Tour de Vine 2008

When your hobby involves riding in several organized cycling tours located around the northwestern United States you quickly get favorites. Some mean more to you than others. Some become favorites, and some become just notching training miles under your belt. The 2008 Tour de Vine would be categorized in the latter.

Tour de Vine 2008 in Wenatchee, Washington was our fifth bike tour and first half century of the year. It was recommended to me by a good friend in Wenatchee who said it was organized by Arlberg Sports, a local and reputable cycling/sporting goods store. Had I thought more of it this same friend, who cycles, has never ridden the Tour de Vine and was not riding in this one as well. No matter, my wife and I were riding this tour for the miles as the bigger picture on our radar was a 150 mile tour the weekend following.

Before I start about the ride itself, some of the conditions listed on the check-in packet caught both me and my wife's attention. "Bring your cell phone for SAG support. SAG support $10." This was a first! Of all the tours in 2008 and years past that I've done I've never heard of being charged $10 for SAG support if needed. Especially for a supported tour with a registration fee over $50. SAG support is usually if not assumed part of the deal. Apparently not in this case. So I started off on this ride with the opinion of Arlberg Sports doing this event on the cheap and I would find more evidence of this the further I rode in this "impressive" cycling tour.

Not to keep you in suspense, neither my wife or I required any SAG support on this tour. If we did, I was going to call my friend in Wenatchee and not the official SAG wagon that much was for sure. Okay, moving on... .

The ride started from the parking lot of Arlberg Sports in downtown Wenatchee and wound its way on Apple Capital Loop Trail that parallels the Columbia River and several nice city parks. This section was the flattest part of the tour since after all we are talking about Wenatchee Washington. From the trail we travelled on to city surface streets and State Highways. The first break station we rolled on to was in front of a grocery store in Cashmere. Maybe it's my stomach talking here but I tend to gauge at least partially, an organized, supported cycling tour on the rest stops and the food they provide the riders. The location of the first rest stop was fine in my opinion, the food and water was not. Tiny Dixie cups of trail mix and small packages of sliced apples were it for the food here and the water... well the water came from a five gallon water cooler container and wasn't the least bit cold. In fact, it was warm which really got me to thinking this tour is being done on the cheap. I munched on what was provided and topped off my water bottle which actually warmed up the remaining cold water that was already inside, determined to tackle more of the hills of the Wenatchee area.

The tour continued through various apple and pear orchards through Dryden to Peshastin where the second break station was located at Icicle Ridge winery. At least this break station had bagels with jam and peanut butter in addition to the bountiful feast of items from the last stop. To be consistent, the water was warm here too, and I could overhear several riders complaining that wine was not available to drink at this break station. The event volunteers at this station stated wine would be available at the dinner following the ride. Dinner by the way was not included. It more than doubled the "ride only" registration fee and yes, you would still have to fork out $10 for SAG support if needed. Riders that whined about no wine were about as smart as some of the folks who didn't follow the warning sign to the entrance of the winery. The winery is situated about 20 to 30 feet below the county road that goes by it. There is a steep unpaved driveway that travels just over a hundred feet to the facility itself. A sign is posted at the top of the driveway "Please dismount and walk your bike down drive way." This was obviously posted because the driveway was, a: very steep and b: consisted of loose dirt and gravel. At the time we spent at the Icicle Ridge winery I saw at least two riders who didn't heed this apparent suggestion and were requiring first aid kits for bloodied elbows and knees.

Halfway done at this point in the tour my wife and I decided to cycle onward and away from the brainless cyclists in the peleton. The next break station would be the Anjou Bakery just outside of Cashmere. By far this was the bright star of the tour and its only redeeming feature. The water here was bottled and in buckets of ice! At least someone in the Wenatchee area knows that water, like revenge is best served cold! Better yet Italian lemonade drinks were available along with tasty treats from the bakery. No doughnuts however, this was after all a French artisan bakery. This sheer oasis of goodness made the fourth and last break station of the Tour de Vine that much more pathetic.

Chateau Faire Le Pont Winery... sounds fancy doesn't it? Well it does and is but shouldn't have been a break station in this tour. For several reasons; a: it's less than five miles from the finish and b: it was manned by a singe male volunteer seated on a lawn chair shouting, "Come grab a bagel!" By bagel he was referring to the giant clear plastic bag of uncut bagels on the table. The bag of bagels was accompanied by you guessed it a five gallon bottle of warm water and that was it! No, I am not joking about this that was it! Warm water and a bag of uncut bagels and a tour volunteer who appeared to have no intention of getting up off his lazy ass and do anything. In his defense, what really can you do to make warm water and uncut bagels appealing? Why have a fourth break station on a fifty mile tour just over three miles from the finish? I guess that was so there was more than one winery on the tour that yes you still couldn't get wine from. This just solidified my opinion of what a poorly organized and poorly supported tour the Tour de Vine was. I don't think I'll be back for this one next year. Even if I do need some miles.