NORWAY – A wave of 100 out-of-staters will be hitting the back roads from Paris to Rangeley next week.

Bicycles are their primary mode of transportation for the 12th annual Moose Tour, a six-day, 300-mile adventure in Oxford and Franklin counties from Sunday, Aug. 1, through Friday, Aug. 6.

Moose, home-cooked meals and that small-town experience are what the riders are seeking, said tour director Brian McLaughlin of the Maine Wheels Bicycle Club of Norway.

“We try to go through all the moose-infested areas,” he said. “Very few times are we on the major roads, so their chances of seeing moose go up.”

But because the riders are to be sightseeing at their own pace, and taking the occasional timeout for an impromptu cooling-off swim, not everyone sees a moose.

The average age of the riders is 42.

“These riders are not young, racer guys. They’re just normal people,” McLaughlin said Thursday.

In past years that have come from California, Texas, Florida, Alaska, Maryland and other mid-Atlantic states, the West, and even Europe.

Many found out about the tour, which costs $400, through word of mouth and contacts with other bicycle-touring enthusiasts. Others, McLaughlin said, were drawn by his ads in national publications.

Aside from moose, they are attracted to Maine’s scenery and rural towns.

“They like our small towns and particularly the small-town stores, where you can buy ammunition and a sub sandwich, or fishing gear and motor oil,” he said.

The weather and the slower pace of life here are other draws.

“We tell them we arrange the weather the best we can. Many of them like the idea that it’s not super-hot here,” McLaughlin said.

Riders pedal 50 to 75 miles per day, excepting the last day’s 35-mile ride from Dixfield to South Paris.

Baggage, like clothing and camping equipment, is towed in a truck. A massage therapist and mechanic are also included, and there’s even an optional ride day in Rangeley at midweek.

Store owners along the way are warned a week in advance that many bicyclists are coming, “so they don’t get suddenly swamped,” McLaughlin said.

This year’s adventure is traveling in a clockwise direction, from South Paris to Fryeburg, to Bethel, to Rangeley, to Dixfield and back to the starting point.

“Our route is not flat, but it isn’t Rocky Mountain riding either,” he said.

More information about the Moose Tour may be obtained on the Internet at www.moosetour.com.