Big BAM to make stop in Perryville

There will soon be a group of cyclists moving through the area next month. The sixth annual Big BAM {Bicycle Across Missouri), brings its June road ride to southeast Missouri for the first time in 2021.
“It’s a tour by bicycle that we started about six years ago,” event organizer Denita Wood said. “We started the ride in north Missouri and have since moved it around the state. It’s another way to experience the state.”
Big BAM is an event put on by Missouri Life magazine and begins in Poplar Bluff on June 13, travels through the countryside and small towns, overnights in Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Perryville, Farmington, and concludes in Ste. Genevieve on June 18. The event is exclusively in southeast Missouri, not throughout the whole state. Special music has been arranged to entertain riders each evening in each overnight town, and community members are invited to join the cyclists for those performances.
The riders will bike into Perryville on June 16 and depart the next morning. They will spend the night at the Perry Park Center. The musical entertainment at Perryville will be provided by Carissa Stark.
Already this year, almost 150 riders from 15 states have signed up. Wood expects to have about 200 riders for the event, but has had up to 500 cyclists in the past. The event is considered a ride, not a race.

“Missouri is too big,” Wood said. “We started out crossing the state from border to border, but that’s really only practical in North Missouri.”
Big BAM will traverse about 300 miles of paved roads with fairly low traffic. The route passes by cotton and rice fields, wineries.
Big BAM organizers work with local authorities all along the route to help create a safe and fun event. Big BAM places or has ensured water and rest stations every 12 to 15 miles. Big BAM is a fully supported ride, and registration fees include gear transport, camping, support, water and food stops every 10 to 15 miles, bike repair services, free coffee in the morning.
Wood is always excited for the event each year. So much so that she always takes part in the ride herself.
“I claim that I’m doing the customer experience work, but I ride every year and I have a blast,” Wood said.