Harrisonburg has been working hard to improve its bicycle-friendliness over the past decade, adding bike paths in many areas of the city and beyond, extended roadside shoulders to accommodate for safer biking, and even holding several biking events throughout the year. Here are a few resources for finding information about bicycling in the area, along with event calendars and other helpful tidbits:
- Shenandoah Bicycle Company. Located in Downtown Harrisonburg, this locally owned business supplies the finest in bicycling products, services, and repairs, and has been around since 2000. Check out their blog, where they post cool videos, news, and photos on a regular basis.
- DR100 Walk/Run/Ride. Every year, ending on JMU’s campus, riders complete a journey on a one-day event in memory of Dr. Joseph Mirenda, who was killed while bicycling to Harrisonburg from Wintergreen Resort to surprise his son at JMU. Proceeds of this ride benefit the expansion of bike and pedestrian lanes around Harrisonburg.
- Jeremiah Bishop Gran Fondo. Jeremiah Bishop is a professional cyclist from Harrisonburg, and the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo is a 100-mile ride with several additional (optional) routes and challenges along the way. This is quite a challenge, but is one beautiful ride!
- Bike Virginia. This is a popular annual week-long event hosted in different towns around the Commonwealth. Cyclists plan for months in advance to ride along on this tour, and any information you might need can be found on the Bike Virginia website.
- Cycling Events Around Harrisonburg. Harrisonburg Tourism has a page on their website dedicated to cycling events in the Shenandoah Valley. Events are held throughout the year!
- Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition. Not only does this organization hold events, but their website also features maps and guides, a photo gallery, and other resources for bikers in the Shenandoah Valley. You can read their advocacy blog and their trail work blog, too!
- An IMBA Ride Center. Harrisonburg is now considered a Bicycle Friendly Community, thanks to the League of American Bicyclists. What is even more awesome is that Harrisonburg is only one of two cities in the nation that is both a Bicycle Friendly Community and an IMBA Ride Center. You can read all about it on Do Downtown, the blog.
- Friendly City Cyclocross. The Friendly City Grand Prix, or Tuesday Night Cyclocross, is a weekly cycling “race series” at Ramblewood in Harrisonburg. For the most up-to-date information, check out their blog, which features maps and directions, videos, photos, and event status’.
Image credit: Team Traveller on Flickr
What a great list, Lisa! Be sure to save the date for the first Sneak Peak Tour of the Northend Greenway on Saturday, November 3, 10am-1pm. We’ll have snacks, games, prizes, and guided walking/biking tours of the future route. More info at: http://northendgreenway.org/events
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Thanks for recapping all of the bike events and activity in the area. It is great to see people following the work of the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition. Together we can truly make Harrisonburg the “Bike Capital of Virginia.”
Please check out the SVBC’s latest project involving trail building in the National Forest just west of Harrisonburg.