Ride Guide: June 2026

Ride Guide

June 2026

100+ Riders in 2026!

Thank you to everyone that has signed up for this year's Tour des Trees! With your dedication and spirit, we have topped the 100-rider mark (103 officially), which is our largest ride in 10 years!

It is also the largest number of full-time riders ever at 96!

This also includes 22 first-time riders!

In Paul Wood's article at the bottom of this Ride Guide, he will talk a little about riding in groups and how we will safely be getting 100 people from one city to the next.

We are glad you are all excited about riding the Gem of the Carolinas this year, but we also wanted to express our heartfelt gratitude for your support of TREE Fund's programs.

Full-time rider slots are now closed. A handful of 3-day ride options are still available and a wait list has been started for full-time slots.

Here are a few quick reminders as we get ready for this year.

Important dates:

Registration: Now until July 19
Jersey Order Deadline: July 27
Event Dates: September 12-18
Rider Fundraising Deadline: September 27

Visit our Registration Info page for more information and important dates.

Jersey and Gear Orders:

Shortly after you registered for this year's ride, you should have received an email from Voler with instructions on how to order your official jersey and other gear. If you have not yet done so, you must complete your order by July 27 on our Voler site. See link below. If you need your email instructions resent, please email Jonathan and he'll get that resent.

To order your gear, click the link below, sign in at the top with the email you used when you registered- create an account with that same email, if needed- and place your order. Your credits will appear at checkout.

*Note: Voler switched their system just after we opened registration and the credits are not appearing for some people. If they don't show for you, email Jonathan and he will have them fix it for you.

Voler: Full-Custom Ordering - Tour Des Trees 2026

Stay Engaged:

We want you to connect with our other riders! Get motivated and stay in-the-know. Be sure to add your name to our Strava group and like our Tour des Trees Facebook page.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/507320

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tourdestrees

Resources and Planning:

Our Participant Resources page on the TREE Fund website will have all the latest info on the route, travel details, and other rider info. It is constantly updated, so be sure to check in for all the current information.

https://treefund.org/tourdestrees/participant-resources

Welcome New Riders!

We love to see new riders join our awesome group! Since our last email, three more first-time riders have signed up to ride with us this year! Please join us in welcoming:

Orville McLean, Edmonton, AB

James Williams, Atlanta, GA

Spencer Scannell, Ludlow, MA

Final Call For Sponsors!

There are a handful of sponsorship opportunities still available for this year's Tour des Trees, but time is running out. Most sponsorship opportunities must be completed by July 13, so if you know someone that would like to support this year's ride, reach out to Jonathan and he'll share the remaining opportunities.

We love being able to engage with sponsors during the Tour as it shows off the power of our group and their dedication to tree research and education.

Greenville Airport Update Reminder

Because timing can never be truly perfect, it was recently announced by the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport that it will be undergoing construction on their runways during the weekend we are scheduled to come in. The airport will be closed from 8pm, Friday, September 11 through 8am that Monday. While this is obviously not optimal for our group, if you are coming in early, this should have minimal effect on your travel plans. If you do come in early, the Greenville hotel has adjusted our room block to accommodate as early as September 10.

If you are planning on flying in on September 12, we are lucky to have two other options that are close in proximity to where we'll be starting.

Fly into Asheville (AVL) which is 1hr away from Greenville.
Fly into Charlotte (CLT) which is 1hr 30 mins away but offers greater flight flexibility.

To view full travel recommendations, see the updated Travel Doc on our Resources page.

Pre-Tour Hotel Room Reminders

If you plan on coming in early to the Tour, the pre-Tour hotel block is taking reservations. Because of the way the hotel is setting up our block, it is better to have people sign up for these earlier; instead of giving us a whole block, they prefer to add on smaller blocks of rooms as it fills. So plan on booking your rooms soon.

We will kick off the Tour from the Springhill Suites, 200 E Washington St, Greenville, SC 29601.

• Our group rate is $194+ taxes & fees per night.

• You may reserve pre-Tour rooms (Thursday & Friday, the 10th and/or 11th) by:

• Using the link 2026 Tour des Trees pre-Tour

• Please note this courtesy block is only valid through August the 20th.

If you try to book a room using the link above and you get a "sold out" message, it means they need to reset the numbers on the block. Let us know and we'll alert them to do that before their regular reset cycle. To view full travel recommendations, see the updated Travel Doc on our Resources page.

Paul Wood Retirement Celebration and Alumni Dinner

Our Tour Director of 22 years, Paul Wood, will be retiring after this year’s Tour des Trees. Paul has had a great impact on the Tour over the years and we want our Tour des Trees family to come out and honor him in his home region.

Tour alumni that are not planning on riding but would like to attend Paul’s Celebration Dinner can sign up to attend at www.tourdestrees.org.

Alumni attending will join us for dinner and have one, double-room night reserved the evening of Thursday, September 17 at the Embassy Suites, 192 Haywood St, Asheville, NC. Dinner and celebration will begin at 6:00pm. Cost is $350.

