INTRODUCTION
The Mid-Valley Bicycle Club Loop Tour (www.looptour.org) is an annual 9-day cycling & camping tour sponsored by the Mid-Valley Bicycle Club (www.mvbc.com) somewhere in Oregon or the Pacific Northwest. The first Loop Tour was held in 1976 and it has been held nearly every year since. This document (history.looptour.org) lists the Loop Tour events that have taken place since then, along with corresponding references into our Loop Tour archive.
This document was originally created and maintained by Nancy Meitle (see people.mvbc.com). Early records are courtesy of Janet Throop, Nancy Meitle, Richard & Lindy Burgess, and others. Many thanks to all these people for keeping track of the evidence of these marvelous events.
Record of Loop Tours |
The table that follows provides a reasonably complete accounting of Loop Tour history. Other records exist, mostly planning documents, but are not referenced here. If you cannot find what you are looking for here, please send email to sysadmin@mvbc.com and explain what you’re interested in and why.
It’s often possible to learn more about a specific loop tour by searching for articles or references in the online newsletter (issues back to 2012) or the print archive (issues back to 1977). A good place to get started is in the “From the Archives” section of the June 2013 Newsletter. You’ll find information there on the 1978 Tour to the North Oregon Coast (a.k.a. Loop II, the very first organized Loop Tour), and the 1991 Tour in the Wallowas (Loop XV), a favorite Loop Tour route area.
We are in the process of digitizing past Loop Tour route data and hope eventually to upgrade this to a full collection of location tagged route & elevation maps (see our routes page). Individual Loop Tour route files are referenced below. For bulk access to the current collection, see the Loop Tour Routes Folder.
Editor's Note: There has been some historical inconsistency in assigning sequence numbers to MVBC Loop Tours. Most of this derives from the question of whether to consider the 1978 Loop Tour as the first ("I") or the second ("II") event. There was a limited participation "Founders Tour" in 1976. The convention we adopt here is to start counting with the Founders Tour as Loop I.
Loop Tour Photos |
We are fortunate to have photographs from many Loop Tours. References included below are to archive folder areas, which support simple viewing, but are more useful for bulk file actions like selection and download. A subset of our Loop Tour photo archives have been posted as photo albums. These provide more viewing conveniences, and may be found at gallery.mvbc.com.
Year | No | Descriptor | References | Other Info |
1976 | I | Founders Tour | ||
1977 | N/A | No Loop Tour | ||
1978 | II | Astoria | ||
1979 | III | Sisters | Sisters Start, See Judy Krueger | |
1980 | IV | No Records | ||
1981 | V | Lake Billy Chinook | July 1981 Newsletter | |
1982 | VI | Astoria | Loop II Reprise | |
1983 | VII | Wallowas | John Day Start | |
1984 | VIII | South Coast | Winston Start | |
1985 | IX | Mt. Hood | Corvallis Start | |
1986 | X | North Coast | Corvallis Start | |
1987 | XI | Wallowas | Mt. Vernon Start | |
1988 | XII | South Coast | Winston Start | |
1989 | XIII | Lakeview | Sunriver Start | |
1990 | XIV | Mt. Hood | Corvallis Start | |
1991 | XV | Wallowas | Pendleton Start | |
1992 | XVI | Coast/Cascades | Corvallis Start | |
1993 | XVII | North Coast | Corvallis Start, Wet’n’Wild | |
1994 | XVIII | South Coast | Winston Start | |
1995 | XIX | Lakeview | Sunriver Start | |
1996 | XX | Mt. Hood | No Records | Corvallis Start |
1997 | XXI | Wallowas | Pendleton Start | |
1998 | XXII | Coast/Cascades | Corvallis Start | |
1999 | XXIII | Prineville | Prineville Start | |
2000 | XXIV | South Coast | Winston Start | |
2001 | XXV | Central Cascades | Corvallis Start | |
2002 | XXVI | Wallowas | Pendleton Start | |
2003 | XXVII | View of the Lakes | Lapine Start | |
2004 | XXVIII | Northern Idaho | ||
2005 | XXIX | South Coast | ||
2006 | XXX | Prineville | ||
2007 | XXXI | North Coast | Corvallis Start | |
2008 | XXXII | Wallowas | ||
2009 | XXXIII | Coast/Cascades | Corvallis Start | |
2010 | XXXIV | Northern Idaho | ||
2011 | XXXV | Klamath Basin | Klamath Falls Start | |
2012 | XXXVI | Columbia Gorge | Corvallis Start | |
2013 | XXXVII | South Coast | ||
2014 | XXXVIII | Bend | Bend with a Twist | |
2015 | XXXIX | Olympic Peninsula | ||
2016 | XL | Wallowas | See burgess.mvbc.com | |
2017 | XLI | KFC StripTrip | Klamath Falls Start | |
2018 | XLII | John Day | John Day Start | |
2019 | XLIII | North Coast, San Juans | Corvallis Start | |
2020 | No Loop Tour | Pandemic | ||
2021 | 44 | Idaho | Photos | Spokane Falls |
2022 | 45 | Bend | Bend | |
2023 | 46 | Olympic Peninsula | Montesano |
Resources |
LOOP TOUR
MID-VALLEY BICYCLE CLUB