Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 1, 2010, for the 13th edition of the Tour de Stooges bicycle ride at Lindendale Park in Highland, Ill.

Despite forecasts calling for as much as an 80 percent of rain, about 375 people attended the 2009 ride. Those who attended were rewarded with partly cloudy skies, no rain, little wind and temperatures in the 60s -- perfect cycling weather. You can see a short video of the ride below.

Once again, our riders were very happy with our new home at Lindendale Park. They were impressed with the hospitality shown by the people of Highland. We want to express our thanks to the Helvetia Sharpshooters, the hosts for the Tour de Stooges; 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.

A special thank you goes out to our hard-working volunteers, who played a major role in making the Tour de Stooges an enjoyable experience. This year, we received lots of compliments on our rest stops.

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.

Video from the 2009 Tour de Stooges!

Belleville News-Democrat photgrapher Tim Vizer shot this short video of the 2009 Tour de Stooges as cyclists made their way up Old Trenton Road near Highland. We are grateful to the News-Democrat to allowing us to link to the video.

2009Tour de Stooges photos online!

Belleville News-Democrat photographer Tim Vizer shot the 2009 Tour de Stooges. One of them appeared in the May 3 News-Democrat, and you can see his photos here!

Longtime Tour de Stooges volunteers Doug Kaufman and Jerry Whittle have posted photos from the 2008 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!

Doug and first-time rider Jack Painter posted pictures from the 2007 Tour de Stooges here.

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 here.