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2009 will be the 26th year
for this Tour!
Come and join us for a
truly Fabulous 4th!
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| Effective July
6, 2008 To all that have ridden in this event for the past 20 plus years while I have been the Event Coordinator, I would like to thank you for your participation and support of the Fabulous 4th 100k. At this time I am retiring from the position of Event Coordinator and have as of this year, officially turned this event over to the Thermal Belt Rotary Club of Tryon, NC. It has become one of their major events. All the funds that are raised from this great event will continue to go to youth and other worthwhile charitable organizations in this area. Please see the Rotary webpage (http://www.rotary.org) for more information about Rotary activities in the world. I will still be around to assist in the maintenance of this web page until Rotary personnel are trained to take it over. You will still see me for the starting of the event as well as riding lead motorcycle, so you have not seen the last of me for at least a little while! As you can see, there is a new format to this page and I hope that it will prove easier for you to find what you are looking for. I ask that you continue to spread the word about the Fabulous 4th 100k tour, to come and ride in this great event; as the Fabulous 4th 100k will only get better as the years wear on. Again, thank you for supporting this event over all of these years and putting up with me. Robin Michael |
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Welcome
to the Foot Hills of
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Presented by the
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The Tour follows an especially
beautiful route beginning and ending in Tryon, NC, It is not only a very scenic, but also a very fasssst course to ride. Leaving the starting line, the route makes a quick run around Warrior Mountain Road, then back into and through Tryon. We continue down US-176 to the NC / SC State Line. From here, we branch off for a easy roller coaster ride through the beautiful Hunting Country area. Lots of horse farms and we will also pass FENCE where the annual Steeplechase Races are held each year. We then pass by the well known Red Fox Country Club. From here we go down to the peach country near the Cherokee Foothills Parkway or SC-11 and then return to take a tour through the town of Landrum SC. Passing by the Fire Station on the exit from town, we then move back into the lower Hunting Country Area. Then after short jog up "little grunt hill #1", we have arrived at the Lake Lanier entrance. With a jog to Lanier Street we head up to Butter Street and out to Oak Grove Road in the "Dark Corners Area" in route towards Route 11 once again. Now that you have ridden out to Route #11, and gone along the base of the mountains that you are going to climb - there is this famous little climb up and over Callahan Mountain by the Camp Old Indian Boy Scout Reservation. We call this little hill "Big Grunt Hill #2"! This one really does separate the men from the boys very fast. You will normally find "Birds Eye Photo" located here snapping your picture with a running clock. So SMILE for the camera ~ <:) ! After a little breather while you coast down by Camp Old Indian, you will arrive at the base of the Greenville Watershed and the Water Shed Dam. Water stop #4 is located here and you need to stop to tank up before you start the 10 or so miles to Saluda. Remember that it is all up hill from this point till you get to the crest of Saluda, the highest point on the route. Now comes the long and progressively steeper climb through the fantastic, very cool Greenville Watershed. SAG's are not allowed to stop and wait in the watershed. They will ticket you for doing so. When you exit the watershed, you have one more little ~ short ~ steep climb to the crest of Saluda and then a fast trip down into the historic little town of Saluda. By this time if you are not with the lead pack then you have been left in the dust, because you aren't going to catch up! ! ! When you enter Saluda on a down hill - remember that there is a right turn across the tracks in Saluda. Please be ready for this. Now hold your breath as you zip down a very fast, winding five mile run down the Saluda Grade on US-176 back to the finish line. Please be very careful on this descent and ride with in your limits. REMEMBER that you have a LEFT TURN after you cross the Pacolet River Bridge to get to the finish line. Go straight and you ride the course all over again <:) Hehehe. For you high speed riders - the tour route is such that if you are not in the front pack by the time everyone gets to the crest of Saluda, then you do not have a ghost of a chance of over taking the leaders by the finish line. You have to make your move before you hit the Greenville Water Shed or by the time you get to water stop #5. So that is the tour and is loved by all who ride it.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR EVENT: The tour route was laid out and organized by the Phantom Riders of Polk County, NC in 1983, with our first official ride in 1983. Since then has grown to become one of the most popular short tours in the Southeast. The course route has been changed a number of times for safety reasons. The first change was because of the traffic in and around Columbus, NC area since we started on the east side of Columbus, NC, with a 5k Race and fun run following. The 4th of July celebrations committee requested at this time that we do a reroute of the event. The second time for a change was to change the start / finish line location and moved out to the new Polk County High School. This lasted 2 years and were forced to completely rework the route and to move to the Harmon Field Complex and the Tryon Middle School. Now the last change was requested by Greenville County to eliminate the loop around Lake Lanier due to safety of both riders and vehicles since the roads are very narrow and they now have a festival at the lake on the 4th of July. Who benefits from this event? After all expenses, what is left is donated by the Thermal Belt Rotary Club to among others:
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Don't Forget The Columbus, NC Please do not forget to go to the City of Columbus on the other side of I-26. They have a full celebration in progress, complete with a number of live bands, gospel music at the fire department ~ rock and country on the main stage ~ Rides for the Kids ~ Food ~ BBQ ~ and arts & crafts to name just a few of the activities. A 30 minute plus Fireworks Show starts at 9:45 and following that is a Live Concert with a great band playing. This proves to be loads of fun for all. Oh yes, did I mention all kinds of food - the good kind - junk food - and who knows what else! See you there!
