New Tour de Menlo rolls out May 22 New Tour de Menlo rolls out May 22 (May 12, 2004)

** Bicyclists, walkers invited to join the party benefiting Trees for Menlo and Atherton Tree Committee.

By Jonas Raab
Special to the Almanac

Midpeninsula residents are invited to join the first Tour de Menlo event on Saturday, May 22, for a 5-kilometer walk or 10-kilometer bike ride around Atherton's Lindenwood neighborhood, or they can choose to test their legs on a 37-mile course over rolling hills to Highway 92 and back.

The event starts and finishes at Menlo-Atherton High School on Middlefield Road in Atherton, and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park and the Almanac. All proceeds will go to Trees for Menlo, the nonprofit group that is installing trees along El Camino Real, and to the Atherton Tree Committee, to defray the cost of planting trees in that community. Entries will be accepted on May 22, the day of the event, and anyone who wants to register in advance may do so until May 17. Entry forms can be found at many local bike shops and retailers, or at www.almanacnews.com. The entry fee for a single rider is $25, including a T-Shirt. Family entries are $50 for two or more riders or walkers, which include two T-Shirts, and students may enter for $15, also including a T-Shirt. Tour spokesman Richard Givens emphasized that every level of rider or walker will be comfortable in the event, adding that it is not a race. "Everyone is invited to ride or walk at their own pace," he said. Families with young walker or riders are especially invited to participate. And they will find a number of other attractions at the Menlo-Atherton High start-finish line.

Clowns, face-painting, balloons, and a bicycle safety course will be available for younger riders and walkers, and parents will appreciate the free youth identification kits provided by the Atherton Police Department. "Old Tom," the Menlo Park Fire Protection District's 1935 fire engine, will be on display, along with a number of police cars from 1960s and 1970s. Breakfast and lunch items will be available for purchase from members of the M-A wrestling team.

More experienced cyclists certainly will enjoy the 37-mile loop to Highway 92 via Woodside and Canada roads, with a return trip through Portola Valley, said Mr. Givens. There will be a support vehicle (SAG) to give assistance to riders as necessary. Cyclists will be provided with maps and there is a rest stop about mid-way through the route.

Younger and less experienced cyclists will ride two laps around Lindenwood in Atherton. It is a flat course, starting on Oak Grove Avenue and continuing to Greenoaks Drive and around the perimeter of Lindenwood. The 5-K walk is one lap around the same area. The Atherton Tree Committee will mark the names of tree species, allowing participants to identify trees they encounter along the route. Menlo Park and Atherton police officers on bicycles will be circulating to offer safety tips and patrol the route.

The courses open for cyclists at 8 a.m., though riders may check in until 9 a.m., and the Lindenwood route opens for walkers at 9:30 a.m. All events begin at Menlo-Atherton, 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton. Helmets are required for all riders, regardless of age, and all riders and walkers must sign a waiver. Anyone under 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent to participate.

For more information call Tom at 854-2626 or Dick at 365-6144.

Tour de Menlo at a glance:

What: Tour de Menlo -- 37-mile bike ride, 10-K bike ride and 5-K walk to benefit Trees for Menlo and Atherton Tree Committee.
Where: Meet at Menlo-Atherton High School, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton.
When: Saturday, May 22. Cyclists meet between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and walkers between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Fees: $15 for students, $25 for adults and $50 for families of three or more. Includes one free T-shirt for single entrees and two for families.
Information: For more information, go to www.AlmanacNews.com.

Event benefits tree-planting groups

Proceeds from Tour de Menlo entry fees will go to:

** Trees for Menlo, a nonprofit organization formed in 1998 by local residents to plant large shade trees along the sides and in the median of El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Trees For Menlo won the Lady Bird Johnson Award in 2001, given by the National Arbor Day Foundation to individuals or groups whose work sets an example for roadside beautification. For more information, go to www.treesformenlo.com.

** Atherton Tree Committee , formed in 1989 to protect and preserve Atherton's tree heritage, and teach people about proper care and selection of trees. The group plants trees on private and public property where they have been lost to disease or old age. For more information or to volunteer, go to www.ci.atherton.ca.us/treecommittee.html.

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