The 1,800 Bike Virginia cyclists come in all sizes, shapes, and ages. This is a fun ride, not a race. You can do this ride if you enjoy biking, have a bike with multi-gears, and train so that prior to Bike Virginia you've biked 50 miles on at least two consecutive days. Each year families, extended families, teams, couples, and singles join us for the 5-day adventure. Last year 66% were males and 33% were females. Over 40 states and Canada were represented - the most represented states were Virginia , followed by Maryland , Pennsylvania , North Carolina , Ohio , Michigan , Florida , and New Jersey . The majority of cyclists were in the 35 - 50 age group, but ranged from 8 - 82.

The Shenandoah Valley is just that - a valley. We stay in the valley the entire week with the exception of the optional century route on Tuesday. There are some rolling hills, but no mountain passes like we had in 2000, 2001, 2002, or the hilly terrain in 2003. Bring your bike with a wide gear range - either 21 or 24 speed - and you'll do fine. The Directors subjective difficulty rating for 2004 is 6(see Routes for more detail).

Yes. You can simply roll out your sleeping bag indoors at Bridgewater College , JMU, and Stonewall Jackson High School . There is no additional fee for indoor camping. No reservations needed; first come, first served. Typically we have 60-75 indoor campers. See Accommodations for more information.

You have several choices when deciding where to eat. (1) Bike Virginia arranges group meals with set menus for cyclists wanting to purchase a Meal Ticket in advance. You have four options with the Bike Virginia Meal Ticket - you can purchase the Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner blocks individually, or you can purchase all three. All of the Bike Virginia meals must be purchased in advance as a block. The Lunch block is recommended because we are often in a place where no other food is available. Breakfast is served at Tent City so many campers purchase the breakfast block. Cyclists staying in motels generally eat breakfast at the motel. The Bike Virginia group dinner is often served downtown or at the site of the evening entertainment.

(2) You can simply eat at the various restaurants around town as well. The Bike Virginia shuttle bus system will take you around town from Tent City and the motels. This year there are plenty of restaurants in Harrisonburg ; New Market and Mount Jackson will be a little more crowded. Bridgewater College food service will cater the Bike Virginia dinner Friday and Saturday and the breakfast Saturday and Sunday. James Madison University will cater the Sunday dinner and Monday breakfast. See Food for more detail and menus as they become available.

Yes. There are a limited number of spaces for daily riders. The cost is $50 per day. Simply enter the number of days you are riding x $50 on the registration form. The registration form must be mailed or faxed. On-line registration is not available for daily riders. You need to arrange your own transportation logistics. We do not have shuttle service back to the start.