Photo courtesy of Cahaba Cycles.
Racers participate in the Le Tour de Cahaba.
Tour de Cahaba, one of Birmingham’s most inclusive cycling events, returns to Homewood on July 13, bringing together cyclists of all ages, experience levels and bike styles for a morning of riding, followed by food, music and community celebration.
This is all about community, bringing our cycling community together for just one local ride.
Faris Malki
“This is all about community, bringing our cycling community together for just one local ride,” said Cahaba Cycles owner Faris Malki. “Get your bikes out, bring your family down. It’s a really casual, fun ride, and then we’ve got an awesome party afterwards. That’s what it’s about, it’s all about just giving back to our customers.”
Multiple Routes, One Purpose
The event will include six route options, ranging from a laid-back family ride to a 65-mile tour of Cahaba Cycles locations across the metro area.
“We’ve got, like, this family roll, what we call the family slow roll, which is under five miles. And then we’ve got the full 65 miles, which is kind of the original ride that we did, and that one starts at Homewood and visits every Cahaba Cycles location except for Gadsden,” Malki explained.
Distances include 5 (slow roll), 10, 20, 35, 45 and 65-mile routes. The longer rides begin at
7 a.m., while the slow roll and 10-mile rides start at 9 a.m. All rides leave from the Cahaba Cycles Homewood location.
“It basically just meanders through Homewood, like Edgewood, basically, and back to the shop. Minimal hills, pretty chill,” Malki said of the family route. “Everybody kind of stays together. It’s like this kind of rolling closure.”
The 65-mile ride visits all Cahaba Cycles stores except for Gadsden. “You’ve got hundreds of people on their bikes riding straight down 31. It’s kind of nuts, but it’s actually really safe,” Malki said.
Post-Ride Party
Once riders return to Homewood, the celebration kicks off with barbecue, beer, music and more.
“We have barbecue afterwards. We’re sponsored by Good People Brewing Company and Coca-Cola, and so we’ve got incredible food and drink afterwards,” Malki said. “We got a DJ playing music. It’s just a really fun time and an awesome event that just pulls in the cycling community together.”
The barbecue is prepared by Billy Ritch of Pork n Pedals. “He actually smokes the butts at his house all night and then brings them over that morning. He literally pulls the meat off the butt, and then makes sandwiches right there,” Malki said.
Register Now
Registration is $35 for most routes, with the family slow roll being free or $10 if riders want lunch. Registration remains open until a few days before the ride.
“A lot of people get really intimidated by these rides … but you can come out and ride 10 miles or five miles or whatever and just come out and use your bike and get some exercise and have fun,” Malki said.
Learn more or sign up at cahabacycles.com.
