The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Bicyclists who enjoy riding in a casual, family-oriented atmosphere will find the first annual Sisters Bicycle Festival very much to their liking.

The festival, set for Saturday and Sunday, September 21-22, will feature several rides of different lengths and difficulty; safety programs; skills trials and more.

The rides include the Hoodoo 40, from Hoodoo Ski Area into Sisters. This is a challenging ride with a fair bit of climbing (it's not all downhill from Hoodoo), limited to riders 16 and older.

The Indian Ford Cruise offers a five-mile ride for all ages. The Suttle Lake 16 offers a moderate ride through forest trails and roads, open to riders 10 and older.

Organizers say this will be a good family ride.

The festival is a fund-raiser for SOAR (Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation.)

There will be a bicycle safety program hosted by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance at 2 p.m. on Saturday and a Burley Trailer Parade at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday's events include a bicycle orienteering course and a "newspaper toss," both at 10 a.m.

Event organizer Jerry Norquist emphasized the family nature of the event.

"To me, it's a bike festival, not a bike race," he said.

He acknowledged that the competitive nature of many cyclists will come to the fore.

"We know people will ride it fast and try to be the first one in, and we're fine with that," he said.

Sign-ups for the events will continue up to the day of the events.

Same-day registration on Saturday runs 7 to 9:30 a.m. at the Village Green.

For more information or to pre-register, call SOAR at 549-2091.