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Participants in Cycle Oregon 2011 set up camp on the first day of the event in the town of Sutherlin. Cycle Oregon contributes about $5 million to the state's tourist economy each year.

(John Killen/The Oregonian)

SALEM -- Cycling's not just hip and healthy; it's becoming big business in Oregon, a new study shows.

Recreational bicycle travel accounts for $400 million of Oregon's annual $9 billion tourism industry, according to the

, released Wednesday by the state's tourism agency,

.

"We knew we had a real strong competitive advantage" for luring two-wheeled tourists to the state, Scott West, chief strategy officer for Travel Oregon told a legislative panel. The survey proves it, he said.

It's the first time the state has quantified spending on organized bike rides, races and other non-commuting trips. Additionally, they survey broke cycling activity down by region, and showed where the spinoff spending goes.

Of those who spent time cycling around Oregon, 83 percent also hike, and 58 percent visited at least one microbrewery.

"So when you talk about cycling, you also may want to talk about beer," West said.

The survey was conducted by Dean Runyon Associates in 2012. About 5,000 respondents took part, combed from more than two dozen bicycle and tourism-related blogs, web sites, newsletters and other resources.

They noted where they went and how much money they spent on food, accommodations, gear and other items. The biggest group were those who went on day road rides for recreation or fitness, followed by those who signed up for organized, non-competitive rides.

Most, 67 percent, were from Oregon, followed by Washington, 10 percent, and California, 8 percent. They spent an average of $94 a day in restaurants and bars, and $81 a day on motels and other accommodations, according to the survey.

The impact is especially big in the Columbia Gorge and Hood River area, where cycling accounts for 15 percent of all recreational travel.

"It's just crying out for the right kind of development," West told the House Transportation and Economic Development Committee.

The study could add impetus to efforts to construct a special tourism bikeway along the old Columbia Gorge Highway. It could replace the coast as the most popular cycling tourist destination, West said.

"That is a global destination when it's finished," he said.

Also attending the hearing was Jerry Norquist, past director of

, who said that event alone has a $5 million annual impact on the state. Norquist said bicycling advocates around the country have begun to realize that they need to begin collecting better data to make their case for improved roads, bike trails and other amenities.

"We want to use it to approach legislators around the country to show them that bikes mean business," Norquist said.

The Travel Oregon survey didn't draw a comparison between cycling and the contributions of other recreational industries. But a separate survey released by the University of Oregon in February said the ski-snowboard industry contributes about $482 million a year to the state.

Across the country, cycling contributes $81 billion to the economy, according to a national outdoor recreation study. It ranks third in participation rates behind running and fishing, beating out camping and hiking.

Cycling also has begun to spread from Oregon's urban areas and begun to have an impact in rural parts of the state. Kenji Sugahara, head of the

, said road, cyclocross and mountain bike races bring large numbers of participants to small towns.

"I think we doubled the population of Echo" when 538 riders showed up for a race there, he said.

-- Harry Esteve