About 550 people braved unseasonably cool temperatures and west winds from 10 to 30 mph to ride the 11th edition of the Tour de Stooges bicycle tour on Saturday, May 3. A big thank you goes out to all of you for making our event a success!

Our volunteers did a fantastic job of getting people parked and registered quickly, and we are most appreciative of their efforts!

Our riders were very happy with our new home at Lindendale Park in Highland, Ill. They were impressed with the hospitality shown by the people of Highland. We want to express our thanks to the Helvetia Sharpshooters, our host for this year's ride; Cygan-Delaney Catering, which did an excellent job with the food; and the City of Highland for agreeing to be the host city for Tour de Stooges.

We are looking forward to returning to Highland in May 2009 for the 12th edition of the Tour de Stooges.

The Tour de Stooges consists of five routes ranging from 15 to 64 miles — a ride intended for cyclists of all ages and skill levels.

Our routes are on lightly traveled rural roads in Southwestern Illinois and within easy driving distance of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

In addition to Tour de Stooges, we invite you to check out other great rides presented by the Gateway Council of Hostelling International, including the Five-Star Century Series and the Moonlight Ramble.

Tour de Stooges photos online!

Longtime Tour de Stooges volunteer Doug Kaufman and first-time rider Jack Painter have posted pictures from the 2007 Tour de Stooges here. If you have photos you would like to share from the 2008 Tour de Stooges, please e-mail us your JPEGs, and we'll post them online!

Derik Holtmann photographed the 2006 Tour de Stooges for the Belleville News-Democrat. We've posted Derik's photos online, and you can see them here. Also, you can see a selection from Doug Kaufman here.

A ride for a great cause!

Gerry "Chief" Frierdich, a well-known Belleville, Ill., photographer and cyclist, was paralyzed from the chest down when his recumbent bicycle was struck by a pickup truck on Aug. 19, 2007, in Belleville.

Friends and family of Gerry, the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society and The Touring Cycling bicycle shop are putting on The Gerry Frierdich Road to Recovery Bicycle Ride on June 1, 2008, at Central Junior High School in Belleville. We invite you to join us on this benfit road, and all the proceeds will be used for Gerry's future medical needs and other necessities.