Course Routes on Map My Ride!

Our two longest routes are now on map my ride.

You can find the metric century by clicking here


You can find the 100 mile route by clicking here

Course Descriptions

We don't have the course descriptions in final form yet, but the elevation gains are as follows:

30 mile route = 394 feet
66 mile route = 1,394 feet
100 mile route = 2,720 feet.

None of the climbs are very steep or long.
I hope this helps and that we see you in June!

Registration is now open!

Our registration is online at Active.com. Either follow this link: , or go to Active.com and search for Ann Weatherill Cycling Classic.

Pictures from Last Year's Ride

2009 Ride

Register at the upper left on the red "Registration Open"

Directions to the start/finish at L'Ecole No 41

View Larger Map

Just click the "To Here" link for directions to our start location!

Please be mindful of parking signs when you arrive. There are certain places we do NOT want to park, and places we do.

Tips for Bicycling Around Cars & Driving Around Bicyclists

Tips for Bicycling Around Cars & Driving Around Bicyclists
from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance
www.bta4bikes.org

Driving Around Bicyclists
1. Check the bike lane – when turning right across a bike lane, always look behind you for a bicyclist; bikes can travel fast enough to catch up with you even if you passed them more than a block ago; if someone is approaching, wait and yield rather than trying to “beat” them; think of the bike lane like a train track – never sit and idle on it, don’t start across until you know you can clear it
2. Always signal – if you don’t signal your turns, both right and left, bicyclists can’t anticipate them and can’t make an effort to stay out of your blind spot; if talking on your cell phone is preventing you from using your turn signal, stop talking on your cell phone, get a hands-free phone, or grow an extra arm
3. Pass with ample room – except over a double yellow line, you can cross the center line to pass a bicyclist safely, as long as oncoming traffic is clear; passing close, especially over 25 mph, is very scary for the cyclist
4. Don’t honk to communicate with cyclists, unless there’s an emergency – if your horn sounds loud from inside your car, imagine how loud and shocking it is from just in front of it
5. Don’t follow closely – this is scary and intimidating, and the bicyclist probably would prefer to be out of your way as soon as possible but needs to be in the lane for some reason
6. Allow bicyclists to use crosswalks – they are permitted to do so, and in some places bicyclists rely on them for safe crossings
7. Look when opening your door – especially when you are parked next to a bike lane, but also on any street; many bicyclists ride close to parked cars to leave room for drivers to pass on their left, and this means you could hit them with your door if you don’t look first
8. Be cautious in residential neighborhoods – bicyclists like to use quiet streets to get around, so if you are sloppy or impatient at stop signs you risk hitting someone on a silent or vulnerable vehicle; also, slow down and stop before you get to the stop sign, not as you roll by it, because children biking on the sidewalk may cross in front of you and if you aren’t already slowing down you may run them over
9. Use good manners – apologize if you make a mistake and it will go a long way; eye contact and waves are very humanizing, especially in the stress of rush-hour traffic


Bicycling Around Cars
1. Be visible - #1 safety issue we see among bicyclists – use front and back lights, and wear light colored or reflective rain gear; invisible bicyclists risk their lives, and scare and infuriate even the most empathetic of car drivers
2. Learn to look over your left shoulder – helps with looking before leaving the bike lane to turn left, pass another cyclist or avoid a car door; helps with changing lanes; helps with making eye contact with passing motorists
3. Signal – for lane changes or turns, or stopping suddenly; motorists often are very nervous driving around bicyclists because they don’t know what to expect; make your intentions clear, and they’ll generally give you more space and time to do what you need to do; you aren’t required to signal, however, if you need both hands on your handlebars
4. Take the lane when necessary – sometimes if a lane is so narrow that passing is dangerous, you may need to take the lane briefly to make that clear to drivers behind you; move over as soon as you can safely and let people stuck behind you pass; if you’re going the speed of traffic, as often happens downtown or on downhills, feel free to take the lane – it is safer and more comfortable
5. Stay out of the “door zone” – be far enough away from parked cars that if someone opens a door without looking, you don’t have to swerve suddenly
6. Use extra caution if passing on the right – avoid doing this when there isn’t much room, when people are turning into driveways, or when traveling through an intersection; remember, there is no bike lane so drivers do not know to look for you there
7. Use good manners – if you make a mistake, give the “my bad” wave; if someone does something nice for you, give a wave of “thanks”; never steal the right-of-way, it is very offensive and terrible PR for bikes; give pedestrians lots of space

Remebering Ann: The Joy of Life Well Lived

The joy of life well lived, by Ann's best friend, Debi Toews

Ann Weatherill lived her life to the fullest, whether she was teaching, biking, or running the computer for the swim meets. More importantly, she was intensely involved in the lives of her family, and nothing mattered more to her than her family. Charles, Natalie and Emily, and her whole extended family were the recipients of her love and of her quick wit. Appropriately, I first met Ann while on a ride with the Wheatland Wheelers to Waitsburg. We kept up a constant stream of chatter that hasn’t stopped for all of these years since.

She had been teaching in the Peace Corps in Paraguay at the same time that my husband and I had been teaching in Kenya. We had in common all the stories of living in a village in the third world; the realization of what was truly important in life, and of dealing with the frustrations of a different culture, including the intestinal bugs and malaria that come with village life. This experience living in Paraguay gave her a great depth of understanding of her Hispanic students, their culture, and their language.

Ann always sought to bring out the best in people, but was not afraid to be frank when someone was messing around. In the cycling community she was always a sparkplug, and had a gift for making even the most miserable situations funny, with the occasional salty phrase.

Ann was always looking for a new challenge. That led her to cycling in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons; The Swan river valley in Montana, in the Blue Mountains to Wallowa Lake, and over the North Cascades. She completed 200 miles in a day on the STP Seattle to Portland event. When she was done she said to me: “been there, done that, never doin’ that again!”

A number of years ago we went on an Adventure Cycling tour of the North Cascades and Stevens Pass. The ride Director asked if we were sisters; we said no, only in spirit. He then spent the rest of the week teasing us that we must be mother and daughter and asking which one of us was the mother.

We often joked that the reason that we biked was so that we could eat…and eat some more. Saturday morning group rides were merely the pretense for cinnamon rolls at Merchants afterwards. Bike tours were the excuse for wholesale consumption of calories. In the Yellowstone tour the typical after bike pre-shower snack was a quart of chocolate milk and a Reese’s peanut butter cup. And after the shower, there was of course a full meal – and a beer. Coffee was always the main fuel for conversation. There was the perennial argument about whose turn it was to pay for our lattes; we were each sure that it was our turn. It can now be revealed that Ann had an even poorer memory of who paid last than I did.

Ann was always there for her friends, no matter what the need. Her response was always practical and frank.

I will always remember Ann’s joy of life and living.

Ann, may the Lord bless you and keep you,
May He make his face to shine upon you,
And may the wind be always at your back.

Awareness Test