You may have noticed quite a few bicyclists on our roads these past few weekends.

That’s partly because it’s summer, and biking is what people do on our dry roads this time of year. But it also means that the Passport2Pain (P2P) bicycle ride is just around the corner.

The Vashon Island Rowing Club puts on this ride every year to benefit the Junior Rowing program, plus three other supporting island charities: the Vashon Food Bank, Vashon Youth and Family Services and One Village. This year will be the 14th anniversary of the event.

With up to 80 miles of distance and 10,000 feet of elevation gain, area riders know not to take this ride lightly.

This year the other Northwest ride “RAMROD” — or Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day, which is fabled for its “disturbed” nature — takes place just 10 days before P2P. So, to welcome RAMROD to the September calendar, we have created a new category of rider, the Lunatic, to complement our existing Idiot (80 miles), Weasel (50 miles), Weenie (30 miles) and Tourist (12 miles) cohorts.

Lunatics ride 150 miles around Mt. Rainier, then nine days later pedal 80 miles around our island for a total elevation gain of 20,000 feet. It really is sheer lunacy — and so far, about 30 lunatics have already signed up.

This year’s ride, like last year, will feature a reversed route: clockwise around Maury, then counterclockwise around Vashon. Most of the route is on side roads with many down-and-back descents to the water. There are 20 checkpoints where riders will be able to re-hydrate and refuel. Then, we all head back to Jensen Point on the Burton peninsula for a big taco feed after the ride.

Some riders have complained that they actually gain weight on this trek, what with all the opportunities to eat.

Riders are reminded to follow the rules of the road and be good neighbors. We appreciate the island’s patience during these few hours that we host some of the most amazing cyclists in the area.

The rowing club enjoys putting on this event each year, but also welcomes volunteers from across the island. If you have some time to volunteer, please contact Pat Call at pat.call49@gmail.com.

Thank you, and enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

Pat Call is the chair of Passport2Pain.