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. Ride registration is now open at BikeReg* through Sept. 12, 2023 and will be offered onsite on the morning of the Ride as well. It’s not a race, and, E-bikes & recumbents are welcome!
On any given day our Fall Bike Celebration routes are hauntingly beautiful, offer stunning photo ops and are best experienced at a bicyclist’s pace. Sharp-eyed riders should be able to find at least one of the Vicksburg Quilt Trail paintings on virtually every route. No other community in Southwest Michigan has such an (on-road) feast for the eyes.
BFK’s Fall Bike Celebration is held annually on the third weekend in September. Our wonderfully scenic “quilt barn, bridge & buggy” bike tour of the SW Michigan countryside will take place on Sunday starting and ending the grounds of the Vicksburg Historic Village. Day-of registration for Sunday’s Bike Tour will be OPEN on-site Sunday.
Route opening & closing times, group start times and other important details are HERE. Due to last minute road closings, etc., this page only covers general route descriptions and should be considered suggestive, not final, until just before the ride.
Sunday’s Bike Tour Routes include a Century, Metric Century and other classic distances, plus two NEW GRAVEL/mixed surface ROUTES & fun destinations. All will include SAG stops, and the paved road routes will be well marked. Distances are approximate until double checked. Unexpected roadwork, detours, etc. may occur and are beyond our control; exceptions may occur.
Sunday’s Fall Bike Celebration Bike Tour (7:30am-5pm)
Routes start & finish at the charming Vicksburg Historic Village
Day-of Registration Opens: 7:30am Closes: 1pm Ride/Food/Area Clean Up & Close: 5pm
Routes & Start Times Below; Starts are scheduled in waves.
Your Fall Bike Celebration Ride registration includes the Saturday evening Ice Cream Social and Sunday’s Fall Bike Celebration Bike Tour, with water, snacks and treats along the way and a delicious meal at the finish. Camaraderie and smiles all around are a sure thing.
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. )
- Shipshewana Century (103mi – WHITE)
- Shipshewana Hybrid (85mi – WHITE, then RED “shortcut” back)
- Covered Bridge Metric Century (65mi – RED) NOTE: Due to construction, this route will be re-routed to another bridge over the scenic St. Joseph River in ’23.
- Climax (36mi – PINK)
- Scotts Mill Park (21mi – PINK – in 2023 Climax / Scotts is a short-long option combo)
- Vicksburg Quilt Trail (18-ish mi – BLUE)
- BACK for ’23: The Lake Cruise route (11mi – GOLDEN YELLOW) is a Family Route using the roads
- Family Trail Route: Vicksburg Trail (No map needed – starts right across the road from the Vickburg Historic Village. Caution – Richardson is a two-way street. Look both ways and walk your bike across when safe).
- GRAVEL ROUTES (32 & 59mi)
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.
Printed route maps and cue sheets will be provided for most routes. Important updates may occur as conditions warrant; please check the Registration page (and emails to registered riders) before the Ride.
Signing up online in advance is easy — register here online through BikeReg.
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. For example, Climax + Vicksburg Quilt Trail South Loop = 53 miles. “Can I really do that?” Hmm…try it and see! Plan ahead if you are attempting any routes or combo-routes that will get you back to the finish after 4pm; we are closing at 5pm. A simple calculation shows that if you are attempting a longer route, you have eight hours if you start at 8am and get back to munch on the goodies at the end around 4pm. If you build in an hour’s worth of stops for any and all reasons, you’ll need to ride 7+mph on the average to do a “half-century” of 50 miles, and twice that fast to do our Century if you want to get back in time. We know lots of cyclists can handle the pace and distance (and more!) and understand the math is ridiculously easy, but thought it wouldn’t hurt to spell it out. See the “Training TIps” at the end of this page if you have never done a Century.
Road Routes
– 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 Fall Bike Celebration 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. By the time you get to the Fall Celebration Ride, look up how the village got its name. 🙂
Scotts Mill Park (21 miles)
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. In 2020 the flour mill will be open for a self-guided tour for a number of hours around mid-day. 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 your water bottle 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 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 rest, munch and sip 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. The quilts on the Vicksburg Quilt Trail and their locations were selected for their unique character. You never know whether the owners will offer you cookies when you stop to take a photo, but all will be welcoming and expecting that you will stop a moment to admire the view. This special route lets you sample what the Vicksburg Quilt Trail has to offer with a chance to capture the moment in photos.
By the way, on any of the routes please step off the road when you dismount, and always be mindful of traffic. Be sure to signal your intentions. Stay visible, with bright clothing and day time running lights. We also recommend rear view mirrors and eye protection.
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.
Family Routes
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! If you try it you’ll find out for yourself. 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.
The Shipshewana routes will best be enjoyed when you have trained to ride the distances and paces involved. If you are starting from scratch after not being on a bike for a while, it helps to learn how to ride the roads beginning in May (say, on the Kal-Haven Trailblazer & in KBC’s Bike Camp), build up to riding an intermediate distance (say, 30+ miles at KBC’s KalTour at the end of June), then keep training until you can ride 50 or 60 miles before trying the longest routes (say, on the Vineyard Classic). We like to say, Kalamazoo has a ride for you! Or, buy an e-bike and bring an extra battery!