FAQ's
Who are
the Bike Virginia cyclists?
The 2,000 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.
How difficult
is the route this year?
Webster defines a valley as "an elongate depression
of the earth's surface usually between ranges of hills or
mountains;" a description which accurately portrays the
terrain of the Valley Byways Tour. We will split our time
between the two valleys (Roanoke and Shenandoah) and will
experience the best that the two valleys have to offer. There
are climbs for the intrepid cyclists such as the ascent up
Vesuvius on Rt. 56 (the toughest climb along the 76 bike route)
on our additional mileage option on Tuesday,
but overall the terrain consists of lots of rolling hills.
Bring your bike with a wide gear range - either 21 or 24 speed
- and you'll be fine. The Director's subjective difficulty
rating for 2004 is 7 (see Routes
for more detail).
Is indoor
camping available each night?
Yes. You can roll out your sleeping bag indoors at
Victory Stadium in Roanoke (no a/c) and Rockbridge County
High School in Lexington (no a/c). 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.
Please give
me guidance on which meals to purchase.
You have several choices when deciding where to eat.
- 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 strongly 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.
- 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 Roanoke; Lexington
will be a little more crowded. See Food for more detail
and menus as they become available.
Can I bike just two or three
days?
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 will need to arrange your
own transportation logistics. We do not have shuttle service
back to the start.
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