If you’re looking for a motivating way to mix up your training, take a break from hardcore racing, or meet some friends, then look no further than these 15 fun bike events. Happening in various cities across the country, you can sign up for one today whether you’re interested in family-friendly rides, a century, or a way to give back to the cycling community. Most of the events on this list happen annually, so if you can’t make one this year, add it to your bucket list for the future.
Fun Bike Events for Every Skill Level
1. Ben to the Shore Bike Tour
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date: July 21, 2024
The Ben to the Shore Bike Tour is a charity ride focused on raising money to assist families of fallen or critically injured first responders. This tour features two different routes: a 65-miler that starts in center city Philadelphia and crosses the Ben Franklin Bridge, and a 30-miler that starts in Hammonton, New Jersey and transverses the back roads of Hammton, Egg Harbor, and Gallway, New Jersey. Both routes end in Atlantic City at the Showboat Hotel, where riders can attend the after party, complete with refreshments, music, and games.
2. Backyard Boogie
Location: Various locations in Maryland
Date: August 9-11, 2024
The Backyard Boogie is a weekend-long event that includes a host of rides ranging from 10 to 100 miles and taking place in Kettering, Laurel, and Bowie, Maryland. Riders can opt for a casual 10- or 20-mile bike ride on Friday, August 9, which also includes a friendly track stand, tire changing, and sprint competition. On Saturday, August 10, there’s a variety of bike rides ranging from 20 to 100 miles. Afterward, riders can enjoy a backyard lawn party, featuring live music and local vendors. To finish off the weekend, USAC-licensed racers can compete in a circuit race on Sunday.
3. D2R2
Location: Franklin County, Massachusetts
Date: August 17, 2024
The D2R2 has seven different dirt-road routes to choose from, including a 12-mile family ride, 111-mile ride (180K), and a newly added mystery ride, which will be somewhere between 150K and 200K (or up to 124 miles). Each route will challenge your physical and technical capabilities considering there will be significant climbing and descending. Each registration includes lunch, dinner, and a pint of beer, plus a bonfire.
4. Hotter’N Hell Hundred
Location: Wichita Falls, Texas
Date: August 23 - 25, 2024
The Hotter’N Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls started in 1982 as a way to celebrate the city’s centennial and is now a highly anticipated annual event featuring much more than a century ride. The four-day weekend is jampacked with rides and races varying in distances ranging from six to 100 miles, including off-road mountain bike races, gravel grinders, a criterium, and more. There’s plenty of things to do out of the saddle as well, like visiting the expo, joining the trail run, or enjoying a delicious spaghetti dinner.
5. MACC One Love Century
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Date: August 29 - September 2, 2024
The MACC One Love Century is a five-day event that includes a highly anticipated century ride traveling through South Fulton, Rico, Palmetto, and Cowetta County, Georgia. With a focus on raising money for local youth cycling clubs, this event has plenty of rides, varying in distance from a 25-miler, 26-miler, century ride, and a recovery ride that you can take at your own pace and ride for whatever distance you’d like, up to 44 miles.
6. PedalPGH
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date: August 25, 2024
PedalPGH gives riders the opportunity to explore what makes Steel City unique. This fun and casual ride allows riders of all ages to explore the bustling roads of Pittsburg, while enjoying the riverside views. With four different routes, ranging from 10 to 62 miles, PedalPGH has something to engage riders of all different skill levels. All funds raised by this charity ride go to Bike Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization that works to make the city safe and accessible for bikers and walkers alike.
7. Tour of the Moon
Location: Grand Junction, Colorado
Date: September 14, 2024
Both routes on this tour have captivating views that will definitely grab your attention. Whether you opt for the 41- or 64-mile route (a metric century), the tour starts at the Grand Junction Convention Center, and travels through the Colorado National Monument. Upon exiting the monument, you’ll have to decide whether you’ll ride the classic loop back to the convention center or tackle the metric century to explore the beautiful farm country before making your way back. Afterward, enjoy postride festivities including food, massages, and a beer garden.
