News

July 28, 2022

Thank You!

What a successful 2022 Z Tour! We had over 300 riders after two long years off. We made over $12,000 to benefit the Zearing Child Enrichment Center for advancements to Safety and Security at the program.

We want to take a moment to thank the many people that either sponsored or helped make this ride a successful day! We could not have done it without you! We look forward to another successful ride in 2023!

Platinum Sponsors:

Heartland Bank & Trust, Princeton Chamber of Commerce

Silver Sponsors:

OSF Saint Clare, Bureau County Emergency Management Agency, Central Bank, Midland States Bank, Rich and Barb Everette, Dimond Brothers

Bronze Sponsors:

St. Margaret’s, City of Princeton

Friends:

ZCEC Staff, Family and Friends, The ZCEC Board of Directors

212 (Gregg Pearson), Bike Works in Peru, Bureau County Highway Department, Bureau County Sheriff’s Department, Bureau County Township Supervisors, Cami and Paul McMahon, Illinois Department of Transportation, Jamison Media Services, Kent Thompson, Frank Bettasso, Dennis Toth, Ernie Parr, Zig’s Station, Chad Kies, Advanced Sanitation, Princeton Park District, Princeton Police Department, Skoonerz Grill & Bar, The Bike Place, Township Road Commissioner, Princeton Public Library, Village of Tiskilwa, Tim and Judy Harris.

Thanks again,

Lauren Widmer, ZCEC Director

June 20, 2022

What a weekend!

Wow! The weather did not disappoint us for our 2022 10th annual Z Tour Bike Ride! 🌞

Thank you to all the riders for coming and spending your Saturday with us! 🚴‍♀️

Thank you to all the volunteers for your hours of time into putting this wonderful event on!👧👦

Thanks to everyone for making this day great! We are so happy we got to have a successful ride after some time off!!

Send us photos if you have any!! 🥰📸

Merchandise is still available for purchase on our website! We will be shipping orders out! I will collect our last orders this Friday, June 24th! Once I receive all the items, I will be sure to get the orders sent out as quickly as I can!

June 17, 2022

It’s Not Too Late to Ride With Us!

Get signed up TONIGHT at the Down on Main Street Concert! 5:30-7:30 p.m. or on Saturday morning as early as 5:45 a.m. Registration ends at 8:30 a.m. See you in Princeton, Illinois on Friday night for the street concert and Saturday morning for Z Tour 2022!

June 15, 2022

$40 Registration Ends at Midnight Thursday

The current price for a Z Tour Registration is $40.00. Friday Evening and Saturday Morning Registration prices go up to $45.00!

The forecast is looking great for this weekend. The Routes are all marked and cleared off. SAG stops will be supplied with drinks and snacks. So many fun things to do in town. Several delicious food options in town after the ride available. We look forward to seeing you all! 

REGISTER TODAY! 

June 14, 2022

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Z-Tour Weekend

We use the Dan Henrys marking system here to mark our routes. The routes are beginning to be marked and will be looking lovely before our ride on Saturday, June 18th! 

You can come up Friday night and enjoy the Down On Main Street concert and get yourself checked in early for your early morning start! 

Register TODAY at ztour.org.

SAG stops ,stocked with snacks, water and Gatorade along with water stops to hydrate you along the way! 

Finish your day off with some delicious food in town!

You can get food from La Katrina Autentica food truck that will be parked outside of Barrel Society. Bring your bib along for $1.00 off your first draft beverage!

You can go to Beef and Ag days to get your food and beverages! 

You can even visit any of our local restaurants for a meal and beverage also!

June 2, 2022

Need somewhere to stay Friday and Saturday night of the Z Tour?

We would love to see you at the Friday night Street Concert in Downtown Princeton, so you need a place to stay after the event, check out the fairgrounds for a nice camping spot! Check out the link below to see more about the Down on Main Street concerts! 

Concerts


The Bureau County Fairgrounds does have camping options available! See the “camping” link below for how to register! 

Camping


The Campgrounds have a 2 day garage sale the weekend of Z Tour! This is going on Friday and Saturday! Think about stopping to see if there are any good finds 🙂 

Register for Z Tour today!! 

May 20, 2022

Food Truck Announcement

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we do have to cancel the food truck options AT THE PARK. However, do not fear, you can still hit up any amazing restaurant in town or the food at Beef and Ag days. 

We are excited to announce:
La Katrina, one of the food trucks will still be in town parked outside of Barrel Society, a local Bar that serves up some amazing taps, cans, and specialty drinks! Stop by Barrel after the ride WITH YOUR RIDE BIB and get $1.00 off 1 draft beverage! 

We will still have a light breakfast and snacks served throughout the day on your adventures! We look forward to seeing everyone!! Just a month out!! 🙂 Get your tickets at ZTOUR today!!!! 

