG. If you don’t show up, you will hate yourself for it.

What’s It About?
The TDG has a very special vibe. We aren’t interested in seeing how many people we can recruit. It’s all about getting together with friends to celebrate our love of mountain biking.

We’ll probably have about eight ride guides available. You can sign up in advance for a group that fits your ability level. We’ll have at least one or two groups with a snappy pace, a Clydesdale group, a DH crew, and several in between.

We usually don’t mean it when we say, “It’s a ride, not a race,” but when it comes to the TDG we aren’t lying. Unlike most rides at Growlers, people will even wait for you if you fall behind.

Everyone will have a chance to spend about three hours on superior single-track. After the ride, we’ll meet back at 465 for food, raffles, swap meet, libations, and storytelling. 

Post-ride TDG parties are legendary

Who Will Be Here?

We draw an incredible mix of riders. Among those expected to attend this year are the following:

• Eric Loney – 2008 Fluidride Semi-Pro Champ, now racing in the pro division, and defending Growlers Gulch TT champion
• Lance Brigman – Winner of seven OBRA stage races this season and the 2006 and 2007 Growlers Gulch 5,000 champion
• Darrell Jamieson – Runner-up in the 40+ Expert Dual Slalom at the 2009 Sea Otter Classic
• Mike Van Hoose – 2009 Growlers Gulch 5,000 champion and GG5K runner-up in 2008
• Ed Strong and Vaughn Martin – Pacific Northwest mountain biking legends
• Geo Smith – Runner-up in the 50+ Expert Downhill at the 2009 Sea Otter Classic
• Al Hansen – Runner-up in the 19-29 Expert Downhill at the May 3rd-4th Fluidride series race and second-place finisher at the 2009 Growlers Gulch 5,000
• Susan Martin – Four-time winner of the women’s division at  the Growlers Gulch 5,000
• Jason Moon – Gold-medal winner in the 40+ Expert Downhill at the May 3rd-4th Fluidride Cup race
• The 2008 Growlers Gulch Grandslammers – Paul Norris, Melanie Norris, Rob Larsen, J. LeMonds

Not to mention at least a dozen other riders not listed above with superior skill, fitness, and trail knowledge.

Never fear. There will be plenty of mere mortals and a ride group for everyone.

Priority Seating
This event is invitation only. As you may know, I tell my wife that the TDG is limited to 50 riders; however, I have slots for 60 people. Keep in mind that if she finds out, we will be experiencing a reduction in ridership.

Let me know ASAP if you are interested in attending. You can sign up by commenting at the bottom of this post or by emailing me directly. Priority is given in the following order:

• People who ride at Growlers and do trail work here
• TDG veterans
• Friends of friends
• The curious

My guess is that locals and TDG vets will make up about 45-50 of the entries, so if you know someone who is interested in coming but does not fall into one of those two categories, they need to get signed up ASAP in order to qualify for one of the remaining 10-15 slots.

Swap Meet and Sale
We’ve never tried this before, but maybe it’s time. As I hear from people, I will put together a separate post dedicated solely to TDG items you would like to sell, trade, or purchase. Send info to me and I will add you to the list and make sure it gets distributed.

Entrants

• Cage Aaron
• Aaron Althauser
• Jack Berry
• Bongo
• Rob Boursaw
• Chris Brannen
• Lance Brigman
• Matt Bruce
• Adam Bryan
• Brad Burger
• Paul Butcher
• Erik Carlson
• Casey Cox
• Hayley Cox
• Andy Crump
• Mark Crump
• Greg Dimick
• Marcus Farber
• Steve George
• Al Hansen
• Nick Hansen
• Ryan Hicks
• Jade Holsan
• Chase Jamieson
• Darrell Jamieson
• Drew Jamieson
• Silent Bob Juntenen
• Kevin Knorr
• Cody Krippner
• Laurie Larsen
• Rob Larsen
• D. LeMonds
• J. LeMonds
• Jeff Lipton
• Denise Livingston
• Eric Loney
• Sam Loney
• Brian Mahon
• Susan Martin
• Vaughn Martin
• Carol Mathre
• Ryan McMaster
• Jason Moon
• Ksenia Mueller
• Thomas Mueller
• Dara Muldoon
• Jeff Muldoon
• Dave Norbury
• Averie Norris
• Melanie Norris
• Paul Norris
• Ken Pearson
• Geo Smith
• Lloyd Smith
• Randy Toney
• Seattle Fred
• Bob Stanton
• Ed Strong
• Jim Swanson
• Mike Van Hoose
• Dennis Veatch