Twenty Eighth Year Marks Tradition In Cycling Event

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Over 20,000 people have enjoyed the long running cycling event 2015.The Bike Virginia Tour in the event’s 28 year history. Participants young and old, from the US and from International homes have ridden on the hand selected bike touring routes in a criss-cross web that has covered all of Virginia. Many riders have come year after year, with the attendance record at 27 years.

The UCI cycling events started as a small tour with just over a dozen participants 28 years ago and grew to over 2,200 riders at its largest. Each year since the first, the event has brought cycling tourism to Virginia. The first ride was based in Staunton Virginia, a location the event has returned to several times as it is a rider favorite region.

Several years after the start of the event the riding plan included longitudinal routes with a new host town each day. This meant participants had to move their camps each night, a truly tiring endeavor after a day of riding. Later the event evolved into having 3 host towns from which riders enjoyed a combination of loop rides and directional rides. Since 2010 The Bike Virginia Tour has offered just 2 camps with 6 days of riding, meaning lots of riding without as much moving camp. Participants responded very positively to that new format.

Evolution has continued to change the event from what 5 day event to now 6 days of riding with a new rider cap of 1,600 riders. During the average event participants enjoy 400 miles of routes if they ride the longest option each of the 6 days. Participants have the option to ride less miles, or fewer days also, making the event highly customizable.

The tour hosted its largest attendance in 2007 with 2,200 riders taking part in the event celebrating the 400 anniversary of Williamsburg, Virginia. Since that time the ride has lowered its rider cap based on participant suggestions and the desire of the organizers to visit some of Virginia’s smaller, more tranquil communities. With 1,600 riders, the event has more potential host locations, unlike in its largest size when it had to go to mid-size communities offering a large number of hotels.

At that large attendance size, the event filled nearly 400 hotel rooms for the 5 days of the tour. Now, the tour event can visit smaller communities with hotel room demand lowered to approximately 300 rooms. Having a lower rider cap also means fewer cyclists on rural roads during the event which allows maximum safety and reduces traffic management demands. 

Rural Tourism
The cycling events in Virginia Tour stimulates rural tourism. During the 6 day period of the event nearly $3 million dollars in spending is generated. Participants dine, lodge, and travel in the region. They shop for items to take remind them of their vacation and for gifts.  The event organizers also spend with regional service providers to support event operations. The event moves to a new region in the state each year, with an expected return cycle of 6-7 years for a region.

Location Selection
The event location is selected each year based on a variety of criteria including quality and safety of roads, lodging and dining options, regional amenities, history, and scenery. A team of staff and volunteers consider applications from communities that wish to host the event. Events are planned over an 18-24 month planning cycle.

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