History of Tour de Corn
Tour de Corn began when a local cyclist and farmer, Mike Bryant, had the idea of starting a charity ride in East Prairie.
In 2001, Mike approached Silvey Barker, then-coordinator for East Prairie Tourism, with his idea. He said, "I wish the Office of Tourism would sponsor a ride." The potential was discussed for a few minutes, and Mike said, "I don't know what we'd call it, but I think it can be done!"
Soon after the conversation, a committee of local cyclists and interested citizens gathered to form the first Tour de Corn Committee. Today, the dedicated Tour de Corn Committee continues to be the backbone of the ride -- working to make it fun and safe event for riders, visitors and local neighbors alike.
Attendance at Tour de Corn has grown from 175 in 2002 to nearly 1200 in 2019!!!
The Tour de Corn Committee works year-round to create the best ride possible for the one-day event each June. Many of our cyclists have been attending since the first ride, and they continue to be our best advertisement – helping spread the word about Tour de Corn.
We can't thank everyone who worked the Tour De Corn enough. Your patience, hospitality, and understanding were overwhelming. Thank you so, so much!
--- Steve Steamboat O’Connor
Tour de Corn was highly recommended by some friends in the area. I had this crazy idea that I wanted to do a century on a fat bike and everyone said this was the place to do it. I have no idea where to begin, everything about the experience was absolutely amazing! The townsfolk go the extra mile, celebrating the event with the riders. The Friday night festivities were a blast and EVERYONE is so friendly. The routes were the best marked routes I have ever seen, I didn’t use a map and there was never any doubt about which way I needed to go. The SAG stops were perfectly spaced, manned by incredibly friendly people and well stocked with everything we needed to make the ride. Please give my THANKS to the farmers that had their sprinkler systems spraying the road - what a huge boost that was, and it felt amazing! During my 100.5 miles I was passed by at least 20 sag vehicles. They were constantly patrolling and supporting riders. I thought maybe they were circling me because I was on a fat bike and they were ready to evacuate me, lol. Law enforcement was present and patrolling the routes as well. Even on the open highway commuters all waved and moved well away from the riders. You have planned and executed an amazing event. It is very clear your community rally’s around and wholeheartedly supports this event. I can’t wait to return, and I will tell everyone that I can this event needs to be on their calendar. Thank you so much for all you did - your entire community is amazing and it meant so much to me to see how they embraced this event! I finished 100.5 miles on the fat bike! Many of my friends are blown away that I did, I’m very proud of the achievement, and your incredible community and amazingly well organized event will always be part of my story.
--- Brad Hicks
