It’s time to clip in, Greenville. 🚲 This weekend marks the third annual Michael J. Fox Tour De Fox cycling race which will be hosted at Furman University on Saturday.
The Tour De Fox is hosted in four locations: The Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, Wine Country, and the 📍 Blue Ridge mountains. Proceeds benefit Parkinson’s programs, with the goal to help close a gap on a cure. In the past three years, the race has raised $3.3 million.
Unlike most bike races which are focused on elite athletes, this race has a short (10 mi.), medium (40 mi.), and long (65 mi.) rides available. If you haven’t signed up already, you can simply walk up to registration that day with $75 + your bike and get to peddling. (Or, donate online to support a rider).
But hey, speaking of cycling, doesn’t Greenville have a pretty passionate cycling community? Yup, sure does.
We’re home to 17-time Tour de France competitor, George Hincapie (owner Hotel Domestique + founder of local Gran Fondo Hincapie race next month); former professional cyclist, Boyd Johnson (owner of Boyd Cycling here in Greenville); and guys like Winston David, Chris Butler, and Mack Brennan (who you should go ahead and follow on Strava). Plus, shout out to current pros like Debbie Milne, an American elite + 2-time Masters Champion (and registered dietitian at St. Francis).
DYK Greenville even hosted the USA Cycling Professional Road National Championships from 2006 - 2012, the Para-Cycling Road World Championships back in 2014 + the Professional Criterium National Championships and the Team Time Trial National Championships last year?
We also have 10+ registered USA Cycling clubs in the Upstate including clubs like the Greenville Spinners (who’ve been around for 40 years) + community teams like the GHS Every Woman Cycling Team and Les Amis/Upstate, a junior riding club. (Check out a full list of cycling groups for all ages throughout the state).
We took home a Bike League bronze award this year, as 1 of only 5 bicycle-friendly communities in the state + the City created a bicycle master plan in 2011, which serves as a guide to make a safer cycling community. Fun fact: The Velocite sculpture at 25 River St. in the West End gives homage to cycling. On the artist sticker, it says “cycling is beauty and balance in movement and momentum.”
P.s. we know this is just the tip of the iceberg (er, mountain); mountain bikers are rolling their eyes at us as we speak 🙄… but stay tuned for a story on that at a later date.
Whether you’re just now getting into cycling, ride weekly, or training for your next triathlon, Greenville is a pretty sweet place to ride. Check out Greenville Cycling Center for training, Map My Ride for fun new routes (or to add your own), and Piney Mtn Bike Lounge if you’re looking for a family friendly pub/lounge to hang out with local biking enthusiasts.
And while it’s obvious there’s a lot here to get involved with on two wheels, there’s definitely room to improve. Bike Walk Greenville is a nonprofit focused on creating a safe cycling + walking community. More on them here.
Pedal on down to bikeville, y’all.
