After the successful virtual run, Tail Chaser, the team behind Crazy Cat Adventures is plotting their next event, and this time it’s of the two-wheeled variety. 

The Purr De France will see participants cycling 21 of 23 days in July just like the Tour de France. And there are enough categories and challenges to appeal to everyone from new cyclists looking for a fun fitness to the spandex set keen to push themselves against others in a virtual format.  

“We wanted to make sure it was accessible to everyone from families who want to go out with their kids to people who want to crush a 90-minute ride during the week,” says Eric D’Arcy, co-founder of Crazy Cat. “People have a choice of what they do.”

Beginning on July 6, just like that other big cycling race overseas, the Purr De France will offer a variety of “stage” challenges over the next three weeks. Each challenge will be delivered the weekend before the week and could include time trials, flats, hills, and mountains. Because everyone doesn’t have mountains nearby, the challenges are optional. Hitting daily times is the goal. 

Cyclists choose one of five categories ranging in time commitment from five rides of 30 minutes, one ride of 45 minutes and one ride of 60 minutes per week to the highest level of commitment of five rides of 90 minutes, one ride of two hours and one ride of three hours per week. There is something for everyone and it doesn’t matter if your pedalling a fixie in downtown Toronto or a fancy carbon road bike or a tricycle. It all counts.

“The event is something fun and different,” says D’Arcy. “It’s a three-week challenge that works for those who have a short amount of time and also for people that have all the time in the world. We just want to try and get as many people active as we can.”

Registration for the event is pegged at $60 and includes a sweet feline-forward cycling cap. There are also cycling jerseys with the same stunning graphics available for purchase. 

In addition, the race is supporting an incredible Toronto-based charity called Bikes Without Borders, which has the mandate to use “bikes and related solutions to make meaningful change in communities around the world.”

D’Arcy, whose races tend to draw people from Southern Ontario, says the virtual events allow for participants to compete together even if they’re from widely different geographic regions. For his last event, Tail Chaser, a virtual run, he had people competing from Ontario to the Maritimes as well as four states south of the border. 

There was a Facebook event page, and participants posted photos, added tips and comments and it really created a sense of community that is lacking these days, he says, adding that he will do the same for the Purr De France. 

“People really seem to want that motivation and encouragement,” D’Arcy says. “It’s a huge amount of support, the same as a race. And I think it makes a big difference to people. We need that outlet.”

Lead photo by Coen van den Broek/Unsplash.