Chuck Hansen High Desert Bicycle Tour stalls

October event canceled, but will return in 2015, officials say

The Chuck Hansen Tour de Apple Valley has been a staple of the High Desert biking world for the past six years, giving local cyclists a chance to enjoy their sport while also raising money for charity.

Hansen and his wife Pat said recently they just gave the Police Activities League a check for $2,000 from the proceeds of last year’s event.

But what was supposed to become a bigger and better cycling event this year now won’t happen at all, and the Hansens are none too happy about it.

The Chuck Hansen High Desert Bicycle Tour was slated for October with 100-, 50-, and 25-mile rides through portions of Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville. But the event has been canceled. The Hansens say this happened after they complained via email that the planned routes were not rider-friendly and required too many directions.

[…]

“There were complications shifting from a solely Apple Valley event to a regional event,” Victorville City Manager Doug Robertson said in an email. “The committee believed it would be best to work on a safe, successful event in 2015 rather than try to rush the event this year and potentially have a negative experience for the riders we attract from outside the area.”

Apple Valley Mayor Art Bishop helped the Hansens get the event going, and he said he thinks expanding it to a regional event makes sense, even if it means postponing it for a year.

“From Apple Valley’s point of view we’re excited about it becoming a regional bike ride,” Bishop said. “To go regional is the right thing, but sometimes the hardest thing.”

[…]

Robertson and Bishop seem convinced the event will return in 2015. But that’s still a bitter pill for the Hansens, who point to lost money and the inability to provide charitable support to the Police Activities League this year.

Source: vvdailypress.com/article/20140824/NEWS/140829906


Follow-up from Victorville City Manager Doug Robertson, August 28th:

I’m on the committee and we met last night to begin plans for a 2015 ride. I won’t go into the details of the cancellation this year but I can tell you we are actively working to make it a Victor Valley ride with a century and we are looking into bicycle safety as our charitable work. The committee is aware of the complaints about the TdAV [Tour de Apple Valley] in the past and will be actively be seeking to address and overcome them. The Hansons spent many good years promoting cycling but they are no longer a part of the committee or ride. I’ll update more as we make a few more decisions regarding next year.

Author: Greg Raven

I may be slow, but that’s only because I’m so old and fat.