More detailed descriptions can be found on the Ride Rating System page
This ride is a fixed-base or semi-fixed-base ride, please read the ride description for more details.
† Explanation of BAC Ride Fee – This fee is not included in the Estimated Cost and is non-refundable once submitted. The Ride Fee for US and Canada is $85 and $150 for all other countries, both are per participant.
If bicycling and appreciating good wines are two of your favorite activities you will not want to miss this tour. The vineyards of Walla Walla and Eastern Washington are the backdrop for this seven-day tour through the southeastern part of Washington state. In the last 20 to 30 years, Walla Walla has reinvented itself as a very successful wine producing region. This area has quickly become known as the "Napa Valley of the North" with between 120 and 150 wineries. Many wineries are the winners of prestigious awards.
This tour was first offered in 2008 and 2011 and the tour leaders are excited to re-offer this unique tour.
As a fixed-base tour, we will feature light to more difficult riding options, selective wine tasting, and transportation for your wine purchases back to our hotel. Unlike most fixed-base BAC rides, we will have a sag vehicle available on each day’s featured rides to transport your wine purchases back to the hotel. However, this is transportation for your wine, not for riders; we encourage responsible riding and responsible wine tasting on this tour.
Our objective is not to go to as many wineries as possible but rather to select wineries that offer us a high-quality tasting experience. As a note: although we will focus on value, we are not trying to find the least expensive wines. Some of our wine tours will be offered at higher cost/higher value wineries.
The Walla Walla area features some quiet rural roads for cycling. If you want more riding and less emphasis on wine tasting, we are including extended cycling routes for each of those days. Be sure to let the tour leaders know your preferences and we’ll do our best to match you with similarly minded cyclists.
Our tour will include a visit to the Walla Walla Community College, home to the one of the few West Coast Viticulture Programs outside of California. There we'll learn how soil, weather and grapes all play a role in the production of wine and have a chance to taste their products.
Mid-week we will ride in vans to selected wineries in the Milton Freewater area, stopping for lunch and a wine tasting served at one of the wineries.
HEALTH AND SAFETY: Participants are expected to come to the tour in good health and ready to ride. Should someone's health become compromised and the group’s health and safety placed in jeopardy, a plan will be developed by the ride leader(s) and communicated to all individuals. The expectation is for the group to work together to mitigate any spread of infection or illness as a means to ensure the tour can continue as planned.
RIDE RATING: 2B This fixed-base tour has no required riding days, instead it offers choices of more than 18 Ride With GPS routes, featuring a long and a short ride for each day and several other optional rides. The ride is rated a 2B which is an average of the optional daily rides with the planned routes varying from a 1A to 4C. Most rides start directly from the hotel, but we also include optional remote starts (for this reason, a car or carpooling is recommended but not required for the tour). After you sign up for the tour, the tour leaders will ask if you plan to fly or drive, and if you plan to drive if you will be available to help transport other riders. The tour leaders can help arrange carpooling. An optional warm up ride and museum tour is available for early arrivals.
CUE SHEETS, MAPS, GPS FILES: The ride leader will provide RWGPS routes prior to the start of the tour. Participants will receive an email containing a link to the EVENT, which will include all routes for the tour. Participants will need to have downloaded (at the minimum) the free version of the RWGPS app to receive voice turn by turn directions. Participants wanting cue sheets will need to print their own from the files provided. The routes in RWGPS are easily loaded to GPS devices.
WEATHER: One of the great things about riding in the Walla Walla area is that you can be out in the countryside very quickly. Great unless you are not prepared! Days can be windy and/or hot this time of year, but with very little chance of rain. Bring sunscreen, extra water bottles and/or a Camelback - there can be limited services on this ride. Local riders agree that the temperature is likely to be in the 50’s to 60’s in the morning and warm to the 70's during the day.
HAZARDS:
Riding in Eastern Washington introduces hazards including but not limited to; goat head thorns, gravel roads, cattle guards, rattlesnakes, wildfire smoke.
LODGING, MEALS AND SOCIAL HOUR:
Our tour will be based at the historic Marcus Whitman Hotel located in downtown Walla Walla and within easy walking distance of the Wine District and its wine tastings, and an eclectic mix of stores.
We will meet in the hotel for a social hour at 5:30 pm on September 9th followed by our first group dinner. We’ll have social hours every evening except for our last one together when we’ll have our final group dinner. At each day’s social hour the next day’s ride choices will be discussed; you'll want to pay particular attention to road conditions as well as the route length and BAC rating.
LOGISTICS:
The tour officially starts at 5:30 pm on September 9th and ends on September 16th after breakfast.
