Tour de Menlo

Tour de Menlo a hit with local cyclists!

Make plans now to ride Tour de Menlo, which offers three Peninsula routes for cyclists of all abilities, along with good weather, great food, and plenty of SAG support to those who need it.

Riders have their choice of 65-, 45- and 35-mile routes, all well-marked and beginning at Menlo-Atherton High School on Saturday, Aug. 18. All riders eventually wind up at Picchetti Winery and Open Space Preserve on Montebello Road in Cupertino for a delicious barbeque lunch.

The ride is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park and the Almanac. All proceeds are used to support Rotary scholarships, tutoring and the Almanac's Holiday Fund drive, which contributes more than $150,000 a year to 10 local nonprofits. Shelter Network, Second Harvest Food Bank, and St. Anthony's Dining Room are among the beneficiaries of the Holiday Fund.

The 65-mile route is by far the most popular, taking riders up to Belmont and the first rest stop on Polhemus Road. Then, after climbing up to the bike bridge, riders head south to Cañada Road in Woodside and then to the Portola Road firehouse near Alpine Road.

Riders on the 45-mile route also stop at the firehouse and then both routes circled around to Page Mill Road, with the longer route climbing up to Altamont Road and the others over to Arastradero Road and Los Altos. All riders meet south of Los Altos before heading up a steep half-mile climb on Montebello Road for lunch at Picchetti. All riders return to M-A via Foothill Expressway.

New Jersey Design! See the fabulous design for the Tour de Menlo cycling jersey.

Click here to see order information.

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 in 2008.

The ride benefits Rotary Tutoring, Scholarships

Last year, the Rotary Club of Menlo Park awarded $105,000 in need-based 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 begin at local community colleges. Proceeds from the ride also support the club's goal of improving literacy through tutoring students whose second language is English. The proceeds also supports local nonprofit organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs, Second Harvest Food Bank, Shelter Network and other beneficiaries of the Almanac's Holiday Fund.

Full SAG support

The Tour de Menlo offers full SAG support, including three 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

The ride starts and finishes at Menlo-Atherton High School, 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton, where there is plenty of free parking. Register and begin the 100 kilometer ride after 8 a.m. Riders doing the 35 and 45 mile rides 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.