Ride in the footsteps of Patrick Henry, Robert E. Lee, and Ulysses S. Grant! The Heart of Virginia Bike Festival has something for everyone: a 30 mile Family Ride, a 37 mile Short Ride; a 35 mile Historic Ride; a Metric Century; a Metric Century Plus; and a challenging, 100 mile English Century course with enough hills to give you a real workout! As always, there will be fully-stocked rest stops, and an outstanding barbecue with hand-dipped ice cream at the finish. Sept. 18-19 at the Patrick Henry Family YMCA in Ashland.

Hosted by the Richmond Area Bicyclist Association (RABA); proceeds benefit the Hanover Habitat for Humanity, and the Hanover Mental Health Assn.

For details and to register, see the RABA website.

Don’t miss the Coast Guard City Century ride in Portsmouth on Saturday, August 7. Four separate rides will depart from Ntelos Pavilion:

• 100 Mile Century Ride – 7 am
• 65 Mile Metric Century Ride – 7:30 am
• 50 Mile Half Century Ride – 8 am
• 10 Mile Fun Waterfront Ride – 8:30 am until 10 am

The 100 mile route finishes with several loops through downtown Portsmouth, filled with cheering spectators. All other routes return to Ntelos Pavilion, and the 10 mile route features guided tours of the historic Portsmouth waterfront.

The City Century ride is a centerpiece of the Coast Guard’s 220th anniversary celebration along with many other events, including a concert by the Counting Crows (click here for a $10 discount).  For more information, see the Cycle Classics website or the Tidewater Bicycle Association website.  Register at EventBrite, and make sure you register by August 4 — there’s no walk-up registration.

New Updates:


1. IN HONOR OF THOSE THAT HAVE SERVED IN THE MILITARY, ESPECIALLY THE COAST GUARD, GET $10 OFF REGISTRATION FROM NOW UNTIL AUGUST 4th! EMAIL Lisa.A.Johnson@uscg.mil for DISCOUNT CODE!
2. Also, in celebration for the final week of the Tour de France, anyone can register between now and Sunday midnight (July 25th) and get $10 off using the Discount Code “TDF”.
3. There are now over $5,000 in prizes for those participating in CGCC – just sign up to ride, fill out form when you check in, and you may win one these great prizes that you can see at www.coastguardday.com
4. GPS routes for your Garmin will be available to download next week at http://cycleclassicsva.tripod.com/id21.htm

Come howl at the moon and celebrate the joy of cycling at night! The Anthem Moonlight Ride is presented by Richmond’s Sportsbackers, and sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, along with VCU Medical Center.

The ride begins on Saturday, August 21 at 8pm, with two course options, an 8-mile “Half Moon” course, and a 17-mile “Full Moon” course, both through downtown Richmond. Entry fee includes a glow-in-the-dark event T-shirt, red rear safety light, goodie bag, and after party with live music and complimentary Blue Moon Beer.

For more information and to register, see the Sports Backers website. Also see the event page on Facebook.

Virginia LTAP (Local Technical Assistance Program) is offering a workshop, “Bicyclists & Pedestrians – Effectively Meeting the Needs of Non-Motorized Transportation,” August 5 in Leesburg. We strongly recommend these workshops for all bike advocates, planners, municipality staff and elected officials. This course will be taught by Jake Helmboldt, former statewide bike-ped coordinator for VDOT.

LTAP is a technology transfer program sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, to improve the skills and knowledge of local transportation service providers.

The 7th annual International Ride of Silence will take place Wednesday, May 19, at 7pm. Cyclists around the world will convene at for local memorial rides, to honor those injured or killed while bicycling. Participants will wear black armbands and ride together, parade-style, in silence, for several miles.

So far, these Rides of Silence are planned for Virginia:

• Charlottesville
• Hampton
• Harrisonburg, in honor of Joseph V. Mirenda
• Norfolk
• Radford, in honor of Forrest “Fess” Green
• Virginia Beach

While the ride itself is solemn, it’s an inspirational event that’s often followed by a festive get-together, in the tradition of an Irish wake. We encourage all cyclists to participate in their local Ride of Silence, or to organize one if there isn’t one.

For more information about scheduled rides, click the links above, and check the Locations section of the Ride of Silence website. Check back for new listings, or submit your own event. List your event on this page too — drop us a note, or just put it in the comments section below. You can use basic HTML to add links.

April 28, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Ride Coordinator BARBARA DUERK (540) 580-1621 or Media Outreach Coordinator Mark Petersen (540) 397-8379.

