Favorite Bike Tour?

competitive or recreational ?

Recreational. Big rides that anyone can ride in, 500+ riders.

only thing close to those in my area are OPEN races, guys compete but the rest of the field has the ending as an objective, they can be a bit dangerous since not everyone handles well in a fast cycling peloton, but ok ultimately it is a race, i wish we had recreational too. From what i read in magazines, the big bike tours organised in Europe do have racing too but informally, many cyclists race to the finish there also. Cycling magazines, at least in France and in Spain, give detailed information on the routes, admission fees and dates, remember also that Jan Ullrich entered a bike tour in Austria last year,

Here are some of Albuquerque's local - within ~4 hours - favorites:

The Santa Fe Century:
santafecentury.comsantafecentury.comOpen ↗

The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic:
ironhorsebicycleclassic.comironhorsebicycleclassic.comOpen ↗

The Enchanted Circle:
redriverenchantedcirclecenturytour.comredriverenchantedcirclecenturytour.comOpen ↗

Scott

Hey BeingCre8tive, Try kerala, a relaxing ride along the beaches, the country roads and the backwaters.Meet the local people taste their delicious home made Keralan food, stay at their homes and enjoy nature at its best.

Great suggestions everyone! I created a list, let me know if you have any new ones to add. http://proambike.com/biketour_granfondo_etape

Here's a 7-day, 360-mile Habitat for Humanity fundraising/awareness tour (you can ride anywhere from 1-7 days, it's what got me back into cycling):

www.hfhcoverindiana.org