The sixth annual Tour de Tryptophan will start the day after Thanksgiving, 2009. (Image credit: Daniel Simms)
The sixth annual Tour de Tryptophan / 24 hours of the Fullerton Loop will begin on Friday in Southern California and will benefit the Brent Thompson Memorial Fund.
The fundraiser fun ride will commence at noon on Friday and finish at noon on Saturday. As it is a fun ride with no rules, riders can start or finish at any time - do one lap, go home for the evening and do another in the morning or ride their brains out for 24 hours. Seventeen laps seems to be the reigning record.
The Fullerton Loop is an 11-mile network of suburban trails that pass through city parks, horse trails, hidden pathways and creekside wilderness. Originally pieced together by Richard Cunningham of Mantis Bikes and Mountain Bike Action fame in 1983, hundreds of people ride and train on the famed loop every day. This 24-hour event was conceived as a celebration of the loop, and an excuse to burn off Thanksgiving dinner while supporting a good cause.
This year's event honors Brent Thompson, who created most of the trails riders enjoy at Bootleg Canyon, outside of Boulder City, Nevada. Thomson passed away earlier in the year, and his artist son Barret is working with other artists to create a sculpture honoring Brent to be erected onsite at Bootleg Canyon.
Past recipients of funds raised at the Tour de Tryptophan include Children's Hospital of Orange County, Hans Rey's Wheels 4 Life Charity - benefitting cycling-oriented needs in Africa, the Tara Llanes Recovery Fund and the SoCal High School Cycling League.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