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The Tour |
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All riders are welcome,
but please note that this is |
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Remember that the finish line closes at
3 PM, The reason for this time limit is that
thunder storms and lightning Remember
- Lightning Kills |
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All riders MUST be able to maintain an average speed of 10 mph for the entire length of the course. The course has approximately 7862 vertical feet of cumulative climbing, including 10 long slow gentle climbs and three very steep (grunt!) hills. Also, there are a number of long high speed down-hills where you can make up lost time on the climbs. Just take it easy going down these descents and have no accidents. Don't forget the five mile descent from Saluda to the Finish Line. This is very F A S T and there are several very dangerous places on this down-hill section. If you are not familiar with this mountain, keep you speed under control. Play it safe and live to tell about it ! |
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All traffic regulations and laws must be observed.
Helmets are required and must be
worn All riders must ride
to the right side of the road at all times. We use the USCF Center Line Rule and it is in effect for this event. Some of the roads are very narrow, with lots of slow, with very sharp curves. Bad drivers always compound the problem. IE: There are little old ladies who drive looking through the steering wheel and don't see bicycles as they are to small ! There are lots of people yakking on cell phones, munching on a Big Mac etc. Many of them drive as if they were half blind as well. They just don't see bicycle riders very well at all! Don't get caught left of center or you may not live to talk about it! |
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FABULOUS 4th 100k |
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| Date: |
On July 4th every year! Yes, we ride ONLY
on the day of the 4th
of July! |
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| Time: |
8:00 AM
Mass Start Time, Rain or Shine! Window start from 8:00 to 8:30 AM. |
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| Place: |
Harmon
Field Grounds WATER
and RESTROOMS are available. RV's
RV'ers will have a special area to
park your
RV in. CAR PARKING Please follow the signs to the parking area. The Rotary Staff will direct you to your parking area. We can park about 600 cars here so you should be ok on finding a place to park. |
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| Fees: |
On July 4th Applications on line
available from PRE-REGISTERED Fee = $30.00 After June
15th, the DATE stamped on After JUNE 15th, the Entry Fee = $40.00 DO NOT
mail applications in
Please make Checks Payable to:
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| Your Fee Includes | ||
| Your Rider Number | ||
| Custom
Deluxe DeFeet Cycle Socks S - M - L - XL
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Route
Markers are all Painted in
Center Line Yellow
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| 5 Full Rest
Stops. Fully equipped with Medical, Water, Energy Drink, Food, Port-a-jons for the gals and Emergency Communications |
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We have
full HAM Radio Control for
Motorcycle Escort |
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Lunch after the tour, open to all riders at no charge. The River Dip
This is recommended to cool
yourself off. |
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WARNING
THIS TOUR IS NOT RECOMMENDED
FOR FIRST TIME TOUR RIDERS.
Training
is a must for this Tour.
Note this climbing chart below.
If you are not ready, then
your legs will know it!
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Total Climbing of 7682.2
Vertical Feet in 68.3 miles.
This information was compiled from the Delorme Topo Maps.
Below are maps done in the DeLorme Topo Program.
PDF Road Map + Elevation Chart in Color
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By the time you are about 2/3
way through the tour
or starting about 11:00 AM in the morning
the Temperature may be well over 90 degrees
and higher than 95% Humidity.
Heat Index
will =
+105 degrees or
better by
around 12 noon
which is sort of liquid air
Please try to be in the water
shed by noon
or at least water stop 4 or you will be out in the full sun
Roasting !
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All riders will be required to keep your own time for the tour.
There will be a clock showing
the current time from the start of the tour.
This is really for those that do not have a cycle computer.
Using timing chips such as The
Assaults do is to costly.
We do not attempt to score and
place riders in this event,
but we ask that someone tell us who the first 3 arrivals are
for both Men and Women. Under 18 male and female as well.
Remember that this is
NOT
A RACE but rather a TOUR.
Treat it as a tour for the sake of the slower or beginner riders.
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Suggested Gearing
45 inch gear
for Advanced ~ Seasoned Riders (CAT 4+)
At least a 35 inch gear for Tourist or Beginners.
