Tour de Cape, the 19th annual citywide bike-riding event, ended Sunday afternoon at Cape Harbour.
Bicyclists could choose from courses spanning 15, 30, 66 or 100 miles through the streets of Cape Coral, or for the first time ever, a family friendly course that lasted five miles.
Theresa Hart, from the City of Cape Coral Parks and Recreation Department, said approximately 600 riders people participated in the 5K run on Saturday and one of the cycle courses on Sunday.
The most popular cycling course in 2010 was the 30 mile which twisted as far north as Pine Island Road, she said.
It usually brings in around 700 people, said Hart, but late reports of a storm coming through the city changed the minds of some participants.
For the first time this year the city opened a new five mile course for families.
“We had about 75 people doing the family route,” said Hart. “That’s maybe 25 or 30 families.”
She said some riders were as young as 5 years old and the course was safely protected by Cape Coral police and park rangers. The family course was so successful the event organizers want to include it for next year’s event.
“It was pretty successful,” said Hart.
Fort Myers resident Ken Rosencrans signed up for the Tour de Cape’s 66-mile course for the first time this year. He stared riding at 8 a.m. and didn’t make it back to Cape Harbour until approximately 1 p.m.
“I went all over the place, all the way to Burnt Store Road and back,” he said.
Rosencrans said he enjoyed it so much that he would try to sign up in 2011, but he’d use a different bike. His was designed for off-road riding and wasn’t as fast as some of the others – only an estimated 20 mph instead of 25-30 mph.
“I didn’t have the bike for it,” he said. “But I pounded through it. I’ll do it again, but on a different bike.”
From noon to 5 p.m. Cape Harbour was open to cyclists who wanted to listen to music and relax. Free 10- minute massages were being offered to those who just returned from a ride.
One of the event sponsors, B.J.’s Wholesale Club, was signing up residents for memberships or renewals over the weekend. Sandra Aguilar, community relations manager for, said a portion of their profit would benefit the American Cancer Society.
This was the second year that B.J.’s Wholesale Club has sponsored the event, she said.