Join Mayor Bowers and the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club for the ‘Mayor’s Bike Ride’

ROANOKE, VA – Nationwide, May is Bike Month. In an effort to encourage more bicycling as a means of recreation and transportation, Mayor Bower invites the public to ride with him Saturday, May 1st at 10:00.

The Mayor’s Bike Ride, kicks off Bike Month in the Roanoke Valley. Momentum is growing for the greenways as the Valley see more miles added to the Roanoke River trail. Mayor Bowers is excited to see so many people of all ages and backgrounds using the Greenways.

The Mayor feels that strong neighborhoods are essential to growth and
success of Roanoke City. A Key factor of the greenways is that they connect to several parts of the City: schools, employment and entertainment. Participating in this year’s Mayor’s Bike Ride is an excellent way to arrive Downtown to enjoy the Music and Food festivals planned this weekend.

Mayor David Bowers will lead a short (2.0) mile ride from the Roanoke Parks and Recreation at building at 210 Reserve Ave, along the Roanoke River Greenway, to the Mayor’s Monument in Elmwood Park. More bicycle traffic on Roanoke streets creates healthier people and cleaner air.

Registration begin at 9:30 AM. Helmets are required. Mayor Bowers will
offer a Bike Month proclamation and the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club will award a series of Bicycle Friendly certificates to local individuals and businesses. Escorted trips back to 210 Reserve will leave every half-hours from the Mayor’s Monument in Elm Park until 2:00pm.

The purposes of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, Inc. are to promote and encourage the use of the bicycle for transportation and recreation in southwest Virginia; to support the rights of cyclists; to provide information in the interest of bicycling safety; and to promote competitive cycling.

Notice of Public Meeting: Analysis for Interchange on the Route 460 Bypass in the Vicinity of Southgate Drive

The Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Montgomery Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Virginia Tech is seeking input from the public on these improvement concepts at a public meeting on Thursday, April 29 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. in the Solitude Room at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.

The group is performing a study to identify and analyze potential roadway and interchange improvements in the general vicinity of Southgate Drive and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. As part of this study, a range of potential improvement concepts are being developed and tested in terms of their ability to serve existing and future travel demands in a safe and efficient manner.

Summary information from the study will be available for review and comment at the public meeting. Feedback on the study and recommendations may be provided as follows:

• Oral comments will be taken by project staff at the meeting
• Written comments may be completed and submitted at the meeting
• Written comments may be submitted by no later than May 14, 2010 to:

  Blacksburg/Christiansburg/ Montgomery Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, 755 Roanoke Street Suite 2I, Christiansburg VA, 24073

Your input is very important for this study – and we look forward to seeing you on April 29th.

For more information visit www.montgomerycountyva.gov/mpo or contact Transportation and Campus Services.

Join the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, BikeWalk Virginia, and Mathews County for the annual Tour de Chesapeake, and Bikes, Bands and the Bay Festival — May 14-16, 2010 — a fun-filled weekend of pleasurable bike riding, great music, and water activities that embrace the beauty of the bay. Not quite in shape for Mountains of Misery? Tour de Chesapeake is as flat as Virginia gets!

Mileage options range from 20 to 80 miles, including route for families with small children.

See http://www.bikechesapeake.org for details and to register. Follow their Facebook page, see their news page for event updates, and please consider volunteering — with all the new event features, they still need volunteers, and this is a great way to enjoy the event.

With the first large-scale electric streetcar system, Richmond was once a leader in transportation technology. Local business and community leaders believe that Richmond can lead again, in transportation and economic development — by embracing modern, sustainable transportation.

To this end, the Sustainable Transportation Initiative of Richmond, aka Project STIR, is co-sponsoring a panel discussion on Monday, April 12, 7pm, at the University of Richmond’s Jepson Alumni Center, along with the University of Richmond, and Leadership Metro Richmond. See the press release for details. All are welcome, but please register ahead of time.

Bicycling must be a part of this vision, and VBF will be there to help make the case. Richmond has a small but growing number of regular bike commuters, and a thriving bike community and culture.

The Virginia Capital Trail and other corridors running through Richmond are poised to become backbones for an extensive bike-ped network — tying together local paths, bike lanes, and bike-friendly roadways. A Portland for the east coast? It’s not too far-fetched! In fact it may be necessary for attracting tomorrow’s industries and workers. Note how Portland and Milwaukee have weathered the recession better than most.

Phoenix Bikes, a non-profit community bike shop in Arlington, will be having their 3rd annual Bike Show this Thursday, April 8, 7-9pm. This year’s theme will be “Extraordinary Rides” by riders in the DC-Arlington metro area. Visit the for details and to buy tickets. All proceeds go toward supporting Phoenix Bikes’ youth programs.