Scenic rural vistas along quiet country roads
Historic farmsteads and rustic churches
The pastoral heritage of the Piedmont
BikeFest 2008: The 13th Annual Rural Heritage Tour
Experience the bucolic scenery of farm life as you pedal through gently rolling terrain. Join the Carolina Tarwheels Bicycle Club for BikeFest 2008: The 13th Annual Rural Heritage Tour, Saturday, August 9, 2008.
The Tour begins at the Superior Courthouse in downtown Hillsborough, and offers a choice of several rides: a 35-mile half metric, a 62-mile metric century, and a 100-mile English century. The 35 and 62 routes will have 2 rest stops while the 100 mile route has 4 rest stops. All 3 will have a water only stop 10 miles before the end.
The 100 and 62-mile routes leave at the same time and direction, winding thru rural Orange County, and briefly into Alamance County. The first 25 miles is mostly rolling countryside. After the rest stop these 2 routes split in different directions.
The 62-mile loop, continues straight through northern Orange County and into Person County. This loop is flat to rolling countryside on roads with very little traffic.
The 100-mile loop turns left from the rest stop and proceeds into Alamance, Caswell, Person and back to Orange Counties. This loop is more challenging than the 62 mile route with numerous hills, however most of the climbs are less than 1 mile long. Estimated climbing is ~5000'. You will also ride on some of the best roads around, paceline riding at its best. There are two additional rest stops on this loop.
Just before rest stop 2 (the 4th stop for the 100 mile loop), the 62 and 100-mile routes re-unite and continue back to Hillsborough, with the 35 mile route joining for the last 17 miles over some very scenic flat to rolling countryside. There will be one final climb 2 miles from the end.
The 35 mile loop riders leave Hillsborough roughly 30 minutes after the 100 & 62 mile riders and travel though Hillsborough and out to Orange county on flat to rolling hills visiting 2 rest stops. After the first stop at mile 10, the 35 joins the 62 briefly and has another rest stop at mile 18. After this last rest stop, the route joins the 62/100 mile loops back into town for the last 17 miles which includes some hills near the end.
This is a fully-supported ride with rest stops, refreshments, and restrooms. Routes are clearly marked and patrolled by SAG vehicles.
For those who want a much shorter ride, there is the free, family-oriented Historic District Fun Ride. The Fun Ride is a seven mile tour of historic sites in and around Hillsborough. All riders will be provided with directions, and can ride the route at their own pace. Refreshments will be provided at the end of the ride, but all riders are still encouraged to carry their own water bottles. While there is no fee for the Fun Ride, all riders must still register.
The Tarwheels take pride in the volunteers who contribute time, energy, and the Tour's hallmark homemade cookies and baked goods. They have made the Rural Heritage Tour one of the most enjoyable bicycling events in North Carolina.
In order to maintain the superior quality of BikeFest, maintain our reputation for putting on the best one day ride in the state, and allow parking for our participants, we are again limiting the number of registrants for BikeFest to 850 riders. BikeFest will again be pre-registration only.
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