Routes

Bike Tour registration for Sept. 22, 2024 is now open at BikeReg*. Fees are the same as 2023 and are listed on our Sunday’s Ride page. Much of the remainder of this web site applies to 2023. PLEASE EXCUSE OUR DUST AS WE PREPARE FOR 2024.

BFK’s Fall Bike Celebration’s magnificent Bike Tour is always on the third Sunday of September (Sept. 17 in 2023) — offering something for everyone. Online ride registration is open at BikeReg*. It’s not a race, and, E-bikes & recumbents are welcome! Day of ride registration for Sunday’s Bike Tour will be OPEN on-site Sunday.

IN A NUTSHELL
Sunday’s Fall Bike Celebration Bike Tour (7:30am-5pm)
Online registration is open at BikeReg*.
Routes start & finish at the charming Vicksburg Historic Village
Day-of Registration 7:30am-noon. Clean Up & Close: 5pm.

This page covers general route descriptions Unexpected roadwork, detours, etc. beyond our control may occur.

ROUTE MAPS
2023 Maps from Ride With GPS (Route opening & closing times, group start times and other important details are HERE. This page only covers route descriptions. )

RWGPS Map Notes. To reduce the chance of downloading outdated maps, wait to download until new maps are posted. Some features with Ride With GPS may require a desk-top computer in one of the steps (such as downloading a .gpx file) or for-fee accounts (such as when trying to use it on a smart phone). You may be able to get around this by accepting a free trial. We apologize that our volunteers will not be able to answer technical questions about RWGPS. Ride With GPS is much like any other navigational system, and it works better than most.

Note to mileage hounds. Routes can be combined! Within our Last Start and 5pm Closing Time parameters, feel free to ride more than one route to fit your mileage goals to build the perfect day. Training for longer rides pays off in many ways.

Detailed Road Route Descriptions

Our copy editor got carried away after being influenced by Moosejaw catalog descriptions. Some of us feel that skipping them won’t hurt a bit.

– Shipshewana – Climax – Scotts Mill Park – Vicksburg Quilt Trail North & South –

Shipshewana Century, Hybrid & Covered Bridge Metric Century (103, 85 & 65 miles)
Land O Goshen! What should we even call a route that: a) crosses State lines; b) takes riders into another world; and, c) suggests the possibilities of time transport? All three routes cross the longest covered wooden bridge in Michigan. NOTE: Due to construction, these routes will be re-routed to another bridge over the scenic St. Joseph River in ’23.The Metric Century stays in Michigan the entire route. This is the cool part: our 103 & 85 both go through Shipshewana. The 103 returns by way of Scotts Mill Park while the 85 finishes on the same route as the 65 miler. You have until mile 80 until the routes split. If you need to bail on the 103 you can. Hmm, could this be a fair range test for an e-bike?

Climax (36 miles)
Yep, it is true that the delightful Village of Climax is listed as #1 in WKFR’s (103.3 FM) list of “5 Bizarre Michigan Town Names Explained.” Those who make it to scenic Scotts Mill Park where our rest stop is planned may want to continue on to make it all the way to Climax. Fact-checkers can look up how the village really got its name. 🙂

Scotts Mill Park (21 miles – first part of the Climax route)
The stop at Scotts Mill Park turns your ride from Vicksburg (former home of the Simpson Paper Mill) into a journey from a revitalized former paper mill town back in time to an 1870’s flour mill, complete with a water wheel and mill pond. Historic Scotts (flour) Mill is sometimes open for a self-guided tour. The setting is picture perfect — many a couple has been happily wed in this gem of a Kalamazoo County Park. Hmm. Play your cards right and maybe you and your true love can pledge your troths while enjoying snacks and refilling water bottles in the picnic shelter. If you feel the earth move on this route we guess it might be true love…but it could be due to an earthquake. The epicenter of a 4.2 magnitude quake in 2015 was only a mile from nearby Scotts, an unincorporated community of about 3,600 people.

Vicksburg Quilt Trail (18 miles)
The Vicksburg Quilt Trail is a collection of 24 large colorful photo-worthy quilt patterns, most of which have been painted on the sides of barns located throughout the Vicksburg area. This route will let you sample and admire the artist-owners’ creative works along the way… . Riding it, we think you will come to agree that the Vicksburg Quilt Trail must be seen in person to be fully appreciated, because the idyllic settings for the evocative quilt paintings — many set against a magnificent rural backdrop — frame an image in your brain that can pretty much only be taken in by stopping to admire the views. The “VQT” route will be short enough so that your SAG stop is back at the Historic Village. Check out the history of the trail and full color map ONLINE HERE to learn more about the quilts, most of which are painted on barns.

Family Routes

Biking is fun for the whole family. It’s a great physical activity, offers a chance for adults to teach children a skill they can enjoy their whole life and provides stay-cation and vacation travel adventure as well.

Lake Cruise Route (11 miles)
Who doesn’t like lake views on a bike ride? This route is suited for a leisurely tour with views of Sunset and Austin Lakes. The route has virtually no climbing and makes use of the Vicksburg Recreational Trail for part of the way. If you are a family with smaller children, we suggest you get them ready for this ride by making sure they can handle the distance beforehand.

– Vicksburg Trail –

Family Trail Route (4-5 miles)
Vicksburg Historic Village
The Vicksburg Trail will be open all day to Individual and Family registered riders. We suggest riders who are riding this popular trail make their way back to the Historic Village in time to grab a bite to eat. Please be careful as you cross the sometimes busy road between the Vicksburg Historic Village and the Vicksburg Trail.

GRAVEL ROUTES (32 & 59 miles)
Want to discover new roads you have never ridden? Want to experience riding your bike with almost no cars? Introducing two new routes for Fall Bike Celebration, both on mixed surfaces including gravel or dirt roads in addition to the paved roads. Two distances to choose from: 32 miles or 59 miles. Both will have a resupply and restroom stop at Rawson’s King Mill Park near Leonidas. This is an historic flour mill in a beautiful setting along Nottowa Creek. The routes are pretty flat, with only 1,400 feet of elevation gain for the 59 mile route. You will see cows, fields, trees, birds, maybe some farm machinery, but not many cars. Experience the first surface bikes were ridden on!

Training Tips: Can a bicyclist actually ride imperial, metric or hybrid-century (83 miles…ha ha ha) in eight hours? Well, the answer is yes, for some of us. It could be you! Here’s a word to the wise: train for it. Those who can do a century ride tend to think of themselves as cyclists and kit up in padded shorts.