Tour de Cypress expands with Sunday Mountain Bike Ride

The Ninth Annual Tour de Cypress Ride and Run in Mount Vernon will expand this year into Sunday with the Trey Deuce Mountain Bike Ride.
The 0.6 mile mountain bike berm course is being added to an already successful weekend of food, fun, riding and running.
The weekend kicks off with a Heroes Barbecue at 6 p.m. Friday, April 19, during which the Mount Vernon Rotary Club, sponsor of Tour de Cypress, honors emergency personnel, fire fighters and police officers for their dedication throughout the year. The departments also provide traffic control and safety during the ride and run. The barbecue is staged at the Franklin County Airport Community Hall and is free to bikers. Bruce Dunai will provide entertainment.
Registration for the bike ride opens at 7 a.m. April 20 on the downtown square for the five bike routes ranging from 10 to 62 miles. The four longer routes stagger start on the east side of the downtown square beginning at 9 a.m. and the family friendly 10 mile route begins a few minutes afterward. Kids 12 and under can ride the 10 mile route free with a paid adult registration.
Five and 10K runs begin at 1 p.m., giving riders an opportunity to participate in both events.
Live entertainment this year will feature Bongo and the Point, a three piece band that hails from Lindale. They will perform as free hamburgers are served from Our Place Restaurant on the square to the riders. Free beer is also provided by participants. Following tradition, recorded music will open up the activities on the square, provided by Morr-Is Better DJ Service.
Bike routes wind through restored land areas of the Luminant Monticello South Mine.
Three of the routes, 45, 52 and 62 mile distances, will circle beautiful Lake Cypress Springs and pass by Trey Deuce Domino Saloon on County Road 3010, the site of the Sunday Mountain Bike Ride.
The 52 and 62 mile (100k) routes will also give riders a glimpse of camels, zebras and antelope living at the exotic animal farm operated by Dr.  Cathy Cranmore, and her husband, Don, in the south part of Franklin County.
Tour organizers are expecting the 300 riders who participated last year to return and bring a friend or two, swelling the numbers to up to 500 riders.
The 2013 Tour de Cypress event is dedicated to the memory of Gary Ovard of Quitman, who died while riding in last year’s event. A special tent will be erected on the square for members of the Ovard family, who will be riding in his memory.
The ride will begin with a neutral roll out in Mr. Ovard’s honor.
Tour de Cypress benefits youth projects of the Mount Vernon Rotary Club, including Blessings in a Backpack, coloring books and colors for children visiting the emergency room at ETMC-Mount Vernon, dictionaries for third grade students, leadership awards for high school juniors, and speech contest awards.
For more information or to register on-line, go to www.tourdecypress.com or send an e-mail to info@tourdecypress.com.