March 7, 2022

2022 Registration is Live!

The 10th Annual Z Tour Bike Ride is a charity road ride, supporting the Zearing Child Enrichment Center in Princeton, which provides riders a chance to enjoy some of the finest bike riding roads that North-Central Illinois has to offer. The well marked and supported routes will incorporate hills, rolling terrain, and beautiful views of Bureau Creek and the Hennepin Canal all with minimal traffic. We have several options for routes this year. We continue to offer a family friendly 10 mile route. The Adventure Route is a 60 mile route with a challenging variety of surfaces and inclines; including pavement, gravel, and maybe a little mud, all with limited support. This route is geared towards more experienced riders looking for less traveled roads. For 2022, we will have 3 unique loops beginning and finishing at Zearing Park, these routes vary in distance and difficulty. Riders can also choose to add a 20 mile Tiskilwa loop to take in some of the more challenging hills Bureau County has to offer. All routes are available on Ridewithgps.com. Ride just one loop or take them all on. If riders elect to ride all 4 main routes, total mileage is 105 miles with nearly 3,000ft of elevation gain.

Get more information for this great ride held in Princeton, Illinois online at ztour.org. Early check-in is offered on Friday night’s “Down on Main Street” live concert Friday evening, band to be announced at a later date. Enjoy live music, food vendors and drinks as you check in for the ride. Merchandise pick-up and sales are also available during these times. Enjoy other local events such as Beef and Ag days on Saturday after your ride at Soldiers and Sailors Park in Princeton, IL. 

Back by popular demand is the Group Registration Option- Me + 3 = 

  • 1 Leader should create a catchy group name
  • Each individual should register under that catchy name
  • At least 4 riders in a group
  • Receive (1) $25.00 in Chamber Bucks to spend at Princeton businesses OR $25.00 on select Z Tour Merchandise! 

Register your group today and join the Z Tour and city of Princeton for all the fun starting Friday evening at 5:30 pm. We will be doing check in and registering from 5:30-7:30pm. Vendors start serving at 6:00 and the concert starts at 7:00pm. 

**ONLY 750 Riders this year! We strongly encourage you to get your tickets before the event!!**

  • Easy and really fast check-in opening at 5:45 am.
  • Detailed maps and cue for our loops! 
  • Five themed rest stops supplied with nutritional food, beverages, and music. 10-mile with an optional hill challenge, Adventure Route, 3 loops to choose from with a Tiskilwa loop to add on! 
  • Camping options at the Bureau County Fairgrounds (nominal fee).
  • Several Air B and B options- book early!! 
  • Radio-dispatched SAG and support by the Bureau County EMA until 3:00 pm
  • Light breakfast offered from 6:00-9:00 am at Zearing Park
  • NEW THIS YEAR- Food Trucks from 10:30-3:00 pm at Zearing Park after the ride! Featuring La Katrina Autentica and Little Tribe Woodfire on Wheels! Please visit their FB pages for menus! There will not be an end of ride meal served this year. 
  • Long haul riders are encouraged to start between 6:00-8:00 AM. Helmets required!
  • All other riders should start NO LATER than 9:00am. Helmets required!
  • All routes begin and end at Princeton’s beautiful Zearing Park, where volunteers will be around to greet you and welcome you back from your long adventures! 
  • We are encouraging you to do online registration before the event!
  • We will have walk up registration at the Friday night street concert from 5:30-7:30 pm and Saturday morning from 5:45-8:30am with limited support. It may take longer to get through registration, please as you are able register by midnight on Thursday, June 16th. This will help speed the process up!

Download the Ride with GPS app. Some routes subject to change closer to the ride date. 

MERCHANDISE!!

All Jerseys must be ordered by April 21st , in order to receive the jerseys by the ride! If ordered after that, you will have to wait to receive your jersey in the mail after the ride. 

All Tshirts must be ordered by Monday, June 6th in order to receive the Tshirts by the ride! If ordered after that date, you will have to wait to receive your Tshirt in the mail after the ride.

Socks can be ordered at any time and are first come first serve based on the amount we have in stock.

December 17, 2021

2022 Ride Survey

Please check out our link below and help us with our 2022 Ride! 

We will have a couple changes to our 2022 Ride and would like your input on these changes 🙂 

1) We have decided to change the date to June 18th, 2022!! 

2) Due to food shortages and volunteers for our event, we have decided to pivot to a NEW and fun option for our end of ride meal. We will have 3 different food trucks available. A variety of options. Mexican, Pizza, and Hot Dogs. The expense of the end of ride meal will be on the riders this year with this change of meal option. 

You can check out each Food Truck option on Facebook! 
La Katrina Autentica 
Dog House of LaSalle
Little Tribe Woodfire On Wheels 

3) The Routes will be a series of loops to connect to see different parts of Bureau County. You can stop midride or at the end to eat! 🙂 These will be posted on Ridewithgps.com once everything goes live on eventbrite.com!!!

Z Tour 2022 Survey Link 

May 4, 2021

Bingo Cards now available

Fill a Bingo card this year for some extra fun and be entered for a chance to win a 2022 Z Tour Bike Ride ticket!

There are two versions. Cards are available to download here:

Bingo Card 1

Bingo Card 2

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