News

LIGHTNING PHOTOS: Cross-state bicycle tour overnights here

Riders reach the finish line of the Waynesville-to-Hendersonville leg on Sunday.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 27, 2015

Neither rain nor a frosty morn nor downhill hairpin turns stayed more than a thousand intrepid riders from finishing the first leg of the Mountains to Coast bicycle tour, pedaling from Waynesville to Hendersonville on Sunday.

Ending their rain-soaked trek at Jackson Park, riders were greeted with a feast of opportunity to explore Hendersonville. It was expected they would  pump thousands of dollars into the tourism economy via hotel stays, restaurant meals, beer and wine sipping and shopping.
“The key is it’s not a race. It’s a tour,” said Chris Hofler, marketing director for the sponsoring organization, Cycling North Carolina. “We’re promoting the tourism part of it.”
What that means for Hendersonville and other host cities along the way is a captive audience of 1,100 riders — average income $100,000 — who want to refuel, relax and rest overnight. About 200 bicyclists stay in hotels, another 200 choose “indoor camping” at the Henderson County Athletics and Activity Center gym and the rest spend the night at a sprawling tent city at the park.
The average age of riders is a mature and fit 56 — both retired and working men and women.
“Many of them do cross-the-state tours in many states,” Hofler said. “We have 40 different states represented plus three provinces, the Virgin Islands and D.C. I would say it’s about 70 percent from North Carolina.”
The oldest rider is 87 and the youngest — towed in a trailer — is a 3-year-old girl. A 9-year-old boy is biking the whole route.

Tight logistics

The cross-state tour covers 475 miles in eight days, ending at Oak Island on Saturday, with overnight stops here then in Shelby, Concord, Southern Pines, Lumberton and Whiteville. Cycle NC and its cosponsors — Visit North Carolina, Powerade, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Lowe’s Foods, Core Power, the N.C. Department of Transportation and Cycling Spoken Here — execute the logistics with military-like precision.
Each day, they set up three or four fully stocked rest stops with fruit, Powerade, soft drinks (yes, cyclist like those), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and energy bars. SAG wagons (support and gear) equipped with bicycle repair equipment follow the riders. Organizers hired eight State Highway Patrol troopers who support the ride with traffic control throughout the eight-day tour.
“A truck comes in and sets up the rest stop and another truck comes behind it and cleans it up,” Hofler said. “It’s a little moving tent city every day.”

Scary downhill through Pisgah

A low of 48 degrees greeted riders as they topped a mountain range from Waynesville.
“It was an excellent ride,” said Phil Cunningham, an IT program manager at Cisco Systems in Raleigh. A first time Mountains-to-Coast rider, Cunningham, 57, was among the first wave of finishers, averaging around 15 mph on the up-and-down ride. “The descent to Brevard (down U.S. 276 through Pisgah National Forest) was scary. At one point I looked down and I was going 40 mph,” he said.
A wet road blanketed with slick leaves makes for a hazardous downhill but Cunningham remained upright and enjoyed the scenery and the amenities.
“It was very well marked,” he said. “The rest areas were well staffed and well supplied.”
Although he’s a fairly new serious rider, Cunningham is in top condition. He’s been training 250 miles a week and has completed 13 100-milers. “I put 8,000 miles on my bike (a Giant Defy) last year,” he said.

All aboard: shuttles take riders

Food trucks lined a staging area at Jackson Park while volunteers known as Sherpas issued the riders’ gear and helped set up tents.
Three employees and eight volunteers staffed an information tent for the Tourism Development Authority, handing out brochures and a sheet identifying 35 stores and attractionsthe riders could visit. Stores and shops downtown that are usually closed on Sunday agreed to stay open to serve the riders. Shuttles running every half hour made dropoffs and pickups at A Day in the Country, Mountain Fresh Orchards, Burntshirt Vineyards and Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, Mast General Store, Oskar Blues brewery and Sanctuary Brewing Co.

For more information on Cycle North Carolina, call at (919) 361-1133, or visit www.cyclenorthcarolina.org. Signup for next year’s Mountains-to-Coast ride will open in the spring.