Annual Tour de Lakes a mighty force in area

As they have since 2002, hundreds of bicyclists young and old gathered Saturday morning for the Tour de Lakes ride.

What started as a small group of riders has grown over the years into one of the largest rides of its kind in the Kansas City area, drawing more than 900 riders last year. This year’s number, especially with the ideal weather, was expected to reach 1,000.

“It (has) become one of Kansas City’s premier bike rides in the metro,” said Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation Superintendent of Special Events Tede Price. “Last year we had 11 states represented and close to 900 riders.”

This year’s ride took cyclists on one of four different routes ranging in length from 10 to 63 miles. All the routes incorporated one of more Lee’s Summit area lakes: Longview, Raintree, Prairie Lee, Blue Springs and Lake Jacomo.

Sponsored by Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation, Tour de Lakes honors the memory of Tom Logan, a longtime Lee’s Summit cycling enthusiast who died in 2001 while on a ride.

Logan often said, “There’s nothing like a great bike ride,” and every year the Tour de Lakes proves him right.

This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Annual Tour de Lakes a mighty force in area."