Tour des Lacs Rides Through South Reston

As you may have heard, the Tour de France just ended. I was fortunate to be able to see several of the stages which were broadcast live on TV. Ever since I've been going through Tour de France withdrawal, so it was a pleasant surprise when my wife Kerie told me I had to come outside Thursday evening to see the finish of Tour des Lacs.

Neighbors in Old Westbury organized the Tour des Lacs, a family ride of Lakes Thoreau and Audubon. It was a six-mile circuit that took just over an hour. One of our neighbors, , was the official tour starter. He did the same for the mini Tour des Lacs, a ride around our street that included a young scooter rider who wasn't able to ride the official Tour.

It was great to see so many neighborhood kids having fun on their bikes. Several were wearing flourescent green jerseys. One of the adults was wearing a combination jersey with the Tour de France colors; yellow for the race leader, red polka dots for the King of the Mountains, rainbow stripes for the World Champion, and white for the best young rider, won this year by Tejay van Garderen of the U.S.

We need more local bike tours like the Tour des Lacs. Why not a Tour de Lake Anne or a Tour de Town Center, a Tour de North Point? Our advocacy group Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling plans to hold a Tour of Reston this Fall that will begin at the Nature Center, include the Soapstone and Lawyers Road bike lanes, the new Wiehle Avenue Metro station, the Bowman Mansion, and Lake Anne.

Why not create your own Tour de Your Neighborhood?