Join us June 13, 2021 through June 18, 2021 for our 18th annual Grand Illinois Bike Tour! Our 2021 loop will tour the Trails of Madison County, on the Illinois side of the St. Louis area. We will start and stop in Litchfield, with overnights in Lebanon (one night), Edwardsville and Godfrey/Alton (two nights each). Join us and invite your friends (non-riding volunteers needed too).
Register now in confidence – 100% refund available for COVID-19 concerns or any other reason, through May 12.
Choose among our daily mileage options for a total ranging from 200 to 375 miles, consisting of quiet rural roads and 140+ miles on trails (almost all asphalt-surfaced) on old railroad corridors. Pick between our camping and hotel options (only the hotel option is available for 2021), and enjoy evenings filled with good food and fellowship with riders hailing from around the country. Proceeds benefit Ride Illinois, a nonprofit bicycle advocacy organization, and support our mission to make Illinois a better, safer and more enjoyable place to ride.
Our fully supported tour basics:
The pandemic, government restrictions, and other restrictions due to the pandemic, have caused us to make several adjustments to limit crowds, especially inside. An example includes having caters box our meals for quick pickup.
The ride is limited to 250 riders.
Registration is available online as well as via a PDF that you can print and mail to Ride Illinois.
Why should you ride GIBT? We will let some of the riders in this year’s GIBT answer that with their favorite parts of the ride:
Want more details and more reasons why you should join us? Check out our 2019 Grand Illinois Bike Tour video:
Secondary Hotel Package
Single Occupancy: $1,060 (Member rate: $1,025)
Double Occupancy: $850 per person (Member rate: $815))
Questions? Email [email protected].
Please read our revised cancellation and refund policy below.
The ride is limited to 250 riders.
Register online or download, print, and mail the PDF Registration Form.
The tour begins and ends in Litchfield, with free parking for the week, and stops in Lebanon, Edwardsville (two nights) and Alton (two nights).
On each of the four days when we move to a new town, we offer a basic route of 45-53 miles with longer options for an extra 20 miles or so. Ride at your own pace on quiet, rural, mostly flat roads and on the area’s trails, and enjoy plenty of time each day to explore the small towns and attractions along the route and in our overnight host towns.
The third and fifth days will be layover days, during which you can explore sites and other local attractions, ride trails and rural roads on somewhat shorter options around Edwardsville and Alton. Or, just enjoy the days however you wish.
Preliminary Route Mileages (subject to change)
Day 1: Litchfield to Lebanon
Basic Route – 52.4 miles, +815 ft climbing (camping) or 51.8 miles, +674 ft climbing (hotel)
Long option – 73.1 miles, +1,306 ft climbing (camping) or 72.6 miles, +1,200 ft climbing (hotel)
Day 2: Lebanon to Edwardsville
Basic Route – 41.2 miles, +933 ft climbing (camping) or 44.9 miles, +966 ft climbing (hotel)
Long option – 61.4 miles, +1,314 ft climbing (camping) or 64.9 miles, +1,346 ft climbing (hotel)
Day 3: Layover day in Edwardsville
Long Route – 48.4 miles, +740 ft climbing (camping) or 47.5 miles, +679 ft climbing (hotel)
Shorter options – 31.1 miles, +687 ft climbing (camping) or 27.6 miles, +531 ft climbing (hotel)
Day 4: Edwardsville to Godfrey/Alton
Basic Route – 49.1 miles, +1,172 ft climbing (camping) or 47.3 miles, +1,033 ft climbing (hotel)
Long option – 73.0 miles, +1,728 ft climbing (camping) or 71.3 miles, +1,551 ft climbing (hotel)
Day 5: Layover day in Godfrey/Alton
Basic Route – 36.2 miles, +1,258 ft climbing (camping) or 36.1 miles, +1,148 ft climbing (hotel)
Long option – 47.7 miles, +1,821 ft climbing (camping) or 47.7 miles, +1,717 ft climbing (hotel)
Day 6: Godfrey/Alton to Litchfield
Basic Route – 44.8 miles, +1,316 ft climbing (camping) or 46.0 miles, +1,317 ft climbing (hotel)
Touring (long) option – Adds 4.5 miles, tourist sites
Please note that our camping option is not available for 2021 but we plan to have the camping option again for the 2022 Grand Illinois Bike Tour.
Designated group camping sites will be at Lebanon’s Horner Recreation Park, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Godfrey’s Lewis and Clark Community College. Those camping before the tour on Saturday night are encouraged to book reservations at Lake Lou Yaeger, in Litchfield, about three miles from the start location.
