Tour de Menlo rolls out Saturday Tour de Menlo rolls out Saturday (May 19, 2004)

** Event offers fun, food and recreation for kids of all ages.

By Jonas Raab
Special to the Almanac

Cyclists and walkers of all ages are invited to join the party Saturday morning, May 22, at the first Tour de Menlo, which starts and finishes at Menlo-Atherton High School, 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton.

The event features a 5-kilometer walk, 10-kilometer bike ride, and for more experienced cyclists, a 37-mile ride to Highway 92 and back.

At the high school, breakfast and lunch will be for sale -- benefiting M-A's wrestling and lacrosse teams -- and there will be face-painting booths, clowns, balloons, and a bicycle-safety course.

"Old Tom" -- the Menlo Park Fire District's 1935 fire truck -- will be on display, as will police cruisers from the 1960s and 1970s. Parents can pick up a free youth-identification kit, compliments of the Atherton Police Department.

Breakfast items will be for sale from 7:30 a.m. on, and will include gourmet coffee, bagels and cream cheese, and fresh juice drinks. Hamburgers will be for sale at lunchtime.

Recommended check-in time for cyclists is between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. The Lindenwood route opens to walkers at 9:30 a.m.

Tour de Menlo, which benefits Trees for Menlo and the Atherton Tree Committee, is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park and the Almanac.

The routes

The event is not a race. "Everyone is invited to ride or walk at their own pace," Tour de Menlo spokesman Richard Givens said.

The 10K ride is on a flat course around Lindenwood in Atherton, starting on Oak Grove Avenue and continuing to Greenoaks Drive and around the Lindenwood perimeter. The 5K walk is one lap around the same area. Menlo Park and Atherton police officers on bicycles will circulate to offer safety tips and assistance as necessary.

The 37-mile ride to Highway 92 and back will be via Woodside and Canada roads. There will be a support vehicle to assist riders as necessary and a rest stop about midway through the route. Maps will be provided.

Entry fees are $25 for a single rider, including a T-shirt; $50 for families of three or more, including two T-shirts; and $15 for students, also including one T-shirt. Entry forms will be accepted the day of the event.

Helmets are required for all riders, regardless of age, and walkers must sign a waiver. Anyone under 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.

Tree groups benefit

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.

** The 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.

For more information on Tour de Menlo, go to AlmanacNews.com, or call Tom Gibboney at 854-2626 or Dick Givens at 365-6144.

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