Event Overview and Schedule

The San Mateo County Parks Foundation, TdP Honorary Chairman Supervisor Richard Gordon, and Honorary Tour Host and Dirty Shirt legend Mark Simon welcome you to the Tour de Peninsula, a perennial highlight of the Bay Area’s social calendar for outdoor recreationists. This family ride offers a variety of bicycle routes on beautiful courses designed to suit everyone from young children and first time riders to serious cyclists. After the rides, a day of family fun activities takes place in Coyote Point Park, which contains an award-winning children’s playground, the Coyote Point Museum, and barbecuing and picnic facilities.

Benefit

Apart from providing a great day out in beautiful scenery, the main purpose of the Tour de Peninsula is to raise funds for the San Mateo County Parks Foundation and Bicycle Sunday – car-free biking on Canada Road. The San Mateo County Parks Foundation funds projects that restore habitat, provide environmental education, improve trails, support volunteer efforts, and encourage recreational use of parks. Since its founding in 1998, the Foundation and its members have provided millions of dollars for San Mateo County parks.

Be A Parks Pledge Pedaler!
Turn your ride into a San Mateo County Parks Foundation fundraiser.

History

Having unexpectedly grown out of Mark Simon’s newspaper columns about an imaginary bike ride, the Tour de Peninsula was founded circa 1991 by Mr. Simon and his friend Rick Sutton (Sea Otter Classic founder). With catch phrases such as “no pain, no pain,” and, “It’s not a race, it’s a ride,” the event was a semi-spoof of the Tour de France and ran through the campus of Stanford University. An instant success, 150 riders showed up with beaten-up old bikes and were told cheating is OK. People took short cuts and made frequent stops for donuts, taking up to three hours to ride a 15-mile course. Over the years, the ride continued to grow and in some ways became more reverent (although some people still dust off their old clunkers for it), but the jovial spirit has continued. Dirty Shirts are still seen among all the spandex and sport-wool.

The genesis of the Dirty Shirt was an occurrence on the first Tour de Peninsula when newbie cyclist Mark Simon was attempting to repair a flat tire on his old clunker bike. Rick Sutton, who had experience in a motorcycle workshop, helped out and, by force of habit, reached for something to wipe his hands after finishing the job… and somehow Mark Simon’s shirt got filthy. The Dirty Shirt was adopted on the spot as official clothing—a gentle dig in the ribs of the pristine yellow jersey worn back then by Greg LeMond in the Tour de France.
* Caution: the above story is partly apocryphal!

Short cuts are still a key feature of the Tour de peninsula, they are a way of making the ride manageable for some while keeping it challenging for others. After taking a break in 2008, the TdP has returned – same as it ever was – at a great new venue, Coyote Point.

2009 TdP

For the first time since its founding, the 2009 Tour de Peninsula will begin and end in Coyote Point Park alongside the San Francisco Bay in San Mateo – one of the most popular cycling destinations in the Bay Area. There are four different ride options:

• Kids - 1-3 miles
• Beginner - 20 miles
• Intermediate - 31 miles
• Advanced - 63 miles

These courses take riders on popular Peninsula bike routes that visit numerous San Mateo County Parks with breaks at rest stops and scenic sites along the way. After the rides, participants will gather at Coyote Point’s Captain’s House Picnic Area, a beautiful location nestled in a shaded eucalyptus grove.

Event Day Schedule

6:30 - 8 am: Event check-in and registration at the Captain's House Picnic Area
8 am: Rides begin (except Kids/Family Rides, see below)
11 am: Most riders (except 63 milers) expected back at Coyote Point
11 am onwards: Fun and festivities in the park
12 noon: Kids/Family Rides in the park - led by professional riders

Host Hotel

Host Hotel A special Tour de Peninsula discount rate of $99/night is offered by the nearby Crowne Plaza SFO hotel. Give the code “TDP”. Click here to make reservations.

Attractions

The Tour de Peninsula is more than just a ride - it's an outdoor experience for the whole family. Attractions include:

• The Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, open at no charge to all TdP participants and their families. The museum educates visitors about the diversity of California's natural environment through exhibits, gardens and live animals. www.coyoteptmuseum.org
• Magic Mountain Playground, with 6 slides and play features for toddlers through teens. Magic Mountain and Coyote Point Park won gold medals for best playground and outdoor recreation area in the "Best of the Best 2008" issue of Bay Area Parent magazine.
• The Bike Skills Demo Area, a short course of entry-level bike challenges for kids.
• Picnic tables and grills (bring your own food and beverages, or purchase from concessions on site)
• Networking and lively conversation with other Bay Area residents and families