A brief history of Tour d' Italia


  Early in the spring of 1987, David Chamberlain, a long-time club member, came to the club exclaiming about a route that he had discovered near Italy, Texas. After discussing this with the rides leader, the club decided to plan club rides in that area.
After the club had ridden the routes several times, one of the local citizens of Italy was waiting for them at their cars when they returned. The gentleman suggested that the club plan on bringing others to the area to ride. It seemed that Italy was planning their celebration for the Sesquicentennial Homecoming for the 4th of July celebration. They were going to have a street dance and plenty of good food, which all cyclists enjoy, as a part of their festivities.
  Ed Meyer, another long-time member of the club, took on the responsibility of planning the first Tour d’ Italia. When he first went to the city government for approval, it seemed that other outsiders had used the town and left it ‘trashy’, and they were not very interested in offering a bicycle club the opportunity to do the same. After several meetings, the club was able to convince them that ‘bicyclists would not do that’, and they finally agreed to give us a chance. So, the First Annual Tour d’ Italia was organized.
  The first ride was held on July 5, 1986, with a total of 238 riders. The club only expected about fifty.  With all the great volunteer workers, it has been possible to continue to offer a relaxing, fun, and yes, sometimes-hot ride. The ride has had an average of 1,000 to 1,100 riders.
  The 20th Annual Tour d’ Italia still continues to have a number of riders that will not miss it, along with attracting a large group of first-time Tour d’ Italia riders. In 2005, a record number of paid registrations was set of 1,391 with only 22 no-shows.