A Race Geared to Give Cyclists a Choice

CycleCruise Orange County, coming up on Sunday, will allow cyclists to experience some things they might not have had the opportunity to try before.

Road cyclists and mountain bikers will be able to choose from courses that range from 6 to 50 miles. All courses in the ambitious event start and finish at Dana Point Harbor, where a health fair, offering free screenings and evaluations, will be underway.

Several twists are available to participants. Road cyclists who choose to ride to Newport Beach along an inland route will get to travel back to Dana Point on a luxury yacht (but it will cost extra). Mountain bikers, meanwhile, will have a chance to ride along the Arroyo Trabuco, a section of O’Neill Regional Park that is normally closed to the public (this, however, is at no extra charge).

“That will give people miles and miles of uninterrupted cycling,” said event organizer Jeffrey Boudin, adding that participants will not see a single crossroad. “You’re going to be riding a wilderness that’s pretty much dwindling in the county.”

The first-time event has been in planning for more than a year.

“We were looking for a fund-raising program that would be open to all ages and all levels of aerobic condition,” Boudin said. “It’s a program that is designed to showcase the county’s developing network of bike trails and the natural beauty that still remains.”

Benefiting from the event’s fund-raising element, and organizing the health fair, is the UCI College of Medicine Preventative Health Program, according Renee Becker, Boudin’s associate. The health fair has grown into a much bigger event than originally planned, she said.

“I first thought of the health fair as sort of an ancillary component of the bike event,” Boudin said. “I think that it really is going to dwarf the bike event, in terms of numbers.” Boudin expects as many as 2,500 cyclists to take part, and perhaps 10,000 to take advantage of the health fair.

Boudin plans the CycleCruise as an annual ride and has already started assembling the necessary permits for next year. He sees drawing as many as 10,000 cyclists in three years.

“I anticipate this thing to be a big event.”