The 2023 edition of the Tour de Bloom bicycle races returns to the Plain/Lake Wenatchee area on Sunday May 7th. Morning races start at 9 AM from Plain Cellars, traveling counter-clockwise on the Chiwawa Loop. From the Chiwawa Loop they will travel West on the Lake Wenatchee Hwy, turning onto North Shore Drive by the Old Cougar Inn location and completing the lap by getting back on Lake Wenatchee Hwy, turning left onto Beaver Valley Road and continuing to Plain. The Morning races (3 groups) will do 2 of these laps (50 miles) and then finish the final lap on top of Beaver Hill.
Downtown Plain will be affected from approximately 11 am through 11:45. Any delays will be brief, less than 2 minutes, while the 3 groups go by so please be patient.
Afternoon races leave Plain Cellers at Noon. They will be doing 3 laps totaling 75 miles, returning to Plain around 2:30 PM and should be done by 3:15 PM. Again, please be courteous and patient.
These afternoon races will feature Semi and Professional Racers and will be the largest field on the road and will have the full width of the road use. Washington State Patrol troopers will escort these bikes around the roads. If you encounter this race, the trooper will instruct you to pull over to the side of the road, and wait for the following trooper to release you. You should expect a wait of just a few minutes. Traffic coming down Beaver Hill will only be stopped around 2:30pm but only for a few minutes, being open to traffic the rest of the day.
Lake Wenatchee Fire and Rescue will partner with the race again this year as previously done and use it as a fundraiser and as a training exercise.
Ace Bollinger, Race Director
509.679.5003
tdbace@gmail.com