The Bike MS Tour de Farms is what the title says it is: a ride through open farmland. Those who’ve ridden the charity event know what the title doesn’t say: The open land exposes you to all kinds of weather.
For 2025, that weather was hot and windy.
For the 23rd year, I took part in the National MS Society Illinois chapter’s two-day Tour de Farms in Kane and DeKalb counties. The national organization bills Bike MS as the largest charity cycling series in the world. It raises money for research to help people who have multiple sclerosis.
The start and routes have varied over the years; this year as last, it began at the Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park — a good jumping-off point pretty much square in the middle of the open land between St. Charles and DeKalb.
The weather has varied over the years, too, but by now my teammates and I know to expect something to challenge us. We’ve had cold, blowing rain (just two years ago). We’ve huddled inside barns and along the sides of houses as a severe wind storm threatening to be a tornado rolled through. We’ve dashed to a school building at the next rest stop, hoping to get inside before a thunderstorm could catch us. And we’ve had heat and wind.
I’m on Team LoBaMa; the name stands for Lori, Barbara, Marie, the wives and late mother of team founders. The first year I rode with them, in 2005, yet-to-become-teammate Jason and I helped each other through a hot day, spending as much as a half hour at each rest stop with cold towels, to complete 100 miles. There were other years the whole team took on an oven-like breeze, leaving us drained by the end of the prescribed route.
We had decent weather last year, but the heat and wind returned this year. A heat advisory was announced for the whole weekend; we were well aware of that. We were less certain about the wind’s effect on the ride, but it’s rarely good news on country roads.
It turned out the wind was the thing on the first day, a pretty steady 20 mph from the south-southwest with gusts in the 30s. It started right away in the morning and just got worse.
The first half of the route was going north and west, so we had a big, fun tailwind for a lot of the way. But when riding west, we struggled to keep our bikes vertical as the south wind pushed from the left.
That was the biggest struggle, we agreed. We did have a fierce headwind heading back south to Kuipers, but then the wind oddly had a cooling effect, curbing the heat a little.
To be sure, the heat was still concerning enough for the organizers to cancel the 100-mile route. We did either the remaining 62-mile route or the 25-miler. The organizers made water, sports drinks and ice readily available at the rest stops, doubling their order after the heat advisories came.
Speaking of, the rest stops came about every 10 miles on average — maybe as low as 8 or as high as 13, with the odd ending of a 10-mile stretch and finally a 4-mile stretch. It’s easy to question a rest stop with only 4 miles to go, but with the weather we had, we were fine with it.
The lunch stop with sandwiches, chips and cookies (separated this year, so you didn’t have to commit to a full sandwich box on a hot day) came right at the halfway point. All the rest stops had gels, snacks like nuts and cookies, chilled pickles or pickle juice, and fruit.
On the second day, the wind was more merciful and the sun less so. A 64-mile route and a 25-miler again were the options. This time we faced the wind on the first half of the route, but it was easier going in the morning. Then we had the wind with us to the finish except for a short stretch.
The rest stops on the second day were a little more uneven, with the lunch stop at mile 27, then a 16-mile stretch afterward. They resumed a more even cadence to the finish. And good thing, because we on the 64-mile route were finally getting hot and tired.
Overall the Tour de Farms is always a spirited ride, with a loud send-off at each day’s start. On the first day the top 10 fundraising teams got to select a send-off song (Team LoBaMa chose “La Bamba,” the movie version), and on both days the motorcyclists who volunteered to monitor riders on the route lined up along the starting driveway and honked their horns as the cyclists passed.
Volunteers at rest stops were always cheerful, with some welcoming riders in with cowbells.
LoBaMa’s own Maggie Bahler Rizzio was asked to sing the first morning’s national anthem. She surprised the team, too, when her name was announced.
The farmland scenery wasn’t so bad, either. The crops were a deep green as is typical for late June, right at the beginning of summer. Riding through a couple of suburban neighborhoods gave us a little relief from wind and even the heat if there were enough trees.
Event organizers said about 700 riders had registered — but less than 500 actually rode — while about $600,000 was raised. Fundraising can continue for another month or so. Just as important, we felt the love and camaraderie. “Our hearts are full,” event leader Renee Barros said.
Here’s a compilation of our ride in motion.
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