Cyclists Hit The Trails For First Tour de Hunter Mill Bike Ride

RESTON, VA — Saturday morning's sunny weather welcomed more than 180 cyclists who signed up to ride in the first ever Tour de Hunter Mill, a multi-trail bike ride through the Hunter Mill District.

The ride was the brainchild of Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who fashioned it after the annual Tour de Mount Vernon Community bike ride in the southern part of the county.

"This is a great opportunity to highlight the bicycle infrastructure that we have here in the Hunter Mill District," he said. "Whether it's our wonderful trail system or the bike lanes that we have worked with the Virginia Department of Transportation to create on some of our roadways. These are things that I want to make sure people know are there and get a chance to experience."

For Saturday's ride, Alcorn reserved a bike from the Capital Bikeshare service. He rode one of the longer routes with fellow board member Dan Storck of the Mount Vernon District and Chairman Jeff McKay.

An avid cyclist, McKay introduced the first ever bike master plan for Fairfax County as the Lee District supervisor in 2009. He showed up in Reston on Saturday to enjoy the beautiful weather and explore another part of the county from the seat of his bike.

"My frustration was people don't know enough about all the biking opportunities in the county," he said. "So for me, this is about learning a new route, seeing it firsthand and, trying to help more people realize that biking around the county can be done and can be done safely."

Riders began gathering around 8:30 a.m., on Saturday at the Reston Community Center. After signing in, they received a packet of materials on cycling in the county and a T-shirt.

The following groups partnered with Alcorn's office in sponsoring the ride: Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Reston Community Center, Reston Association, Public Art Reston, Town of Vienna, Tysons Partnership, Reston Bike Club, and the Fairfax County Police Department

Jeff Anderson of the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling said Hunter Mill offers many opportunities for people to get around on foot or by bike, especially with the W&OD Trail running down the middle of the district.

"The point of the ride is to showcase all these connections, so people can ride their bikes between places and not jump in the car," he said. "That's what this ride is doing and it brings you into Tysons."

On Saturday, cyclists had the option to take three different routes, depending on their skill level — a 5-mile ride through Reston, a 15-mile from Reston to Tysons, and a 20-mile round trip to Tysons and back.

Riders taking the 15-mile trip hoped on the Metro in Tysons to take a Silver Line train back to Reston, which spotlighted some of the multi-modal options available in the Hunter Mill District.

"Multi-modal transportation in the county is huge," Anderson said. "The Silver Line came in several years ago. Along the route, there are several bicycle rooms, so you can ride your bike into the station and commute in."

Bob Lambert is a member of the Reston Runners Bikers group, which showed up to ride together on Saturday. A triathlete as well as a bike enthusiast, he enjoys riding all the trails in Reston and beyond.

"With the trail that goes through Reston, the W&OD, we can go out out to Purcellville or Leesburg or we can go into Washington, D.C.," he said. "We can go up to Bethesda and the Capital Crescent. We can go Mount Vernon. We can go into D.C. and the Mall. There's just so much access here, because of the access to the trail."