2025 Tour de Madison

DESCRIPTION.  The 37th annual Tour de Madison (TDM) will be held, rain or shine, on Saturday, May 17.  The tour offers a 65-mile metric century (with about 3,750 feet of climbing), a 45-mile route, and a 22-mile family ride.  The registration fee includes a t-shirt (if you register by May 3) and lunch at one of two food trucks.  The B+ WAB group will ride the metric century route, but you may detour onto the shorter route when the 65- and 45-mile routes diverge.  The metric century route will feature four rest stops and SAG support.  (If anyone wants to lead another pace group, please contact RideCoordinator@WABonline.org.)

REGISTRATION.  You must register twice: (1) on the WAB website AND (2) on the TDM website, https://tourdemadison.com.  TDM registration opened on Jan. 1.  The nonrefundable fee is $50 through the end of the day on May 3, and $60 from May 4 through 5 p.m. on Monday, May 12, when registration closes.  There is no day-of-ride registration.  To register for the WAB group ride, do so in this event listing.  If you are not a member of the Williamsburg Area Bicyclists (WAB), you are still welcome to register and ride with us, but you will not be covered by the club's insurance.

DATE & TIME.  Saturday, May 17.  We will start the metric century ride at 7:30 a.m. sharp, the official start time for the metric century.  One advantage of a 7:30 a.m. start is that you can see who else will be riding the metric century.

STARTING LOCATION & ROUTE.  The ride starts at Hoover Ridge Park, 75 Primary School Dr., Madison, VA 22727.  From Madison, drive south on Fairground Road (VA Rte. 687).  Turn left onto Primary School Dr.  In 0.1 mile, turn left onto Hoover Ridge. Continue 0.1 mile to the Park.  The RideWithGPS route is 2024 Tour de Madison Metric Century (65.5).

WAB GROUP RIDE.  The WAB Calendar will list a B+ pace, but given the hills, the expected average pace will be around 15.5-16.5 mph.  B, B+, and A- cyclists are encouraged to start the ride together.  Different pace groups can split up as the ride progresses.  Please wear a WAB jersey so we look like a team.

STAYING OVERNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT.  It is a 2.25- to 2.5-hour drive from Williamsburg to Madison.  If you want to drive the morning of the ride, that’s an awfully early start.  In 2023 and 2024, WAB members stayed in Culpeper the night before the ride.  In the morning, they had a 20- to 25-minute drive from Culpeper to Madison.  You are encouraged to stay in Culpeper (17 miles north of Madison) because the University of Virginia’s graduation ceremonies will be held on the same weekend.  It will be virtually impossible to book a hotel room within a 30-mile radius of Charlottesville for Friday night, May 16.  In the past, WAB members have booked rooms at the Microtel Inn & Suites and at Baymont by Wyndham in Culpeper.

FRIDAY EVENING DINNER.  Join your fellow WAB members for a group dinner on Friday evening in Culpeper.  In early May, the ride leader will provide information on the dinner’s location and time.

CAVEAT.  There is always a possibility that adverse weather could result in cancelation of the official WAB ride.  (The Tour will be held rain or shine.)  The ride leader would issue a cancelation with as much lead time as possible, but your investment in the nonrefundable registration fee and your hotel registration would then be in jeopardy.  You could cancel your hotel reservation (and lose the Tour registration fee), or you could choose to ride despite the weather.

QUESTIONS.  The Tour de Madison’s website does a great job of describing the tour.  If you have questions about the WAB group ride, contact Harry Levins.