8. Buffalo Bicycle Classic
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Date: September 8, 2024
The Buffalo Bicycle Classic, a.k.a. the BBC, is a charity ride aimed to raise scholarship money for students entering the University of Colorado Boulder with a 4.0 grade point average and above, who demonstrate a strong financial need. To ride, you can pledge to fundraise a minimum of $500, which includes a registration fee of $75 or pay $125 registration fee and opt out of fundraising. There are nine different routes ranging from 10 to 100 miles, plus two gravel-road routes. Postride activities include lunch with a free beer and massages.
9. California Coast Classic Bike Tour
Location: San Francisco, California to Los Angeles, California
Date: September 21 - 28, 2024
This epic charity ride covers 525 miles over the course of eight days to help raise funds to support the Arthritis Foundation. Starting in San Francisco, riders coast through seaside towns and quiet roads, and soak in the beautiful views of the ocean as they ride to the finish line in Los Angeles. Each day, organizers provide riders with a hot breakfast, dinner, and resting stations (every 20 to 25 miles) where riders can refuel and hydrate. To participate, riders are required to meet a minimum fundraising quota of $3,300.
10. Philly Bike Ride
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date: October 19, 2024
Here’s your chance to bike the streets of Philadelphia car-free. This 20-mile ride is truly a family-friendly event designed for riders of all experience levels, ages 3 and up. Along the route, riders can make quick stops to appreciate historical landmarks and monuments and listen to music. Plus, there’s a postride festival with music, food trucks, and giveaways at the finish line, near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the famous Rocky Steps.
11. Tour De Tucson
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Date: November 23, 2024
This tour has plenty to choose from including two century rides, a half metric century which is open to e-bike riders, short fun rides, and even a 5K run. All routes start and finish at the Tucson Convention Center. After working up a sweat, all riders can enjoy food, music, and a beer garden.
12. Tour De Palm Springs
Location: Palm Springs, California
Date: February 7-8, 2025
The Tour de Palm Springs is an e-bike-friendly ride that features six different routes ranging from seven miles (the shortest) to 102 miles (the longest), plus two walking routes (one and three miles). More than 20 band concerts occur throughout the event and at rest stops. And you’ll stay fueled and hydrated thanks to lunch, snack, and water stops along the route.
13. Barry-Roubaix
Location: Hastings, Michigan
Date: April 12, 2025
The Barry-Roubaix was designed to challenge riders of all experience levels with four different races, including an 18-, 36-, 62-, and 100-miler. You can opt to race competitively or race for fun in the 18- or 36-mile race, just bear in mind you’ll still be timed. Riders can expect to cruise the gravel roads and paved roads of Barry County Michigan, including beautiful views of nearby lakes. Plus, there are a few activities riders can enjoy out of the saddle like attending the expo or bonfire the night before, or the after party and awards ceremony on the day of the event.
14. Five Boro Bike Tour
Location: New York, New York
Date: May 4, 2025
The Five Boro Bike Tour serves up 40 miles of car-free riding in the city that never sleeps. The tour will take riders through all five boroughs of New York City, starting in Manhattan, then the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and finishing up in Staten Island. Along the way, riders will see and visit some of the city’s most well-known landmarks, including Radio City Music Hall, Roosevelt Island, and Central Park.
15. AIDS/Lifecycle
Location: San Francisco, California to Los Angeles, California
Dates: June 1-7, 2025
The AIDS/Lifecycle raises funds to support the work of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center that provides free HIV/AIDS medical care, testing, and prevention services. In 2024, riders raised more than $10 million for the cause. This annual ride travels 545 miles along the California coast over the course of seven days from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Along the journey, riders can expect to stop in Santa Cruz, King City, Paso Robles, Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Ventura, before reaching their final destination. There is a $3,500 fundraising minimum for all riders.
Monique LeBrun joined the editorial staff in October 2021 as the associate health and fitness editor. She has a master’s degree in journalism and has previously worked for ABC news and Scholastic. She is an avid runner who loves spending time outside.