If you are flying to Walla Walla, there are flights from both Spokane and Seattle International Airports. An airport shuttle to the Marcus Whitman Hotel from the Walla Walla Regional Airport is available compliments of the hotel and bike box storage is available at the hotel for the week.
E-bikes: Class 1 and class 2 e-bikes are permitted on this tour, which makes occasional use of a multi-use trail. Tandems are also welcome on the tour.
Bike rentals, bike shops, shipping bikes
Shipping wine:
COST & ADMINISTRATION:
The cost of the tour is $1820 with an initial deposit of $1000 due at the time of registration and the remaining $820 due on April 1, 2027. The tour cost includes accommodations for 7 nights lodging (based on double occupancy); 2 dinners, 6 nightly social hours, 2 museum entries, tour of the Viticulture Program at Walla Walla Community College, one catered lunch, two wine tastings, van shuttle for our remote tasting, transport of your wine back to the hotel, Ride With GPS maps and cue sheets, and BAC domestic insurance.
The tour cost does not include breakfasts or the cost of your individual wine purchases.
There will be a $15 per day/per room coupon provided to use in the hotel restaurant or bar.
The group discount for hotel rooms will be available for early arrival or late departure.
SINGLES AND SOLOS:
It is recommended that singles who want a roommate try to find their own. However, after receipt of the initial deposit, a single rider without a roommate will be placed on the ride and given until April 1, 2027 to find a roommate. If they are unable to find a roommate, they will have the option to receive a full refund (minus the BAC Ride Registration Fee and Payment Processing Fee) or pay the $867 Solo Supplement and stay on the ride. If a single pays the supplement, they may continue to seek a room mate but must plan to participate without a roommate if necessary. The Ride Leader will assist by attempting to match singles who apply for the ride. The solo supplement payment of $867 is due by April 1, 2027 and can be paid by Zelle or check.
To pay using Zelle:
If you have questions, contact Nancy Bohnett nbohnett@bicycleadventureclub.org. Checks should be made out to “BAC” with a notation of the tour name included on the check and mailed to: Bicycle Adventure Club, PO Box 23998, San Diego, CA 92193.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
The BAC Ride Registration Fee and Payment Processing Fees are not refundable unless the entire tour is canceled because the number of participants registered is less than the minimum established for the tour. Refunds of tour payments will depend upon whether a replacement rider signs up, and on costs that can be recouped. The amount refunded will be based on the principle that the tour’s remaining participants will not incur any additional cost as a result of cancellations. If the canceling participant is replaced, a refund will be made at that time. If the canceling participant can't be replaced, any refund will be determined after the ride and final expense report are completed. If a single participant cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped the canceling roommate may also be liable for the solo supplement fee of the roommate remaining on the tour. BAC encourages members to purchase trip cancellation insurance.
RIDE PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITY:
Please remember that BAC Ride Leaders are volunteers, and that successful tours depend on participants providing much of their own support. Participants are expected to come to the ride well trained, in good health and ready to accomplish the required daily riding using well-maintained bicycles. All participants should accept responsibility for a safe and enjoyable tour. We encourage you to read the ride description carefully and respond to requests from the Ride Leader. While on the ride, support your Ride Leader with offers to help with various tasks such as happy hour preparation and cleanup. Please do not interfere with the ride by inviting non-participants onto any portion of the ride or tour. Please keep the Ride Leader informed of any special request you might have and respect the Ride Leader’s decisions.
INSURANCE:
BAC maintains two insurance policies: a) United States, and b) Foreign (all other countries). Both the U.S. and Foreign policies are considered secondary policies to your personal medical insurance policy. They are subject to a $1000 deductible and may not cover all expenses related to an accident. Copies of the current policies are located under the “Docs” tab on the BAC website. Before participating in any BAC tour, you should assess whether your medical and travel insurance coverage is sufficient. While touring in the U.S, the BAC insurance includes coverage for injuries due to accidents during the bike trip. Members’ personal insurance will need to cover medical emergencies such as sudden and unexpected illness (i.e. treatment for unexpected illnesses, including Covid, are not covered).
SIGN-UP:
To register for this ride, use the sign-up links just above the Ride Description. After preliminary acceptance, you will be moved to the pending list and receive an email requesting you to go back to the BAC site to digitally accept the terms of the Release of Liability (ROL), and pay the Tour Deposit and the non-refundable BAC Ride Registration Fee by credit card. There is an $85.00 domestic ride fee and $150.00 international ride fee. As soon as your deposit has been processed, your name(s) will be added to the Participant List. BAC members with questions may contact the Ride Director by "clicking" the name at the top of this Ride Description.
Bicycle Adventure Club
PO BOX 23998 San Diego, CA 92193
Telephone (858) 715-9510 office@bicycleadventureclub.org