A great ride!

About 500 cyclists from all over the Bay Area took part in fifth annual Tour de Menlo Saturday, enjoying a beautiful day on the Peninsula as they tackled a few hills along the way.

The tour began at Menlo-Atherton High School and offered routes of 65, 45 and 35 miles with varying levels of climbing. All riders stopped at the Picchetti Open Space Preserve and Winery in Cupertino for lunch, before heading back to the start at M-A.

Tour organizers said the turnout was the highest ever for the ride, which began in 2004 with about 60 riders. More than 500 riders signed up but only 481 actually checked in at the start.

The total included a team of 20 riders from the Menlo Park VA offices, as well as a small group from Sun Microsystems who said they were training for a longer Waves to Wine ride that is coming up in a few weeks.

Proceeds from the ride, which is sponsored by The Almanac and Rotary Club of Menlo Park, support a Rotary tutoring project at Garfield School and need-based scholarships for local high school students..  

Click here to see the photos taken at the event!

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park and the Almanac

The Tour de Menlo is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park (menloparkrotary.org) and the Almanac, a community newspaper, web site (almanacnews.com) and Express email service for the residents of the Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside. The Tour de Menlo was started in 2004 and brought riders to the Picchetti Winery and Open Space Preserve for the first time last year.

 

The ride benefits Rotary Tutoring, Scholarships

The 2008 Tour de Menlo raised just over $10,000 in entry fees and sponsorships for the Rotary scholarships and tutoring. This year the Rotary Club of Menlo Park awarded more than $60,000 in scholarships to outstanding high school seniors at Menlo-Atherton, Eastside Preparatory, East Palo Alto High and Sacred Heart Prep. Most of the awards are made to students planning to attend four-year colleges and universities, but other grants go to students who plan to attend local community colleges. Proceeds from the ride also benefit the Rotary tutoring project at Garfield Elementary School, where English is a second language for most students.

Full SAG support

The Tour de Menlo offers full SAG support, including two rest/water stops and a full lunch stop at Picchetti Winery. The course will be well-marked with Route Arrows and Rotary Club members will give directions at critical intersections. A telephone-dispatched SAG vehicle will patrol the entire route to make sure all riders safely complete the course.

Start at Menlo-Atherton High School

Menlo-Atherton High School at 555 Middlefield Road will host the start. Register and begin the 100 kilometer ride after 8 a.m. Riders doing the 75 and 60 kilometer ride are asked to leave after 9 a.m. so as not to arrive at the Picchetti Winery before lunch is prepared. There is plenty of free parking at the school.  Click here to see the course descriptions and maps.