Virtual Tour des Trees

Not everyone is able to make it out to the Carolinas for the Tour des Trees and that’s ok. You can still participate in the Virtual Tour des Trees and support TREE Fund from home.

Create a distance or time goal to challenge yourself during the month of August and encourage others to make donations to TREE Fund to encourage you on. Help us all raise funds together for tree research and education!

Your goals are yours to complete and we want to support you as you support TREE Fund. The distance tracker will be set up to record all your activities during the month of August so you can see your progress.

Fundraising Goals: There are no set fundraising goals for the Virtual Tour des Trees, but we encourage you to set a fundraising goal of at least $1,000. The more you raise, the more can go towards funding TREE Fund’s grant and scholarship programs.

To participate: Register at www.tourdestrees.org and sign up for the Virtual Tour des Trees. Fill out the information to create your fundraising page, connect to your fitness tracker, and get going!

In-Person Riders: You can set some goals for yourself during the month of August when we are promoting the Virtual Tour des Trees and use that to help with your fundraising efforts!

Companies: Get a company team together, set a goal for the office, and participate together! See website for details.

For more information on the Virtual Tour des Trees, see our website.

Virtual Tour des Trees – TREE Fund

Tour des Trees 2026 Webinar

Riders, mark your calendars!

On Thursday, July 9 at 3pm CT, we will have our annual Tour des Trees Webinar, talking all about prepping for the ride, this year's route and events, and all the other things you'll need to know for this year's ride.

Add this link to your calendar to join in: Webinar Link

This is a perfect way for first-timer riders to learn about the Tour and meet some of the veteran riders and also a great way for veteran riders to brush up on what they'll need for planning for this year.

Looking forward to seeing all your smiling faces then!

A Note From Our Tour Director, Paul Wood

Hello Friends,

Training Tips:

My training advice at this time of year is to recommend incorporating multi-day training blocks. A 2, or even better, 3-day block of multi-hour rides will do wonders for solidifying your base, increasing your durability, and helping you to recognize areas that need attention. Pain or discomfort on longer rides will help identify bike fit issues that need to be addressed, contact point (hands, feet, and bum) concerns, and areas you should strengthen (upper/lower back, neck, triceps…) ahead of a big adventure like the Tour des Trees.

As I’ve preached in each Ride Guide entry for years, the key component in preparing for the Tour is riding consistently, but once you have established a routine where you are riding frequently, the next step is to increase the duration of your rides and, as highlighted above, stacking consecutive days of riding when possible. While the distance for this year’s Tour isn’t particularly daunting by historical standards (371 miles for the long route & 311 miles for the shorter route), factoring in the amount of climbing (31,000 ft of climbing for the long route & 23,000 ft of climbing for the shorter course), the time in the saddle will be greater than most recent Tours. So start adding those longer days sooner rather than later :)

One other critical element to consider while you’re ramping up the mileage/time in the saddle is the importance of recovery. Recovery is Part of the Work: You get stronger when you recover, not when you ride. Prioritize sleep, post-ride nutrition, and inclusion of rest days to allow your body to adapt and prevent burnout.

Tour Safety:

The safety of our riders is the most important component of the Tour des Trees! Cycling safety is a collaborative effort of everyone involved from the route design, the support team, and most importantly, you, the rider. Below are the guidelines that we use to set the standard on the Tour:

Please remember that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Your actions while out on the course will not only affect you but also those who are around you.
Safety is no accident! It is built upon a series of good, mindful decisions.
The Tour des Trees is a rules-of-the-road ride. You must adhere to all state and local traffic laws while participating.
When riding in a pack, the key component is to be predictable cyclists.
Within your pack, communicate your actions and all potential traffic and roadway hazards.
The Tour des Trees isn't about any one person; it's about the collective. You’ll likely make new friends that will last a lifetime.
Help others when the inevitable challenge to continue arises.
If you are passing someone, say something nice, like "on your left" and after you pass, say "thank you, have a great day”.
Don't litter and please exercise discretion if you have to … (ya know) between rest stops.
Be good citizens!

This year’s Tour will have a few additional elements to be mindful of:

We will incorporate approximately 10 miles of the Swamp Rabbit Trail departing Greenville, so be hyper aware of the pedestrian traffic on this shared usage trail and the many road crossings.
We will be cycling on mostly quiet roads but in hilly terrain with occasional poor sight lines. Make sure your pack is paying attention to any traffic that may be backing up behind you and when safe to do so, pull over to let the traffic clear before returning to the course.
Please don’t feel compelled to wave a motorists around, when to pass safely is a very personal decision and the responsibility of the driver.
I use a radar on my bike and have done so for a few years now and find it incredibly helpful.
I have done my best to minimize the amount of unpaved sections on the course this year, but because a number of roads are still being repaired from Hurricane Helene damage and sometimes the most direct and safest path between two points is a short stint of gravel. There are a couple of short stretches on Day 1 that everyone will ride and then a few bonus stretches for those choosing the longer route on Day 3.

Finally, here is a quiz that helps familiarize you with the cycling rights and rules in NC as well as best practices for cycling safely on our roadways.

Ride On!

Paul Wood

Black Bear Cycling Adventures