Photos: Tour de Belleville rides off into the sunset a final time. ‘Why?’ cyclists ask

Joshua Carter
·3 min read
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The sun has set on Tour de Belleville.

The non-competitive, family-friendly ride was patterned off the popular Moonlight Ramble in St. Louis and its name adapted from the Tour de France. It began in 2006 when more than 500 bicyclists traversed a 7-mile route through the streets of east Belleville.

By year two, though, it had doubled in size with more than 1,000 riders and a 14-mile route was added for those who wanted to double their riding fun. Participants pedaled in costumes and residents lined the streets in lawn chairs to cheer them on.

But the Tour de Belleville has come to an end, with more than 800 cyclists showing up for the 19th and final ride Friday at sunset.

“My first thought was, ‘why?’” said Joe Rule, who has had a member of his 14-person family attend the event every year.

Jason Poole, Belleville’s director of Public Works, which includes Parks and Recreation, cited public safety and budgetary concerns for the decision to bring the annual spectacle to an end.

“Safety is always a concern,” Poole said in an interview with the BND in May. “Putting people on the streets of Belleville on a Friday night is not the safest thing to do anymore.

“We’ve never had a major issue. We’ve had quite a few accidents but nothing major, and we were concerned that something could happen.”

Helmets are required on the ride, but some bicyclists don’t wear them. Participants sign liability waivers, but if someone got hit by a car, the city could be named in a lawsuit, Poole said.

Officials made Tour de Belleville a daytime ride in 2021. The following year, they moved it to a rural bike trail and subdivision in the vicinity of Eckert’s Orchard. Participation plummeted.

“It just didn’t have the feel of Tour de Belleville,” Poole said.

Other factors in the decision to end Tour de Belleville were costs and manpower, according to Poole. If the city went back to nighttime rides on city streets, he said, it would have to spend an estimated $10,000 a year in overtime wages for more than 20 police officers to stand patrol at intersections and six Street Department employees to block off and reopen streets.

The ride has always been a fundraiser. Money from registration fees, sponsors and raffles have paid for more than $260,000 in police safety equipment and parks and recreation improvements in the past 18 years.

Asked why proceeds aren’t used to pay overtime wages, Poole said officials also have to consider the time of city employees.

“We have a lot of other events going on downtown, and it taxes our city employees when they’re forced to work event after event after event,” he said. “It wears on the them. It’s a challenge.”

Friday’s final ride returned to Main Street, with the start and finish at the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus, formerly Lindenwood University-Belleville.

“It’s bittersweet to finally be over,” said Don Greer of St. Louis, who has attended every ride since its inception. “Melancholy? Just a huge loss for the city.”

Teri Maddox contributed to this story.

John Carr stands next to his eccentric truck and bike prior to the final “sunset tour” of the Tour de Belleville bike ride event on July 12, 2024. “I’m going to miss it,” Carr said, “It’s such a fun and neat thing to do, and at my age, you need neat things to do.”
John Carr stands next to his eccentric truck and bike prior to the final “sunset tour” of the Tour de Belleville bike ride event on July 12, 2024. “I’m going to miss it,” Carr said, “It’s such a fun and neat thing to do, and at my age, you need neat things to do.”