SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The 18th annual Tour de Tahoe returns this weekend.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, more than 1,500 bicycling enthusiasts from all over the country will participate in the 72-mile tour around Lake Tahoe.  

“This would have been the 21st Annual Tour de Tahoe, but COVID in 2020 and the Caldor Fire in 2021 postponed the ride,” said Event Director Curtis Fong, the event director.  

Tour de Tahoe is a bike tour, a fun ride, not a race, and is fully supported. The ride offers spectacular scenery, fresh mountain air, rest stops with food and beverages; and is staffed by volunteers from various nonprofits and professionally managed by experienced ride organizers.

Bicyclists will start and finish from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Resort, located on U.S. Highway 50, at Stateline.

This ride is recommended for conditioned recreational bicyclists. It is not only one of the most scenic, it is also one of the only bi-state bike rides in the country with its route in both California and Nevada.  

The 72-mile route circumnavigates the highways clockwise around Lake Tahoe and offers over 4,027 vertical feet of climbing.

Rest Stops, stocked with a variety of fresh fruits, cookies, Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars, ATAQ Hydration Drink, GU energy and more are offered at the Vikingsholm Parking lot overlooking Emerald Bay, at GateKeepers Museum in Tahoe City, Kings Beach Plaza and Spooner Junction.  

A lunch is featured at the Kings Beach Plaza co-sponsored by Port of Subs. 

Wattabike Shop, Olympic Bike Shop, Village Bike & Ski, Shoreline Sports, Blue Zone Sports and others also provide technical support, with Crankin’ Time, Team Bike the West, and Flume Trail Bikes providing SAG Transport services. 

Sponsoring rest stops include volunteers from Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, Rite of Passage, Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition and other volunteers including the Tahoe Amateur Radio Association providing communications with Barton Health Care, Douglas County and Carson City Search and Rescue providing medical support. 

The ride begins at 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., with staggered 15-minute start windows. All bicyclists will receive a Lake Tahoe welcome packet, a commemorative number, event T-shirt, custom water bottle, wrist band, food and beverage at all rest stops, a lunch stop in Kings Beach, special finishers medal and after ride pool party and meal with live entertainment at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. 

Pre-registered rider check-in and on-site / late registration will take place from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at Tahoe Sports Ltd. located on Highway 50 and Heavenly Village Way in South Lake Tahoe, or on Sunday, Sept. 11, the morning of the ride, from 5:30-7:30 a.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Parking Lot C. 

Hard Rock parking validation tickets will be distributed to participants planning to park at Hard Rock. 

Tour de Tahoe – Bike Big Blue is produced and professionally managed by Fong of TGFT Productions, LLC / Bike the West, a 35-year member of the Bicycle Ride Directors Association of America which sanctions the event requiring all participants to wear helmets.  

Participants must be at least 14 years of age to ride and must be accompanied by an adult.  More information is available at bikethewest.com or call 800-565-2704 or email tgft@bikethewest.com .

SHARE THE ROAD WITH BICYCLISTS ON SUNDAY

Tour de Tahoe – Bike Big Blue participants will be riding clockwise around Lake Tahoe starting and finishing at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The roads will be open and motorists are asked to share them and plan a little more time to get to their destinations. Below are the highways, locations and times that bicyclists will be sharing the roads.   

Hwy 50, westbound, Stateline – South Lake Tahoe, 6:30-8:30 a.m.

Hwy 89, northbound, South Y – Camp Rich – Emerald Bay, 6:30-10.30 a.m.

Hwy 89, northbound, Emerald Bay  – West Shore – Homewood, 7:30-11:30 a.m.

Hwy 89, northbound, Homewood – Tahoe City, 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Hwy 28, eastbound, Tahoe City – Kings Beach – Incline Village, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Hwy 28, eastbound, Incline Village – Spooner Junction, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Hwy 50, westbound, Spooner Junction – Stateline, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.

Fri H: 78° L: 58°

Sat H: 85° L: 58°

Sun H: 79° L: 55°

Mon H: 73° L: 54°

Tue H: 69° L: 50°

Do not sell my personal information