Welcome to the 1st annual Tour de Frederick
The first annual Tour de Frederick bicycle tour, August 13-15, will showcase the best that Frederick County, Maryland has to offer.
Our weekend tour will enable participants to enjoy some of the country’s finest cycling, on quiet country roads that cross the historic covered bridges in the northern part of the county, as well as taking on the modest challenges of Sugar Loaf Mountain (optional) in the southern part of the county.
As a group, we’ll take in a baseball game with the local Frederick Keys (on a fireworks night), have an opportunity to "run (or walk) the bases," have happy hour at a local, yet nationally renown brewery, and enjoy a gourmet cuisine and wine tasting of Frederick wines hosted at a famed arts center in downtown Frederick, after which you will have ample time to amble the bustling sidewalks and byways of totally revitalized downtown Frederick. We’ve arranged for a special invitation only evening at the famed Museum of Civil War Medicine just a block away from our dinner spot.
Day 1
Register at the Hilton Garden Inn, which features a swimming pool, fitness room, and freshly prepared breakfast for their guests. We will have bicycle mechanic service available for any last minute technical issues..
Enjoy a short and flat warm up ride (15-21 miles long). If you’ve got time, have a quick dip in the pool, before heading over to the nationally recognized Flying Dog Brewery for a brewery tour and free samples! As a group we’ll then head over (about a mile from our hotel) to Harry Grove Stadium for a casual baseball dinner and enjoy minor league baseball at its finest. Tonight’s game is topped off by an incredible display of fireworks.
Day 2
Following breakfast at your hotel, we’ll climb aboard our bike and wind our way north to the famed covered bridges of northern Frederick County. We’ll start off with a brief visit to the grave of Francis Scott Key (author of our nation’s Star Spangled Banner) and tour of Frederick’s Baker Park. The 65 mile route (longer and shorter options available) is flat to rolling (no mountains) and goes through some of Frederick’s most pastoral landscapes. We’ll enjoy a catered lunch at Loy’s Station Park, adjacent one of the three covered bridges that we will ride through (bring your cameras). Meandering south, we’ll return to our hotels, shower up, and get ready for an evening in historic and completely rejuvenated downtown Frederick. Dinner will be served in a private dining hall reserved for us at the Delaplaine Arts Center along the exciting river walk along the banks of Carroll Creek. The Italian cuisine plus various Frederick wines will include some musical entertainment, and a humorous video of our weekend so far. With the promenade of Carroll Creek just out the doorsteps of the Delaplaine, participants can stroll the canal (plan on spending time admiring the tromp d’oeil bridge adjacent the Delaplaine), and visit the numerous antique shops, boutiques, and open air clubs that line Frederick’s lively downtown. We have also arranged for a free sampling of products at the nearby McCutcheon’s Apple Products company. And that special evening at the Museum of Civil War Medicine. We’ll top it off with an ice cream social.
Day 3
After breakfast, we’ll offer two choice of rides. For those willing to allow their bikes to get slightly dirty, we will host a tour of the "Dirty Side of Frederick." Cycling enthusiasts in Frederick have lined up a ride along unpaved (but not rocky) byways around Sugar Loaf Mountain. The rest of us will pedal south of Frederick City, ambling among the farms and rural landscape, and for those interested in a short but scenic challenge, we’ll offer an optional climb of the famed 1,500 foot Sugarloaf Mountain, which lords over the local farmlands. Our catered lunch stop will be at the world renown Lily Pons, where "lily pons and coy lovers" travel from long distances to see the well equipped facilities. From here, it’s only a 12 mile jaunt back to our hotel.
Every participant will receive a custom imprinted first anniversary shirt (not a t-shirt) to commemorate this first annual Tour de Frederick.