Apple Cider Century Cyclists to Hit the Road Sept. 28

THREE OAKS — The bikes will be back as the 2025 Apple Cider Century tour takes place on Sunday, Sept. 28.

Three Oaks Spokes Club President Bryan Volstorf said this year’s participants will have seven route choices (15, 25, 37, 50, 62, 75 and 100 miles throughout portions of Southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana).

He said some ACC riders will be on the Red Arrow Trail in Harbert for a short distance from Harbert Swedish Bakery to Lakeshore Road.

“A lot of the Indiana/La Porte County roads have been resurfaced, so I’ve adjusted the routes to go on those,” Volstorf said.

He said work is done on Warren Woods Road so cyclists also will be traveling in that area.

Many volunteers who make the Apple Cider Century possible are from community organizations which get donations for their efforts at SAG Stops (slated to total $15,000).

These included (as of 2024): Three Oaks Little League (the camping area at Watkins Park and breakdown work); the Blossomland Radio Association (communications); the River Valley PTO (registration tables); River Valley Baseball (security/parking); River Valley Band/Choir (porta-johns/trash cans); RV Fast-Pitch Softball (cider/apples/milk/water); Friends of New Troy (Lake Township Park SAG Stop); New Buffalo Lions Club (Oselka Park SAG); Soni Springs Girl Scouts (Soni Springs SAG); Harbor Country Rotary Club (Spicer Lake SAG); Biggest Little Baseball Museum (Minnich SAG); Todd Noble Group (Schwark SAG); Weesaw Township Fire Department (crossing guards); and Calvary Tabernacle Church (SAG Stop taxi service).

The Spokes Club also hires police and medical personnel for the day.

From 1974 to 1979 the ACC tour was held within the Village of Three Oaks (two years at the elementary school and then at St. Mary of the Assumption Church). As the number of riders grew, the start/finish was relocated three miles north to River Valley High School, and 26 years later was back in Three Oaks at the local elementary school.

With that facility closed and a new elementary facility in place at the middle/high school, the ACC has returned to its original starting and ending point – St. Mary’s Church in Three Oaks.

ACC riders in town a day early can enjoy the Saturday afternoon (Sept. 27) Ice Cream Social featuring ice cream, popcorn, live music by All Tooned Up and camaraderie in Dewey Cannon Park. Volstorf said Journeyman Distillery is sponsoring the band (and the vendor tent at St.Mary’s) while Pristine Pool and Spa is the Ice Cream Social sponsor.

On Sunday, from noon to 7 p.m., a post-ride, all-you-can-eat Spaghetti Dinner will be served at St Mary of the Assumption Church.

Breakfast on Sunday morning is prepared and served by the Three Oaks Fire Department.

The Three Oaks Spokes Bicycle Club was formed in 1974 year to promote recreational cycling in Southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana – the areas where ACC riders have been exploring on the last Sunday of September ever since.

The number of ACC riders steadily rose from that early number of 226 to reach 7,285 in the early 1990s before settling between 3,000 and 4,000 in recent years.

According to the Apple Cider Century website, the tour “is neither a race nor a test of stamina. It is intended that all participants ride the tour in a safe and intelligent manner.”