COEUR d'ALENE - Energy bar. Check.

Camera. Check.

Ability to ride a bicycle 425 miles. A definite check.

It's time to gear up for Ride Idaho.

Ride Idaho begins Sunday, a seven-day bike tour that shows off the Gem State's natural scenery, history and culture.

The annual event is in its ninth year, and each year the route moves to different regions in the state. This year, 370 cyclists and sponsors from 38 states and Canada will ride a 425-mile outdoor excursion, beginning and ending in Coeur d'Alene.

"When they see Coeur d'Alene and see all the opportunities in Coeur d'Alene, they're going to go home and come back with their families and stay longer," said race director Earl Grief, of Boise. Grief began the bike tour in 2005.

"It started just as a means of bringing riders from out of state into Idaho, showing them our state," he said. He said the tour also has a positive impact on local communities and safe cycling is promoted through the entire trip.

Cyclists will ride north from Riverstone through Spirit Lake to Sandpoint, through Clark Fork to Thompson Falls, west through Murray to Wallace, through Enaville and Cataldo to Chatcolet then head north through Plummer and Worley back to Coeur d'Alene.

They will be camping nightly close to the hearts of the towns and enjoying what each has to offer, such as shopping, dining and mingling with each other and the locals.

"We encourage everybody to take their time and see the country," Grief said. "When we're in these smaller towns we try to find the history and the culture of the towns."

One highlight riderswill see is the Bird Aviation and Invention Museum in Sagle, a place of technological and innovative wonder.

"It's very interesting, it's not like a normal museum," he said.

Tour guests will be treated to three melodramas when they stay in Wallace, and 220 guests have signed up to ride the Hiawatha Trail during an optional layover day.

The tour will provide a shower truck and other amenities, such as a nightly beer garden and live music. Grief said locals are welcome to stop by and say hello as they welcome visitors to Idaho, because the best part of the ride is the people.

"We use as the tagline 'meet your next best friend on Ride Idaho,' and it really is true," he said.

The average age of the riders is 55, but Grief said many are in their mid-20s and riders as young as 16 are accepted with an adult guardian.

Ride Idaho requires people to register in advance. The tour has been booked for two months. The tour costs $735 per rider and $295 for non-riders.

"I've got friends that come back every year," Grief said. "It's just a great experience. it's really hard to describe without actually doing it."

Info: www.rideidaho.org