The Rotary Club of Naperville Sunrise has been putting on this ride for nearly three decades, and the 29th edition rolls out on Sunday, August 9. Starts open as early as 6:30 a.m. behind the Trek Bicycle Store at 3416 S Route 59, and the event runs through to about 1:00 p.m. Three distances are on the table, all of them SAG supported, and the proceeds stay in Naperville.

This is not a race and it is not a closed course. It is a community charity ride on rolling roads through southwest Naperville and the countryside beyond it, with a 21 mile option a fit newcomer can finish comfortably and a metric century that will test a strong rider. If you have been looking for a reason to get the bike down off the garage hook, August 9 is a good one.

Pick Your Distance

Three routes are on offer, and the gaps between them are significant, so choose honestly rather than optimistically.

21 miles, out and back. The entry point. Long enough to feel like a real ride, short enough to have you home before the day heats up.
43 miles. The mid distance option, also run as an out and back, and the one most riders land on.
62 miles. The metric century. Plan your fueling and your early pace with the August sun in mind.

How the Course Supports You

Every route is SAG supported, so there is help on course if you flat, bonk, or simply misjudge the morning. There is a rest stop at each turnaround point, which works out to roughly every eleven miles, meaning you are never all that far from water and a chance to sit down.

That support structure is what makes the longer distances approachable for riders who would not otherwise attempt them. If the 43 mile route has been sitting in the back of your mind as a maybe, a fully supported course with staffed turnarounds is about as forgiving a place to try it as you will find.

Registration: $40 Through July 31, Then $50

Registration is $40 through July 31, and it moves to $50 from August 1 onward. If you are catching this in the final days of July, the lower rate is still live and worth acting on today. If you are reading it in August, the $50 rate is what applies, and that is still fair value for a supported ride with staffed rest stops behind it.

Sign up through the Rotary Club of Naperville Sunrise event page, which is also where to check for any last minute updates in the days before the ride.

Where Your Money Goes

Rotary rides are charity rides first, and this one names its beneficiaries plainly. Proceeds support three local organizations:

Grow Wellness Group, for counseling programs. The practice works out of the historic Fifth Avenue Station in downtown Naperville.
Little Friends, for respite services. The Naperville nonprofit has served children and adults with autism and developmental disabilities since 1965, and its respite program gives caregiving families a genuine break.
The YMCA, for preschool scholarships.

Plan Your Ride Day

The logistics are simple but specific, and the organizers are direct about them. Park behind the Trek Bicycle Store and Naperville Running Company at 3416 S Route 59. Do not park in front of Trek, and stay out of the rows closest to the trail. Those rows are held for volunteers and for riders milling around before the start. If the lot behind the stores fills up, there is additional parking near 3460 Lacrosse Ln, a short roll away.

Mind the start window. Starts open at 6:30 a.m., so pick a time that suits your distance rather than assuming one mass start.
Go early if you are riding 62. An August Sunday in DuPage County can turn hot by late morning, and the metric century puts you out in the worst of it.
Carry more water than you think you need. Rest stops come at the turnarounds, roughly every eleven miles, and the stretches between them are on you.
Helmet, spare tube, ID. SAG support is there, but a five minute roadside repair beats a thirty minute wait every time.
Leave time to check in. The area behind the store is the staging zone, and it is where the morning actually gets going.

Twenty nine years in, the Rotary Ride has settled into the part of the Naperville summer calendar where you do not really need a reason to show up. Pick a distance, get registered through napervillesunrise.com, and set an alarm you will actually honor. Registration is $40 through July 31 and $50 after that, the roads out of south Naperville are quiet at 6:30 on a Sunday morning, and the money lands with three organizations doing work in this town all year long.