Bicycle SA’s annual tour will bring 200 riders to the island from Saturday for a week.

In a Bicycle SA first, the annual tour sold out months before the event. The island’s popularity among interstate residents is high with 75 per cent of registrants coming from the eastern states specifically for the ride.

The eight-day cycling tour will take in American River, Parndana, Flinders Chase National Park, Vivonne Bay, Kingscote and Penneshaw.

“The annual tour is one of Bicycle SA’s great cycle tourism events, and the local regions we pass through will also benefit financially from the tour,” said Bicycle SA chief executive officer Christian Haag.

The Kangaroo Island tour has received national exposure with Australian Cyclist magazine saying: “KI is a great cycle tourism destination. It is largely underdeveloped and therefore provides a safe cycling environment with quiet roads” and Ride On magazine stating; “its long, straight, almost traffic-free roads and tracks – even its peripheral undulations – make for a superb off-road bicycle holiday”.

Another cycling event, Cycle4Sam is also on the island this weekend.

The 1100km bike ride for charity, from the Flinders Ranges to Adelaide, started last Monday.

More than a dozen cyclists arrive on the island on Friday as they ride to raise funds for the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, in memory of Sam Roberts, who died aged 4 in 2005, from a little-known genetic disorder.

Kangaroo Island locals will have the chance to support the tour when the cyclists, along with their families and supporters, arrive by SeaLink ferry at 12.45pm on Friday.

On Saturday, the cyclists will complete the longest leg of the tour, riding 176km from Kingscote to Vivonne Bay.

That night, everyone will be welcome to join in the fun by attending a benefit, including karaoke competition, at the Vivonne Bay Bar and Grill, part of Vivonne Bay Eco-Adventures.