Choose your ride
By Colin Anderson | Photo Courtesy of the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation | Article provided by Coeur d’Alene Living Local
While there are many intense and competitive runs, rides and triathlons in our area, the Gran Fondo is not one of them. The annual fall event is meant to bring the cycling community together for a fun day of riding in support of one of the area’s favorite recreational pathways—The Centennial Trail.
There are four different distances for this ride held on Saturday, September 22. The Gran is the longest at 108 miles. The ride takes you along Lake Coeur d’Alene through Harrison and then St. Maries before turning back north. The Medio is an 84-mile run that from Harrison turns onto the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. The Piccolo ride is a 37-mile straight shot to Harrison with a return trip to town via a Coeur d’Alene Resort cruise boat. Finally there is a 15-mile family friendly out-and-back ride along the Centennial Trail that returns to the starting point at Second and Sherman downtown.
Registration is available online at CdAGranFondo.com. Proceeds from the ride go to the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation. With the money, the organization repairs and maintains the Idaho side of the trail, implements continued improvements and helps encourage locals and visitors alike to get out and enjoy the trail.
As in years past, the ride ends downtown during the Coeur d’Alene Chamber’s annual Oktoberfest Celebration. The event is family friendly, and there are several downtown-area businesses set up with beer tastings and some traditional German food offerings, the perfect ending to a great day of riding.
Enjoy a great ride, help out a long-established local nonprofit and end your day in celebration with your friends and neighbors. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful fall Saturday.
