After a year’s hiatus, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 33rd annual Tour de Madison will be
held on Saturday, May 15. Over 400 hundred cyclists are expected. They will ride one of three
routes each of which begins and ends at Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria.
A number of precautionary measures, consistent with state guidelines have been put in place for
this year.
o There will be no onsite registration. Pre-registered participants will merely check-in.
o There will be no mass start. Rather cyclists will be asked to roll out immediately upon
checking in.
o Those doing the long, metric century ride, will check in and roll out between 7 am and
830 am.
o Those doing an intermediate length route will check in and roll out between 8:45am
and 9:15.
o Those doing the short Family Ride will check in and roll out between 9:30 and
9:45am.
o All rest stop food and beverages will be pre-packaged and there will be limited staff at the 3
rest stops.
o There will be no post-ride picnic and entertainment. Cyclists will simply pick up a box meal
from the staff at Graves Mountain Lodge at the end of the ride.
It is important for Madison County motorists to be aware of the various routes and be prepared to
see lots of cyclists on county roads most of the day.
The twenty-mile “family route” will be on the Old Blue Ridge Turnpike between Syria and Banco.
The Family Riders will turn around there and head up toward the White Oak Canyon parking lot by
way of Bohannon and Weakley Hollow Roads. Some will also take a short jaunt up Quaker Run Rd.
There are likely to be between 50 and 75cyclists on this route.
More than a hundred cyclists will try the 45-mile Intermediate Route. It takes the Old Blue Ridge
Turnpike down to Banco and then is on Route 231 briefly before turning left on Hoover Rd. up to
Haywood. They will turn right and head down the Hebron Valley before turning onto Hebron
Church Road and then on Route 231 again through the town of Madison to a rest stop at Hoover
Ridge. From there, cyclists will continue on Fairgrounds Road to Pratts, turning left briefly onto
Orange Road before turning onto O’Neill’s Road. They will then head out Carpenter’s Mill Rd, turn
left onto Orange Rd again and then left onto the Elly Road.
They will follow it to the Oak Park Road,
then head back into Madison by way of Fishback Rd.
From the town they will head back to Syria reversing the route that brought the from Syria to Madison originally.
They can pause for refreshment and rest at Hebron Lutheran Church.
By far the biggest ride is the Metric Century. More than 250 cyclists are expected to traverse that challenging route. They will follow the exact same route as the Intermediate Ride described above,
except that these cyclist will cross Orange Rd from Carpenter’s Mill onto Good Hope Church Rd.
After a rest stop at Good Hope Church, cyclists will continue on Locust Grover Church Rd. to
Tatum’s School Rd. where they will turn right and head to Uno. At Uno they will turn right onto
Route 231 and take it to Beautiful Run Rd where they will turn right and go back past Good Hope
Church. They will turn right onto the Orange Rd. briefly before heading left on Twyman’s Mill Rd.
They will then turn left onto John Tucker Rd., right onto Elly Rd., then left on the Oak Park Rd. back
toward Madison. Like the Intermediate cyclists they will cross Rt. 29 at the light on
Fishback Rd. and start heading back to Syria reversing the route by which they originally departed. To get the
full Metric Century, these cyclists will turn right onto Poorhouse Rd. in Criglersville, then left onto
Blue Ridge Turnpike to Etlan, where they will turn left and head back across the mountain to Syria.
The Tour de Madison is a significant opportunity to show off the beauty and the businesses of
Madison County. The vast majority of the cyclists come from outside of Madison County. Of course,
many come from surrounding counties and Charlottesville, but by far the greater number come
from northern Virginia and the Washington, DC metropolitan region.
The importance of the event to our local businesses is reflected in the cooperation and support that many have provided.
The Tour de Madison was begun by Peter Rice and Plow and Hearth which he
owned and operated for many years, continues to provide significant assistance.
Early Mountain Vineyard, Plow and Hearth, Shotwell Run Brewery, Blue Quartz Vineyard, Prince Michelle Vineyard,
Box In Box Out, Ducard Vineyard, and Dirty Kitten Racing are all significant sponsors this year.
Our exclusive T-shirt sponsor is Gayheart and Willis law firm of Culpeper.
Visit http://tourdemadison.com/ to learn more.
