Madison a Bike Virginia stop

Madison County is known for its curvy, rolling mountain landscape. Next week, some 2,000 visitors will themselves be the ones doing the rolling on this landscape, each doing it on two wheels. Many will show off curves of their own too as they arrive clad in form-fitting spandex outfits. They’re the riders participating in the 22nd annual Bike Virginia event.

The five-day bicycling tour is making a few stops in Madison County this Tuesday, June 23 on its way from Culpeper to Orange.
“They will trickle in and trickle out,” said Kim Berry, an event organizer with Bike Walk Virginia, one of the event’s sponsoring organizations. “They ride at their own speed.”

After kicking off the event in Charlottesville this Friday, June 19, cyclists will continue north to Orange and Culpeper and then back down to Charlottesville, where the tour concludes this Wednesday, June 24.

Riders will travel a total of 210 to 380 miles throughout the event, depending on what routes they chose, and either stay overnight at campgrounds set up in Culpeper, Orange and Charlottesville, or at hotels or bed and breakfasts in the region.

This coming Tuesday, the cyclists – who range from professional to recreational riders – will leave Culpeper between 7-9 a.m. and ride alongside motorists on various secondary roads throughout the day, entering Madison County from the north in Reva.

After participants take a break at a rest stop at Novum Baptist Church, they will continue on into the Hebron Valley on their way into the town of Madison.
Between 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Graves Mill-based Mill Valley Barbeques will provide lunch for cyclists at the Madison County Volunteer Fire Company fire hall on North Main Street.

The company – which is providing two other meals in Orange for riders during this event – adjusted its offerings slightly to accommodate this health conscious and eco-friendly crowd, according to Owner Rodney Lillard.

The menu includes high-protein and high-carbohydrate foods to keep the riders energized, including pasta, fruit and meat and vegetable skewers, Lillard said.

“We’re using biodegradable knives, spoons, forks…they said up front no plastic products,” he said.

During the lunchtime break on Main Street, Madison Chamber of Commerce Director and Tourism Coordinator Tracey (Williams) Gardner has organized a variety of activities to introduce the cyclists to Madison County.

A booth will be set up at the fire hall offering information about various upcoming community events to encourage the visitors to return to the area. In addition, Madison County native James P. Herndon will speak to the riders about his new book “Jack’s Shop, Beyond the Front Porch,” which describes Herndon’s upbringing in Madison County during the 1950s and ’60s in and around the community of Rochelle.

Cyclists will also get a taste of Madison County’s creative community as an artists’ market event – which typically takes place in front of South Main Street’s Oasis Hair Design Studio/Body Logic shop – will be set up at the fire hall for the afternoon.

After filling up on food, the crew will head out of town by way of Oak Park Road (Route 634) heading through Aroda and into Radiant. The group’s last stop in Madison County will be at Good Hope Baptist Church, before the bikers continue on through to Orange, where they will stop for the night. The tour’s Tuesday route will close at 5 p.m. and any riders still on the roads at that time will be picked up and taken to the group’s campground in Orange.

For information about Bike Virginia 2009, visit its Web site at http://www.bikevirginia.org/2009/index.htm. It is too late to sign up to participate in the event.