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Inch - Gears Explained You don't understand this mess - your bike shop will ! Here is the way to calculate the in-gear on a bicycle: Divide the front chain ring teeth by the rear cog teeth and multiply by the wheel size. For convince on a road bike we use 27" for the wheel size, a mountain bike may use 26", or in the case of a small bike 20" tire, you would use 20". Example: 39 front divide by 26 rear x 27 ( road bike ) = 40.5 inch-gear If you multiply the in-gear by the constant (pie ) 3.1415 , you will get the distance traveled in inches, with one complete pedal revolution. The lower the in-gear, the shorter distance traveled per pedal revolution, but it is easier! Example: 40.5 x 3.1415 = 127.23 inches (Bike travels with one complete pedal rev) You can see by this that the smaller the in-gear the more mechanical advantage you have, but the bike speed or movement per pedal revolution drops. Note: The wheel size is not a consideration when computing the distance traveled with one pedal revolution. It is only brought into consideration when calculating the in-gear. The number 27" for a road bike is approximate since tire sizes vary and today's bikes use 700 C wheels. The change is so small most folks don't worry about it. Incidentally, if you know the in-gear and the pedal revolutions, you can calculate the bike speed as follows. In - Gear x Rev (RPM ) x Pie (3.1415) divide by 12, divide by 88 ( this gets you to MPH) equals speed in Miles per hour. Example going up Mitchell in a 40.5 in-gear at 60 rpm pedal speed: 40.5 x 60 x Pie ( 3.1415) divide by 12, divide by 88 = 7.22 MPH. Yup! This is a very confusing way of how to figure
it out, |
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Where to eat |
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Here's where to find food before or after the event |
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Remember, The
Fourth of July is a holiday. * = Cash available from ATM's at this location
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In Columbus, NC McDonald's BI-LO Super Store *
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In Tryon, NC Buck's Pizza IGA food store *
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In Landrum, SC Subway Ingles Super Store * |
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Where to stay |
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There are a number of motels, inns and B&B's in this area. CALL FOR PRICING BEFORE
BOOKING A ROOM. The following are recommend and there may be additional new places opening since this list was posted:
Silver Creek Campground
Wilderness Cove Campground
Orchard
Lake Campground
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How To Get Here |
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To get to the starting line From the North travel I-26 South to the US-74 Exit at the bottom of the long grade. Take the exit and the next exit will be for NC-108 - Tryon / Columbus. Exit and then there is a traffic circle. Take the First EXIT west to Tryon and Proceed about 5 Miles west and turn onto Harmon Field Road and follow signs to the parking area. From the South take I-85 to Spartanburg SC or I-26 from Columbia SC and travel North on I-26 to the Columbus NC Exit. This exit has a traffic circle on either side of the over pass. Go around the first and then exit WEST from the second on NC-108. Again about 5 miles to the parking area. From the East take US-74 to the First Columbus NC Exit and get off turning LEFT onto NC-108. Proceed through Columbus and the two above traffic circles to the parking area. The total distance is about 8 miles. See the maps below . |
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Registration Form Section
Prior to June 15th, the registration fee is
$30.00 __________________________________
AFTER JUNE 25 BRING IT WITH $40.00 __________________________________
Registration will open at 6:30 on July 4th
Applications
will be back on line Please PRINT so we can read it. Remember your sock size from the chart below |
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DeFeet's Shoe Size to Sock Size |
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| Sock Size |
Shoe size |
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| Men's | Ladies | EU | |
| Small | ---------- | 6-8 | 36-39.5 |
| Medium | 7-9 | 8.5-10.5 | 40-42.5 |
| Large | 9.5-11.5 | 11-13 | 43-45.5 |
| XL | 12+ | ---------- | 46+ |
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To order your Rider Photos - click here
Please click on either link, OR, here is the actual address below
His pictures are excellent.
This is what the picture will look like!
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Thermal Belt Rotary Club |
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Link Medical, Inc. |
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Braggs Port-A-Jons |
Harmon Field
Commission |
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Bobs Electronics and Computer Repair |
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Polk County Rescue Squad |
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Thermal Belt Amateur Radio Club |
Sponsors |
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| Platinum Sponsors | ||
| Pretzel Maker | ||
| Gold Sponsors | ||
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Nature’s Storehouse |
Wachovia Securities | |
| Mendenhall Enterprises | Jim and Jean Scott | |
| Silver Sponsors | ||
| Judy Banks | Duncan Chapman | |
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Farm Bureau Insurance |
Lingerfelter Landscaping | |
| Medicap Pharmacy | Macon Bank | |
| Dr. Ray Meyers | Keith’s Triathlon Shop | |
| Tryon Rotary Club | Bill Andersen | |
| Reuben Greenberg | Dallas Johann | |
| Sponsors | ||
| Biltmore Winery | Sue Watson/ Edward Jones | |
| Tryon Federal Bank | Frank Ortiz | |
| Fun Specs | Mountain Bank | |
| Rick Dunn Construction | Trade Street Café | |
And all of the Volunteers that help make this event happen.
Need to Contact Us
EMAIL TO
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THE FABULOUS 4TH
THERMAL BELT ROTARY CLUB COMMITTEE
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Riders visiting to date
Webmaster ~ Robin
Revised: 08/14/2008 |
