Community Corner
Need To Know: Your Guide to Birmingham Bike Festival
Whether it's a mountain bike, racing bike or tricycle, pull your bicycle out of the garage and ride downtown for the city's first bike festival.
The first kicks off bright and early today, and the city is inviting residents to put away their cars and enjoy a day celebrating nonmotorized transportation of the pedal variety.
"I'm passionate about this sport and want to show the community I know how bike-friendly this city is," said Jeff Surnow, the commercial real estate developer and advanced cyclist who organized the event alongside the .
Heading downtown for the festivities today? Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know before you go:
Find out what's happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Basics
- Where: Downtown Birmingham, with races starting at Maple and Henrietta
- When: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Cost: Free to attend
- Parking: Cars can find parking in one of the city's five parking garages: , , Park Street, North Old Woodward and parking garages. A "bike valet" will also be available for those who ride into town.
Events
The bike festival will feature a half-mile racecourse through downtown Birmingham. The course begins at Maple and Henrietta, heads down Bates for a block, turns onto Martin for two blocks, then follows Pierce to Merrill to Old Woodward and back up to Maple.
Riders are split into nine classes, mainly by age and gender, with races from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Junior laps will take around half an hour, followed by five men's and women's races running roughly 35-50 minutes each. A hand cycle race, also called paracycling, begins at 10:30 a.m. for riders with disabilities.
Find out what's happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
9 a.m. 30 min + 3 laps $400 75 Master cyclists (age 40 and older) 9:40 a.m. 40 min + 3 laps $700 80 Hand Cycle Race 10:30 a.m. 30 min + 3 laps $500 80 Kids Race 11:20 a.m. 1 lap Medals n/a Semi- and professional women
11:30 a.m. 40 min + 3 laps $1,400 80 Semi-professional men
12:20 p.m. 40 min + 3 laps $900 80 Challenge Race 1:10 p.m. 2 laps n/a n/a Professional men
1:30 p.m. 75 min + 3 laps $4,000 100
Registration fees
Class & Category Preregistration Fees Day-of Fees Juniors (age 10-14) $10 $15 Juniors (age 15-18) $10 $15 Amateur men$40 $50 Master cyclists (age 40 and over)
$40 $50 Hand Cycle Race $40 $50 Kids Race Free Free Semi- and professional women
$40 $50 Semi-professional men
$40 $50 Challenge Race Free Free Professional men
$45 $55
Other events
- Local restaurants and vendor booths, including Trek Bikes and Pedego Electric Bikes.
- Helmet safety clinic hosted by Beaumont Health Systems.
- Children's "bike rodeo" with bike decorating and face painting.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
