ACTEC Fellows, Spouses and Families
ACTEC Fellows, spouses, and guests are welcome to participate in a scenic 12-day ride through the blue hills of North Carolina. Now is the time to ensure your next ACTEC cycling adventure! The deadline to register as a rider is March 21, 2020.
This special cycling adventure will benefit The ACTEC Foundation. It will be a beautiful bicycle tour for eager cyclists along the nation’s longest linear national park, the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). The BRP has so little traffic on it that it is almost a dedicated bike path. The BRP travels the ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains from Staunton, Virginia, to just south of Asheville, North Carolina. This trip has been designed so that participants can choose to ride at their own pace: each day will have a choice of two segments: 30-40 miles; and 50-60 miles.
Note that an increase in the availability of electric bicycles will make this ride doable for any level of rider. If you think you don’t have the strength, stamina or courage to take on this challenge, talk to Bob Temmerman, John Hartog or Margaret Hand about the impact electric bikes are having on the bicycle touring industry. They would be happy to discuss that option with you if you are at all curious and interested in cycling the spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway. They will steer you in the right direction to make this adventure happen.
The ride will be along a two-lane paved roadway through the most beautiful parts of Virginia and North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles long and does not have a single stop sign or traffic light. The entire route is a designated bike route with “Share the Road” signs at regular intervals. No commercial traffic is allowed. There is a wide shoulder to ride on. Vehicles are infrequent and the speed limit is 45 mph, with lower limits in many stretches. In sum, the route is as safe as a bike route can be, and has beautiful scenery. ACTEC Fellows and family members will enjoy bicycling over its entire expanse.
The ride will be supported by a professional tour operator who will handle the logistics, make all lodging arrangements, provide all meals, including picnic lunches along the route. The group will have companion vans for on-road support, to ensure that each cyclist always has sufficient water, energy bars, mechanical support, as well as a place to rest if an individual cyclist wishes to stop riding before the end of the day’s route. The support vehicles will also transport riders forward along the route to begin each day’s ride as necessary.
This ride will build lasting relationships among the ACTEC participants and their families and contribute to the collegiality of the College.
The cost of the seven-day event will be $4,375 per person, double occupancy, all inclusive of lodging, meals, and ride support, but not alcohol nor transport to the start or from the finish.
In addition, each participant will be encouraged to raise $2,500 of contributions for the Foundation, and ACTEC IT staff will assist in establishing web pages linked to the College website to facilitate donations.
For more information on how to participate in the ride, please contact John Hartog at jahartog127@gmail.com; Margaret Hand at mmhand@hbh.law; or Robert Temmerman at bobtemm@gmail.com.
Download the ACTEC Blue Ridge Parkway Tour Document
Register for the Tour
Route Overview
- Day 1 – Asheville, NC to Waynesboro, VA
- Day 2 – Rockfish Gap to Lexington, VA
- Day 3 – Lexington to Peaks of Otter, VA
- Day 4 – Peaks of Otter to Roanoke, VA
- Day 5 – Roanoke to Floyd, VA
- Day 6 – Floyd, VA to Sparta, NC
- Day 7 – Sparta to Blowing Rock, NC
- Day 8 – Blowing Rock, NC (day off)
- Day 9 – Blowing Rock to Little Switzerland, NC
- Day 10 – Little Switzerland to Asheville, NC
- Day 11 – Asheville to the Pisgah Inn
- Day 12 – Pisgah Inn to the Southern Terminus