Asphalt and gravel will come together in the Tony Carruth Memorial Tour de Bluff this weekend.
Among the many routes for the 21st annual event starting in downtown Pine Bluff are two asphalt and gravel paths — 8 and 17 miles — each one going through the Arkansas Railroad Museum. The 17-mile ride will extend much farther northeast along the Arkansas River and travel about a half-mile atop the levee, but there is a detour bypassing the levee for road cyclists, as the levee poses a hazard to road bike tires.
The routes were created through a partnership among the Tour de Bluff, the museum and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to tour co-organizer Kenneth Fisher.
“We have some people who have dirt bikes,” co-organizer Sandra Fisher said. “They asked about it for a couple of years. My husband Kenny usually rides out on the levee. He said, ‘Well, I guess it’s time for that. We talked to the railroad museum, and they said they’d be happy to partner with us. There’s a rest stop there and on the levee.'”
This year’s Tour is part of a full slate of events this weekend in Pine Bluff, including the season finale of Jazz on the Lake at Saracen Landing from 6-9 p.m. Friday (guest artist Nicky Parrish) and Sissy’s Log Cabin Smoke on the Water at Regional Park, open to the general public Saturday.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
[DOCUMENT: View and download Tour de Bluff riding maps » pbcommercial.com/919TourdeBluff/]
The 2024 tour is the eighth dedicated to the memory of Tony Carruth, a bicycle shop owner in White Hall who died along with his mother Billie in an August 2017 house fire. Carruth repaired bikes during the Tour.
“He did bicycle repairs because it was the only one we had,” Sandra Fisher said. “Every year he would do a hot dog day for cyclists who did the bike tricks. They got together and did motocross bikes. They would have hot dogs. He’d been riding all of his life. He was just a bicycling enthusiast.”
Tour festivities will begin Friday with the Spoke-Ghetti Social from 3-6 p.m. at the Main Library, 600 S. Main St. Packets for the Tour can be picked up at this location, and $10 spaghetti dinners by J & T Catering will be served.
New to the slate this year is a Bike Room that will be open at the same time at the Main Library. The Bike Room is described as an exclusive showcase for bike companies, shops, cycling events and related products and services that offers cyclists an opportunity to explore the latest products, trends and information within the cycling community. TREK Bicycles of Arkansas will display new and modern bikes and products at the Bike Room from 3-5 p.m.
Registration is open at tourdebluff.com and available at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Civic Center Plaza, 500 E. Eighth Ave. Road route riders will take off from this location at 8 a.m., with the Mayor’s Mile beginning at 10 a.m.
Kids’ activities will be open from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. A “Best Looking Bike” contest, with categories for persons 15 or younger and 16 or older, will be held, and winners will be announced at noon.
Riders with Garmin devices are encouraged to download the Ride With GPS mobile app from tourdebluff.com/routes/.