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Early Registration Discount Ending 1/31!
Does all this unusually warm weather have you thinking about riding? We hope so. It certainly has us in the spirit! Here at Bike Virginia we are making preparations for this summer’s tour. We want you to be there to celebrate our 25th Birthday with us!
Tuesday is the last chance to take advantage of the early registration discount. Prices go up to full price on February 1. When you are registering, be sure to look at our all new riding gear. This year we are offering custom designed classic Bike Virginia Tour riding gear (jersey, jacket, arm warmers, shorts, leg warmers) for purchase at the time of registration. We’ve just added a new jersey design this week. You can see the great new accessories here.
Keep up with the latest event developments in our website News corner and join fellow riders for updates on Facebook. Go to Registration by Clicking HERE! For more information visit www.bikevirginia.org email: registration@bikewalkvirginia.org or call 757.645.1861
Bike Virginia is a service of Bike VA the Organization
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By Dr. Kim Perry, Executive Director
Each year we receive a handful of questions from riders with specific food allergies about our our meal plan. As someone who has multiple food allergies, I understand how important arranging your food is. I am allergic to more and more things these days: eggs, wheat, peanuts, mushrooms, and pineapple. I’m hoping that I don’t add any more to that list!
Unfortunately due to a number of constraints we cannot specifically address food allergies for our riders or staff. We cater 13 meals to 2,000 riders in 5 days, and use local civic groups like the boy scouts to facilitate snacks at over 25 rest stops. As you can imagine it would be extremely difficult, and dangerous to try to assure that specific allergens are eliminated from our meals and snacks.
I book the catering for the event, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it is impossible for our caterers and rest stop providers to keep those food allergies in mind. On most days of the tour I am surrounded by food that contains one or more of my allergens. As a result, I carry all my own food with me while at the tour. It is a very important week for me to be healthy, I have 2,000 of my friends to take care of so I try to control all my exposure to food very carefully.
We are very sorry at this time to not be able to offer gluten-free guarantees and to make sure that you can eat allergen free safely. I know that more and more people have dietary restrictions. And I hope like I did that once you find your allergens you are feeling happier and healthier.
I’m hopeful as more caterers and more facilities start to understand food allergies that we will be able to do more. This year in fact we are hoping to attract a gluten free food vendor to our tent city this year. If you know of anyone offering such service, please let us know.
If you can make suggestions on ways we can creatively help riders in this situation, please let us know as well.
The 2012 Bike Virginia Tour (BVT) kicks off on Friday June 22, 2012 in Berryville, Virginia.
We will ride a loop ride in the Berryville area on Saturday June 23.
On Sunday June 24 we pack up camp and move our Headquarters to Shenandoah Junction in West Virginia. The ride will be a point to point on Sunday (leaving Berryville, concluding at Shenandoah Junction).
On Monday June 25 and Tuesday June 26 we will ride loop rides in the areas surrounding Charles Town, Harper’s Ferry, and Shepherdstown. All rides on Monday and Tuesday will begin and end at event Headquarters in Shenandoah Junction.
Wednesday June 27 will be our final day of riding and will be a point to point ride starting in Shenandoah Junction and concluding in Berryville at the long term car parking area. Showers will be available in Berryville at the conclusion of the ride.
Camping Schedule:
Hotel Schedule
Our Official Hotel List is now available. Be sure to book in an official hotel if you wish to take part in the Shuttle service or the Hotel Luggage Transfer. More information for planning available on our Accommodations page.
Hey there Hotelers, we have secured the “official hotels” for this years tour and can be found by clicking HERE.
If you like the quaintness of a bed and breakfast be sure to check out the B&B list, also on the accommodations page. Please note that shuttles or hotel luggage transfers are not offered for B&B’s.
Role on tour riders!
We’re busy preparing for the Bike Virginia Tour and know you are anxious for information. For 2012 we are very close to the Washington DC area and have found a lot of excitement over the ride being located in the region. Registration opens on December 1, 2011 for the June 2012 event.
Each and every year brings new opportunities for riding and exploration as we move around the state. And as a result of our relocation each time we create the event from the ground up each year.
We have many traditions that continue on year to year like the “You Did It!” celebration lunch and our much loved route signage. But each location has unique qualities and challenges (or as we like to think of them, opportunities for creativity).
At our Berryville headquarters (first tent city) we will bring back the “airport” style gear drop like the one used in 2010. This is needed because our tent city location cannot accommodate the 1,000 cars we need to park. A gear drop is used for riders to drop off their bike and camping gear before moving cars off-site to the nearby parking area.
New services/features for 2012:
Products- In 2012 we’ll offer an all new line of gear for sale. Bike Virginia Tour Arm Warmers, Shorts, Socks, Jacket, Vest, and Knee Warmers will be available for advance purchase through the online registration system.
Smart Phone App- This year we will partner with Guidebook to offer your tour book schedule in a Smart Phone app. This service will provide you with up to date information on scheduled activities and notices from event organizers. Details on Guidebook will be distributed by email to registered riders before the event start.
New GPS Data- Our route profiles and GPS files will be developed using a more accurate company, Ride with GPS. Look for better ride profiles and information on daily climbing totals. You asked us to say goodbye to Map My Ride! We listened. Route information will be available on the website as routes are finalized in spring 2012.
Hotel Bus Pass- Look for more efficient bus service to hotels this year. We will offer shuttles that service the official hotels. The pass system allows us to have better counts of the number of guests and location of those using this service. The fee for this services is a $10 charge for the 5 days. The fee helps offset rising transportation costs and allow us to manage our bus scheduling better for hotel guests. Purchase the hotel bus pass at the time of online registration.
One final change for 2012 is a new health department regulation that requires us to identify zones in our campground and be able to identify where our campers are in those zones. We will assign you a zone at registration, but you will be able to change the zone once at Tent City. Thanks for your understanding on this matter, we are working to make this as easy as possible.
Stay tuned for news on Facebook , our website , or sign up for our email news here.
Registration opened this morning at 12am and we had our first registered rider at 12:19! Make sure you sign up so you don’t get left out of this ceremonial 25th year. Click here to register.
Also, check out some of the cool merchandise we have this year. All these items can be purchased along with your registration.
You should have received your post card in the mail for this years tour, if not you can down load it HERE!
The Bike Virginia Tour proudly welcomes Road ID as an official sponsor of this years tour! We believe that wearing the Road ID promotes safety at a potentially critical time (identifies you if you are involved in an accident) while riding your bike. We will have great Road ID giveaways at this years tour. If you would like to learn more about getting your personal Road ID click HERE.
Check out our other Sponsors.
Bike Virginia 2012 is just around the corner. Details of the tour are being finalized right this minute.
It’s going to be beautiful!
It’s going to be historic!
It’s going to be a party! (We’re celebrating 25 Years)
Check out the sneak peak information on the website.
Save the date, we will open registration for our 2012 tour on December 1, 2011!
More details coming soon!
