Bike NC
Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 1:29 pm
The State Port Pilot
Oak Island will serve as the final host town for the 2015 Cycle North Carolina Mountains-to-Coast bicycle ride. The ride is September 26 through October 4, and participants are expected here on October 3-4.
“This is a statewide event and it’s going to bring a lot of people here to Oak Island,” said Mayor Betty Wallace. “We’re really excited about it.”
N.C. Amateur Sports, the state Division of Tourism and state Department of Transportation started planning a cross-state bicycle event in 1997, and the first Mountains-to-Coast fall ride pushed off in 1999. Since then, the ride has attracted cyclists from all 50 states and eight foreign countries. Participants have stopped in 95 towns, traveled nearly 5,000 miles and passed through 600 communities.
The League of American Bicyclists has named Cycle North Carolina among the “Best Biking in America” events.
On Sunday, Wallace and Oak Island parks and recreation director Rebecca Squires met with state Secretary of Tourism Will Tuttle in Pinehurst for the official announcement.
Last year’s tour covered 490 miles from Sparta to Hatteras Village. Riders averaged 60 mile a day, and many host towns greeted them with a festival-like atmosphere featuring food, music and activities reflective of the community.
The cycling route highlights scenic back roads and historic sites in multiple small towns. This year, an expected 1,100 cyclists will pedal from Waynesville to Hendersonville, Shelby, Concord, Southern Pines, Lumberton, Whiteville and then to Oak Island.
The official route through Brunswick County will be announced later. Squires said in addition to being healthy and fun, she expects the Mountains-to-Coast ride to give local businesses a lift during what tourism officials call the “shoulder season.”
(For more on this story, see this week’s edition of The State Port Pilot.)
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