All breakfasts and dinners (10 meals in total) and luggage transportation are included for campers. SIU-Edwardsville and Lewis & Clark have shower facilities; shuttling to showers will be provided in Lebanon (or you can walk or ride 1 mile to the facilities).
Most riders provide their own tents and camping gear, but rentals and other camping services are available — see “Extra third-party services,” below.
After your day on a bike, join the fun at campsite evening singalongs. Two returning campers plan to bring a guitar and banjo – let us know if you’d like to bring an instrument, too.
Over the years, our hotel option has grown in popularity. This year, 100 spots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for our primary hotel option. The primary hotel option is full for 2021; but, we have opened a secondary hotel option. Both single and double occupancy options are offered. Hotel fees are listed under Registration Rates above and include transportation of your luggage from hotel to hotel each day.
Those wishing to stay in a hotel before the tour on Saturday night are encouraged to book reservations at the Baymont Inn & Suites – Litchfield.
Hotels (Primary)
Sunday night: Best Western Plus MidAmerica, Mascoutah/Lebanon
Monday night: TownePlace Suites & Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Edwardsville
Tuesday night: TownePlace Suites & Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Edwardsville
Wednesday night: Hampton Inn & Best Western, Alton
Thursday night: Hampton Inn & Best Western, Alton
Hotels (Secondary)
Sunday night: LaQuinta Inn, O’Fallon
Monday night: Country Hearth Inn and Suites, Edwardsville
Tuesday night: Country Hearth Inn and Suites, Edwardsville
Wednesday night: Super 8, Alton
Thursday night: Super 8, Alton
Catered dinners will be provided on Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. There will also be a catered dinner on either Monday or Tuesday, depending on which hotel package you are registered for. For the other evening, hotelers will be on their own for dinner (factored into the price). This year, these dinners will be available for pickup at your hotels to calm health concerns. All hotels will provide breakfast in the morning.
Bikes will be kept in hotel rooms and not at the campground. One 40-pound bag per registrant will be accepted.
Each year, a couple riders want to sign up for double occupancy without already having a roommate in mind. Please email us and we can put you into contact with others in this situation, to find a roommate.
Contact [email protected] with any other questions regarding the hotel option.
This option is not available for 2021; but, we expect it to return for the 2022 Grand Illinois Bike Tour.
Events Bike Ride Services offers other options for all riders including massages, bike cleaning, and transport for those leaving the ride early.
For campers: Tent, towel and chair rental is available, as is tent set up/take down as well as VIP luggage service (don’t need to find your luggage).
Make arrangements with Glen Morey directly.
The Grand Illinois Bike Tour is the only multi-day ride in Illinois that specifically raises money to support the goal of a more bike-friendly Illinois. Proceeds benefit Ride Illinois, a nonprofit advocacy organization working to make bicycling better in Illinois.
We encourage all participants to fundraise a minimum of $100 on top of the registration fee to better support the costs of the ride and help propel Ride Illinois’ mission to make biking safer and more enjoyable statewide.
The fundraising program is optional but is strongly encouraged. Riders can also make a donation in lieu of fundraising. Contact [email protected] with any questions.
Ride Illinois is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations supporting a rider are tax deductible. All donations from personal fundraising will be distributed to Ride Illinois and are nonrefundable.
Please review our revised Cancellation and Refund Policy – which applies for all.
We know these are uncertain times. For the 2021 GIBT, we are revising our cancellation and refund policy to allow for a full refund, minus any credit card processing fees, until May 12. From May 13 to June 3, the cancellation fee will be 25% of your total payment, plus the credit card fees. From June 4 until the ride, no refund will be issued.
If needed, riders may transfer their registration to another rider at any time, for any reason, at no cost. This is also true if the ride is full and there is someone on the waiting list willing to take your spot. However, after May 18, we cannot guarantee the correct t-shirt size for the substitute rider.
Finally, no refund will be given for:
Please note that the Grand Illinois Bike Tour is Ride Illinois’ largest annual fundraiser. The funds raised from the Grand Illinois Bike Tour helps us to continue our advocacy work to make Illinois a land of safe and enjoyable bicycling for all; and to promote bicycle access, education and safety.
Third-party trip insurance is highly recommended for these unexpected situations. Silent Sports is one provider option – for example, a rider aged 60-69 would pay $46 if camping, $61 if double-occupancy motel.
Would you like to participate in the tour but not ride every day? Or, do you know someone — perhaps a significant other — who wants to come along but not bike? Maybe you are with a group of riders that want to ferry a vehicle around for the week. We are offering discounted or free registration for volunteer drivers and extra vehicles to help with SAG ride support, water stops, and to give us a hand in case of emergencies. Please contact us at [email protected] if you might be interested.