Bike trail is ready to welcome visitors
The Ridge Cycle Hub sign sparkles in the afternoon light.
{Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart/Davidson Local}
After a year of digging, shifting dirt and building out a trail, The Ridge Cycle Hub is open for mountain bikers and hikers. City of Lexington staff, board of directors for the Tourism Recreation Investment Partnership (TRIP) and members of the Roadies and Dirties Cycle Club (R&D) gathered on Thursday afternoon at a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate Davidson County’s newest recreational offering.
Located at 1441 Ridge Road in Lexington, the trail is a five mile loop that offers various terrains and views of Old City Lake. It’s sponsored by Breeden Insurance and Erie Insurance in partnership with the city of Lexington and TRIP.
Mark Breeden, who donated $75,000 to the project, commended all who were involved in seeing the project transition from a dream to reality. He’s hopeful to be involved in more projects in the future.
The president of R&D, Nicole Smith, offered thanks to the city for being “such progressive thinkers.” She noted that the pandemic freed up a lot of weekends for members to be able commit to the project.
Mayor Newell Clark‘s remarks focused on tourism and how The Ridge Cycle Hub aligns with the city’s vision.
“Tourism brings value to us. Quality of life is so important for communities to grow. We must have something for folks to do when they get here. There’s passion behind this and we need positive directed passion. This is for everybody.”
On Saturday, May 22, the hub will host a four hour mountain bike race called Gold Rush from 10 a.m. until 2p.m. The registration website promises prizes, food and lots of fun. If all spots aren’t filled, there will be race day registration. Click here to register.
The Ridge Cycle Hub is a one way cross country bike trail and is open from dawn until dusk. For information about R&D, visit their Facebook page.
