Bike Tour Visits Dayton In August

DAYTON - The Dayton City Council moved to allow a group of 250 to 300 bikers to camp in the city park for two nights in August of 2013.

The group, Bicycle Rides Northwest, is a non-profit organization that organizes two, seven-day bicycle tours in Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Washington. The average age of participants in the event is 58 years old, Event Director Sanna Phinney said in an email to the city of Dayton.

The event is self-contained, with a shower truck, portable toilets and a caterer. The group will set up tents in Dayton City Park, requiring only potable water hookups and electricity.

The cyclists will camp at the park on Aug. 8 and 9 with a staff showing up to set up around 10 a.m.

City Clerk-Treasurer Trina Cole said the group has done several of these tours in the recent years.

"It's a huge opportunity, a boost in economic develop- ment," Cole said. "(The city is) urging everyone to eat and drink and shop and bike."

Cole said the group has leaders who come early to set up and are the last to leave to make sure the group leaves the area the way they found it. They will also pay for the use of facility, Cole said. Public Works Director Jim Costello said groups like this have passed through and stayed in Dayton before. The experi- ence was positive in the past, Costello said, so the department supported allowing the bikers to stay in Dayton again.