Door County’s Newest Century Ride Opens Registration

Registration is open for one of Door County’s favorite bike rides, The Ride for Nature to benefit The Ridges Sanctuary. The 22nd annual event will take place Saturday, June 19.

The Peninsula Pacers, LLC – the entity responsible for the success of the Door County Half Marathon – has partnered with The Ridges Sanctuary to provide an additional appeal to this year’s event, which will include Door County’s newest century ride, 50- and 25-mile routes, as well as a 15-mile family ride.

Carol Schuster, the Volunteers/Membership Coordinator at the Ridges Sanctuary, is pleased to partner with the Peninsula Pacers. She said their familiarity with organizing and promoting events of this nature will take the Ride for Nature to the next level.

Peninsula Pacers co-founder Brian Fitzgerald said, “We’re looking forward to building upon an existing event. It’s a great time of year to have the ride, and we’re excited to provide another century ride in Door County that is able to showcase our scenic back roads.”

Schuster expects the addition of the 100-mile route will attract attention.

“It’s going to make it a more important event in Door County, as serious riders will want to participate in the century ride.” She continued, “Combine that with the family-friendly, hometown feel of the ride, and it’s going to be a good mix, attracting a lot more people.”

Freddie Bexell, an avid cyclist and Door County resident, worked in conjunction with the Peninsula Pacers to plan all four of this year’s routes. The 100, 50, 25 and 15-mile rides all leave from and return to the Baileys Harbor Town Hall, providing the opportunity for all levels of bikers to participate in this year’s Ride for Nature.

“A large portion of the routes follow my favorite roads for biking in the county,” said Bexell. “I tried to keep the safety of the riders at the forefront of my mind, while also capitalizing on Door County’s natural beauty.”

Bexell said the new century distance provides a great early season challenge for riders. “It will be a nice opportunity to see if your off-season training has paid off and perhaps even provide a bit of motivation for people to get on their bike as early as possible this spring,” he said.

Funds raised from The Ride for Nature will benefit educational programming at The Ridges Sanctuary, Wisconsin’s oldest nonprofit nature preserve. Founded in 1937 by pioneers in Wisconsin’s conservation movement, the preserve protects over 1,600 acres of forests and wetlands and is one of the most biologically diverse areas in Wisconsin.

The Peninsula Pacers, LLC is dedicated to organizing professionally-run sporting events created to celebrate and benefit the Door County community. Co-founders Brian Fitzgerald and Dave Eliot are proud to add the Ride for Nature on June 19 to their 2010 slate of events.

This year’s Ride for Nature is presented by Door County Living magazine, and other sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information visit http://www.ridefornature.com or call 920.421.1509.