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Recreation
Tour de Blast Bicycle Race Leads Participants Along Mount St. Helens Scenic Routes
Events such as the annual Tour de Blast bicycling excursion provide the perfect opportunity to enjoy the area’s spectacular mountain scenery along with one of the most popular sports in Cowlitz County.
The Tour de Blast bicycle race has erupted in popularity‚ thanks to its biggest attraction – Mount St. Helens.
Each June‚ the Longview Noon Rotary Club sponsors the 82-mile bike excursion that takes 1‚400 riders from Toutle Lake High School to Mount St. Helens and then back to the high school. The event is a fun ride to appreciate the beautiful scenery along the way‚ highlighted by an up-close view of the famous volcano itself.
“There is no competition at our event‚ although there are some enthusiastic people who start the ride at 6:30 a.m. and finish the 82 miles about three hours later‚” says Brian Magnuson‚ Tour de Blast ride chairman. “It is a nice ride with Mount St. Helens as the big attraction‚ but it is also a rigorous event.”
In fact‚ Magnuson says many of the stronger riders use the Tour de Blast as a tune-up for a Seattle-to-Portland bike race that occurs a few weeks later.
“Many of those riders say the Tour de Blast is actually a more difficult event‚ even though the Tour is 82 miles compared to the nearly 200-mile Seattle-to-Portland race‚” he says. “It’s because the Tour de Blast has a lot of elevation changes scattered throughout the route.”
Once the riders begin from Toutle Lake High School‚ they proceed east for 41 miles along Spirit Lake Memorial Highway until the pavement ends at Mount St. Helens. Then the bicyclists return the same way.
“There are four visitation centers along the way where riders can stop and turn around if the 82-mile trek is too much‚” Magnuson says.
The Tour de Blast has been occurring for 14 years‚ with the Longview Noon Rotary Club starting the event once the surrounding environment had healed somewhat following Mount St. Helens’ famous eruption in 1980.
“After the mountain blew‚ it took about four years for Spirit Lake Memorial Highway to be rebuilt‚” Magnuson says. “The visitor centers on the highway suddenly became hugely popular with tourists wanting to view the mountain‚ so the rotary thought it would be a good idea for an annual bike ride to be scheduled along the highway. We were right.”
Magnuson says riders from all over the United States partake in the event‚ as do bicyclists from other countries.
“This part of the Northwest is known for its incredible scenery‚ thanks to all the rain we get‚ and we also have excellent roads for bicycling‚” he says. “The Tour de Blast raises a lot of money for charities‚ and the event ends with a pasta feast for all riders. It is a great day for many reasons.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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