Dear BIKE VIRGINIA Family,
Our staff, board, and volunteers, like many of you, have been holding our breath as we watch the COVID-19 pandemic unfold. We have been concerned with the same uncertainties that you have; facing uncertainty about our health, our loved ones, and our jobs, about impending restrictions, and our world’s future.
Over the last two weeks, our team has been acutely aware that the pandemic was growing worse and was going to touch every aspect of our lives both professionally and personally.
We soon realized that with the severity of the illness and rate of spread that critical decisions about our event were only days, not months away.
Events of all kinds began making the decision to cancel or postpone and we came to understand that proceeding as normal with event operations in June was very unlikely.
We have been working diligently with host communities and vendors to evaluate options based on constantly changing restrictions, regulations, and logistics. Today we received word from one of our host communities that the event would not be allowed to operate in the community if COVID-19 was still spreading. As you know, none of us can make a prediction on when the highest risk will have passed.
This message is to notify you of the postponement of the 2020 BIKE VIRGINIA TOUR to a yet to be determined date.
We have been evaluating options but do not have specific answers at this time regarding the dates of the next event.
We will be deferring your registration fees from the 2020 event to a future event of your choice between June 2020 and December of 2023.
We feel strongly that postponement with deferment is the only option.
The BIKE VIRGINIA TOUR includes close social settings in registration, camping, on-site meals, and shower trucks. We host over 1,500 riders on average. We have hundreds of community volunteers. With the current virus concern, the safety of all parties warrants moving the tour to a safer date in the future.
We are considering all options, and will maintain vigilance in following the federal, state, and county regulations specific to each of our potential host communities.
We ask for your patience at this time.
We know that you, like each of us, was counting on attending BIKE VIRGINIA’s event this year. This is our 33rd annual event, and never in the history of the organization have we had to postpone an event. Never before have we faced this kind of circumstance and challenge to keep our organization financially solvent.
As soon as we know more we promise to update you via email and social media.
Please stay safe. We look forward to enjoying a ride together in the future when we can all breathe easier and resume doing the things we love with people we love.
Kindest regards,
Dr. Kim Perry