Cyclists invited to June Golden Road race

MILLINOCKET – The Golden Road’s first bicycle race and touring event in at least 20 years, the Golden Road Bike Tour, will occur June 2-3, organizers said Monday.

Months in the making, the two-day event will draw cyclists from around the region to sample the wildlife and natural beauty of the region and the lifeline to Katahdin’s storied and still vibrant paper manufacturing and forest management industries, said Stanley McLaughlin, co-founder of the Katahdin Trails Alliance.

“The whole tour has so much culture and history that it would be a shame not to share it with everybody,” McLaughlin said Monday. “When we bring people close to the way we live in our culture, they get a better feel of why the Golden Road is important now.”

Extending hundreds of miles, the Golden Road is a primary artery to woodcutting crews working the largest stretch of contiguous forest in the northern United States.

“It has so much value we cannot even comprehend how much,” McLaughlin added.

KTA is a 35-member bicycling and hiking club that, following in the footsteps of area ATV and snowmobile riders, wants to map trails, publish a trail guide, promote bicycle and hiking safety and education, establish bike lanes and signage on roads, create Katahdin racing and touring events and apply for private, state or federal grant money for those efforts.

The KTA’s longer term and most ambitious goal is to turn Katahdin into one of New England’s great bicycle and mountain-biking destinations, which the publication of bike trail maps could help.

This event will help accomplish that goal, McLaughlin said.

“The thing that we would like to stress is that this is such a unique opportunity for people to tour-ride the Golden Road for two days,” said Lisa McLaughlin, Stanley’s wife. “It’s a unique opportunity that’s drawing people from all over the state and some people from out of state, too. Right now it’s hard to tell how many, but we think it’s going to be a significant event.”

On June 2, riders will gather at the Debsconeaq turnout to buy a Golden Road Tour packet, which will contain a registration tag, rules of the bike tour, a map of Millinocket’s points of interest, and an invitation to a free concert at Millinocket’s band stand.

Tours will be given of the Ambajejus and Millinocket lakes to Ripogenus Dam and Gorge, and historians or guest speakers will give lectures at key points, McLaughlin said.

The Golden Road race on June 3 will run over a 20-mile loop. Tours will resume once the race gets under way, he said.

A single registration packet will cost $25; family, $40; and group rates are available.

For information about the Golden Road Bike Tour, contact McLaughlin at stan.extreme

@gmail.com, or write to Katahdin Trails Alliance, P.O. Box 248, Millinocket 04462.