Holy Ghost Tent Revival will headline the festivities Sept. 30 when an estimated 1,100 riders roll into Southern Pines after the fourth leg of the annual Cycle North Carolina “Mountains to Coast” tour.
“They’re a high-energy band,” said Ken Howell, a Southern Pines resident who has participated in most of the tours since the recreational bicycle ride was established in 1999. “They play a mixture of jazz and rock.”
The band will be on stage from 5-8 p.m. at the green space next to the Sunrise Theater in downtown Southern Pines. There will be food and drink vendors, and the event is open to the public.
“It will be the same set up as we do on First Fridays,” Howell said.
Fifteen years since it last hosted a tour stop, Southern Pines will again extend its hospitality when the riders arrive at Memorial Park after a 79-mile leg from Concord.
“We plan to roll out the red carpet,” Howell said. “The past experiences I have had with Cycle North Carolina and other host towns have been very positive, and I expect no less from the merchants and citizens of our town.”
Howell chaired a local committee that has planned events at both the park and downtown.
“It has been a great joint effort by a lot of organizations,” he said.
Kimberly Daniels Taws, president of the Southern Pines Business Association, said the state-run tour is designed to drive tourism to small towns across North Carolina.
“The thing we’re focusing on locally is a ‘Come Back’ campaign,” Taws said. “It starts at the welcome tent. From there, the goal is to funnel everybody downtown to enjoy the Southern Pines experience.”
Jodi Heimrich, a member of the Southern Pines Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, noted that the cyclists will be in town less than 24 hours.
“We want to make a great impression,” Heimrich said. “We want to make this very special for the riders so they’ll come back in the future and either spend more time here or retire here.”
The cyclists will begin arriving at 11 a.m. and most will be here by 5 p.m.
“We encourage citizens to grab their lawn chairs and cheer the riders along their route through Moore County and at the finish line,” Howell said. “It really helps a lot. It gives the riders an extra boost of energy.”
Howell also cautioned local motorists to be aware of the cyclists as they come into Southern Pines on Sept. 30 and leave the next day.
“Cyclists have to follow the rules of the road, just like motorists,” he said. “We would like people to take alternative routes on those days to make it as safe as possible for the riders.”
The week-long trek through the scenic back roads of North Carolina begins Sept. 26 at the Waynesville Recreation Center and ends Oct. 3 at Middleton Park in Oak Island. Other stops include Hendersonville, Shelby, Lumberton and Whiteville.
Cycle North Carolina was developed to promote the state’s scenic beauty, heritage tourism, visitor attractions, historic sites, state parks, fitness, healthy lifestyles and the benefits of cycling.
“Mountains to Coast” riders have made stops in more than 100 North Carolina towns and visited nearly 700 communities across the state in the past 16 years. The route typically rotates between the northern, central and southern areas of the state.
Howell and other local organizers hope to convince Cycle North Carolina officials to place Southern Pines in the permanent rotation, much like it appears the USGA has done with Pinehurst No. 2 and the U.S. Open.
“That’s why it’s so important to have events, fun and hospitality,” Heimrich said. “The whole county of Moore is going to be positively affected by this, hopefully for years to come. We would love to be a tour stop every four or five years.”
Rick Dedmond, a Southern Pines resident who has ridden in every tour, echoed that sentiment.
“A lot of small towns in North Carolina don’t really have a downtown anymore,” Dedmond said. “The people coming on this ride will see that Southern Pines and Pinehurst have active central cores and you can walk the streets. We think the cyclists are going to love us.”
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