The 2012 riders began their trip in Portland, Oregon on August 5th. In Portland, there are trees called Heritage Trees. Some are the American elm tree, Pacific dogwood tree, the Cedar of Lebanon and the Monkey puzzle tree.

The bicycle riders followed a loop that took them along the Pacific Ocean coastline where there are many pine trees, from the lodgepole to the ponderosa pine.

They passed vineyards with historic trees like an ancient oak.

They traveled through high desert areas and the Columbia River Gorge. They saw Douglas fir trees and the frozen slopes of Mt. Hood in the background with many amazing views of trees along the way.

In this part of the country, there were once volcanoes that made deep gorges. Rivers began to flow through the valleys. Nature has many surprises for visitors to this area where waterfalls splash and temperate rain forests grow.

This beautiful part of America made an exciting trip for the 2012 cyclers!

Note For Teachers:
The STIHL Tour des Trees is a weeklong, 500-mile cycling event held each year to benefit the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund). Since its inception in 1992 the Tour des Trees has raised more than $5 million for scientific research and education programs related to arboriculture (the science of caring for trees in a landscape) and urban forestry.