The two-day, three-event Tour de Ephrata will be held this weekend under what is forecast to be warm and sunny skies.
With the loss two years ago of downtown Lancaster’s professional bicycle race, the Tour de Ephrata is now the county’s largest bicycle race. Online registration closes this afternoon, at 1 p.m. By mid-morning, 530 racers had already registered - that’s more than 1,000 shaved legs.
The racing begins Saturday at 9 a.m. with the Middle Creek Road Race. The 13-mile race circuit winds through the Brunnerville area, north of Lititz. The course begins and ends at the Middle Creek Church of the Brethren, 351 Middle Creek Road, Lititz. The largest field in the race - the professional/category 1,2,3 group - will do the longest ride. That group - with 110 registered riders this morning - will complete 80 miles in that race.
The second race is the Pain Mountain Time Trial, which begins at 7 a.m. Sunday. The timed, eight-mile course includes four miles of relatively flat riding followed by four miles of very steep climbing. The course starts on Sportsman Road, near Route 897, near Denver. It ends at the State Game Lands parking lot on Cocalico Road, after an elevation gain of more than 1,300 feet.
The third and featured race of the Tour is the spectator-friendly Ephrata Criterium. Racers will loop a short, .7-mile course in the center of Ephrata. The start/finish line of the race will be on East Main Street, near Washington Street, in the heart of the town. There will be bleachers for spectators, food vendors and community activities. The first racers - the Category 4/5 group - begin at 11: 15 a.m. The last group - the professional/1/2/3 group - begins at 4:20 p.m.
In addition to the Tour de Ephrata racers, representatives of local fire and ambulance companies and police departments will compete for bragging rights in the inaugural Emergency Services Race. At 12:50 p.m., there will be a one-lap celebrity race with local elected officials and representatives of local television stations or newspapers.
Free children’s races will also be held between fields of the adult criterium. Children in age groups 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11-12 will sprint on Main Street for medals. Registration is free, but each child must have a properly functioning bicycle and a properly fitting helmet.
Also for children, there will be a bicycle rodeo, from 1-3 p.m., in the parking lot behind the Ephrata Review, along State Street. The rodeo, sponsored by the Green Mountain Cyclery bike shop, will include a bicycle inspection station, games and a riding agility course for children.
Temperatures for the weekend are forecast to hit the low 80s for the first time this year and winds are expected to be moderate. Bring water and sunscreen.
