-- BikeFest 2011--
16th Annual Rural
Heritage Tour
August 13, 2011

Call for Volunteers -- (click here to volunteer)

Register now -- (will open around May, 2011)
 

[Free Fun Ride] [Fees & Dates] [Schedule] [Safety] [Visitor_Info] [Contact_Us] [Sponsors]

Scenic rural vistas along quiet country roads
Historic farmsteads and rustic churches
The pastoral heritage of the Piedmont

Experience the bucolic scenery of farm life as you pedal through gently rolling terrain.

  BikeFest 2010: The 15th Annual Rural Heritage Tour, Saturday, August 07, 2010.

The Tour begins at the Superior Courthouse in downtown Hillsborough [map to Hillsborough] [BikeFest parking map], 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.  Mechanical support provided by PRK Bikes.

Click here for photos from BikeFest 2009.

Free, family-oriented Historic District Fun Ride.  For those who want a much shorter ride, there is the Free Fun Ride, 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.

Fees and Dates

  Pre-registration by Aug 1st or when 850 cap reached -- no on-site registration

You can pay by credit card or check.  Click here to see if you're registered (this list is updated every week.  Note:  If paying by check your name will appear about 10 days after we receive your check.)

Schedule of Events

Safety

ANSI, Snell, ASTM, or CPSC approved helmets are required. All riders will be required to accept a release form prior to the start of the Tour. The Tour will be held on public roads which will remain open to motor vehicle traffic. Each rider is expected to obey traffic laws and is responsible for his or her own safety. See registration forms for other requirements.

Visitor Information

The Town of Hillsborough is located near Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina. From points east and west take I-40 to Exit 261. From points north & south, take I-85 to Exit 164. Follow signs to the downtown historic district & the Orange County Visitor Center (map location click here). The Hillsborough Visitors Center  919-732-7741 The Chapel Hill-Orange Count Visitors Bureau  919-968-2060

For More Information
 

E-mail   bikefest@tarwheels.org   Snail-mail (and where to send registration checks) BikeFest P.O. Box 111 Durham, NC 27702

BikeFest wishes to thank these sponsors:

Bronto email marketing - Durham, NC

Clean Machine bike store - Carrboro, NC