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Blowing Rock Chosen as Start Town of 21st Annual Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast Bicycle Ride

Cyclists take off from Blowing Rock at a previous Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast Ride

For the second time, Blowing Rock has been chosen as the starting Host Town for the Cycle North Carolina Mountains to Coast Ride. More than 1,000 cyclists from 40 states and three foreign countries will gather in Blowing Rock on Saturday, September 28, 2019 to begin the weeklong, 483-mile, recreational trek along the state’s scenic back roads from the “mountains to the coast.”

 

“We’re excited to begin the ride again in Blowing Rock. We were able to start the Mountains to Coast ride in Blowing Rock back in 2009 and have really wanted to come back. This year, schedules worked out and our participants could not be happier. Blowing Rock has a great reputation for hospitality and riders from across the country are looking forward to being there. With everything within walking distance, our participants can easily explore what the town has to offer.  We’ve got a great leadership team made up of local officials and cyclists; that’s exactly what it takes to make this event a success,” said Chip Hofler, Cycle North Carolina Director.

 

Tracy Brown, Executive Director of the Blowing Rock TDA, is enthusiastic about the selection. “We’re happy that CycleNC chose Blowing Rock again to be the start town for this epic ride across North Carolina. We’ll host over 1,000 cyclists plus some of their family members that will see them off over that weekend. About half of the riders will be camping at Davant Athletic Field and the others will be staying in local accommodations. With the addition of their dining and shopping expenditures, the economic impact will be significant,” Brown said.

 

Riders will bike an average of 60 miles per day over the course of the week.  Hickory, Spencer, Siler City, Clayton, Greenville and New Bern are the stops on the route between Blowing Rock and Atlantic Beach. The Cycle NC “Mountains to Coast” Tour is the state’s only cross-state, fully-supported ride. It was created in 1999 with the N.C. Division of Tourism, Capital Broadcasting Company, the N.C. Department of Transportation and North Carolina Amateur Sports as founding partners.  Cycle NC promotes North Carolina’s scenic beauty, heritage tourism, visitor attractions, historic sites, state parks, fitness, healthy lifestyles and the benefits of bicycling to individuals and our state.  During the past 20 years, Cycle North Carolina has stopped overnight in more than 100 North Carolina towns and visited over 700 North Carolina communities. 

For more information on Cycle North Carolina visit: https://ncsports.org/event/cyclenc_mountainstocoast_ride/.

Tracy Brown and Chip Hofler