This year’s Apple Cider Century will be on September 28th, but discounted registration is due by July 31st. The ACC is a great ride, with multiple distances and excellent SAG stops. It starts in Three Oaks, MI.

Here’s the URL: http://www.applecidercentury.com/

Hope to see you there!

If you’re a touring cyclist looking for the best cross-state ride in the country, look no further than our neighbor two states to the left. The Des Moines (Iowa) Register annually sponsors a rolling festival of biking with its ride, R.A.G.B.R.A.I. . . . the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. Now in its 36 year, this rolling party of 10,000 cyclists and probably as many supporters attracts folks from all corners of the world.

For the past two years, and with plans to head over again this year, Team Velodox (http://velodox.blogspot.com) represents the South Bend area on this adventure.

Averaging about 70 miles a day, and always riding from West to East, RAGBRAI moves from town to town, stopping to overnight in some of Iowa’s best small-town communities. In 35 years, they’ve begun, passed through or stayed overnight, or ended in over 68% of the towns in Iowa.

Check out their web site, http://www.ragbrai.org.

If you’ve ever had a desire to bike from “sea to shining sea” (or in this case from the Muddy Missouri to the Muddy Mississippi), then RAGBRAI is your ride.