Tour de Shawnee is now in its 4^th year! The bicycle ride begins 8am Saturday at the Horseshoe Lake Community Center in Olive Branch, Illinois. The Southern Most Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone Inc. or SIDEZ Executive Director, Amy Cox says this is really for people of every age and level of expertise. There are flat and hilly routes ranging from 15 to 1-hundred miles! She tells KZIM KSIM the 30-dollar entry fee can change a life and the landscape! SIDEZ uses its portion of the proceeds to endow the Willard Murrie Scholarship to be awarded to a Shawnee Community College student with an exemplary record of voluntary service and the Alexander County Office of Tourism uses their portion for other projects in Southern Illinois that promote bicycling and tourism. Cox says they expect at least 3-hundred-50 riders again this year! You must wear helmets and other safety gear and though the routes are marked you will be sharing the road with vehicles. And don’t worry they have a “special” wagon to rescue you if you “run out of gas”. Cyclists 14 and under are free if with an adult. Register at tourdeshawnee.org