Tour du Teche VI is Oct. 2-4

PHOTO: Wendell Smith (left) of Seguin, Texas, and Phil Bowden of San Marcos, Texas, smile broadly as they wrap up Tour du Teche V with a first-in-class and first-overall wins, paddling their HUKI surfski 135 miles in 19 hours, 43 minutes and 3 seconds for an average speed of 6.06 mph. Not shown is coureur de bois Mark Miller of McQueeney, Texas. (Ken Grissom)

Tour du Teche VI, featuring a 135-mile, three-day race for kayaks and canoes through four parishes, is Oct. 2-4 with pre-race events – including the finish of the inaugural Tour de la Rivière Rouge – at Port Barre on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Online registration is available through Webscorer at www.tourduteche.com. Registration closes Saturday, Sept. 12.
Tour du Teche 135 is a three-day staged race down the entire length of Bayou Teche, from Port Barre to Berwick. Overall length, including short stretches on Bayou Courtableau and in the Atchafalaya River, totals 135 miles.
Numerous shorter, one-day races on the same course are part of Tour du Teche.
The two new races, both über-marathons, are Tour de la Rivière Rouge, 275 miles from Shreveport-Bossier City down the Red and Atchafalaya rivers and into Bayou Courtableau to Port Barre, and the 410 (miles) de Louisiane, which is a combination of Rivière Rouge and the TDT 135. Both start on Saturday, Sept. 26.
One-day races are:

•Crawfish – Port Barre to Poche’s Market and Restaurant, 30 miles – Oct. 2;
•Acadian – Port Barre to St. Martinville, 49 miles – Oct. 2;
•Hot Sauce – St. Martinville to New Iberia, 24 miles – Oct. 3;
•Sugar – St. Martinville to Franklin, 59 miles – Oct. 3;
•Black Bear – New Iberia to Franklin, 35 miles – Oct. 3;
•Oil & Gas – Franklin to Berwick, 27 miles – Oct. 4.

For more information, visit www.tourduteche.com or email info@tourduteche.com.