What is the Sun Valley Dirt Rally?

Please note that the event has been postponed until 2014.

 

If you can’t join us for a six-day ride down the Oregon coast, how about coming out for a two-day ride in beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho?! New for 2013, the Arthritis Foundation is pleased to team up with Visit Sun Valley and the Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival to offer a new twist on charity cycling events.

Come Ride the Dirt to Stop the Hurt!

The Sun Valley Dirt Rally features beautiful forest-service roads in the Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth Forest Districts. Each day’s route of roughly 50-miles takes place on paved and hard-packed dirt surfaces perfect for hybrid, cyclocross, and hard-tail mountain bikes. Experienced road cyclists can even use their road bikes (we recommend 28 mm tires). As with The Amgen People’s Coast Classic, this event is fully-supported with rest stops, mechanical support, great food, and beautiful scenery. You’ll have a great time while supporting a cause that affects 50 million people in the United States.

The route is suitable for cyclists of all experience levels. Along the way, we’ll have rest stops to make sure you stay hydrated, with a light lunch provided midway each day.

In addition to the two-day option, we’re offering a Sunday morning “Easy Ride” featuring 15 miles in the beautiful Sawtooth National Forest, with a mid-way soak in locally-famous Frenchman’s Bend hot springs.

Two-day riders automatically receive a pass to our Saturday night BBQ dinner in downtown Ketchum! Extra tickets are available for sale on our registration page. Join us for a special evening celebrating the Arthritis Foundation’s mission to improve lives for 50 million people in the United States already diagnosed with arthritis, including nearly 300,000 children.

Create your own Sun Valley vacation

Sun Valley is well-known for great skiing, but the locals will tell you that the summers are even better.

If you like cycling, make sure to stay for the Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival, June 29 – July 7. There are great activities for the entire family. Race fans will get to watch the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships. Kids 12 and under race FREE July 5th on the same course the pro’s will be using. There are free guided single-track mountains biking rides throughout the week. Ketchum and nearby Hailey will both be hosting downtown “crit” circuit racing throughout the week.

For the non-cyclist, we’ll be teaming up with Sturtevants Mountain Outfitters to offer discounts on guided services. The Sun Valley area is known for great hiking, white-water rafting, fly-fishing, and other outdoor adventures. Let the local experts show you the best that the area has to offer.

Fundraising for a great cause

The Sun Valley Dirt Rally requires that participants reach a $500 fundraising goal to participate. Proceeds benefit the Arthritis Foundation and all donations beyond the registration fee are tax-deductible. Your support helps us improve lives by funding research, advocating for better patient care, providing free education programs and community services, and raising awareness. The Sunday Easy Ride and Saturday night dinner are available as separate registrations.

Getting here

Bet you didn’t know that Sun Valley, Idaho was so close! The area is served by Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN), just 20 minutes south of Ketchum/Sun Valley. Daily direct flights are available from Seattle (98 minutes away), Salt Lake City (70 minutes away) and LAX (2.5 hours away). Daily shuttle services, provided by Sun Valley Resort, are available to and from Boise for a nominal fee.

Once you’re here, you’ll have your choice of lodging options ranging from camping to luxury resorts. We’ll be providing a list of options for our participants prior to the event. For your convenience, you may wish to leave the bike at home and simply rent from Sturtos. With daily rental prices around $40, it is cheaper and more convenient than bringing/shipping your bike.