Scenic rural vistas along quiet country roads. Historic farmsteads and rustic churches. The pastoral heritage of the Piedmont. Make a difference!

Register at: https://tarwheels.net/wp/bikefest-fees-dates/

All BikeFest routes start and end on East Margaret Lane near the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Hillsborough. Parking volunteers are there to direct you to free parking lots located near the start.

Bike Fest offers a choice of 3 routes/rides: a 35-mile half metric, a 62-mile metric century, and a 100-mile English century. The 35 and 62 routes have 2 rest stops while the 100-mile route has 4 rest stops.

View all routes: https://tarwheels.net/wp/bikefest-routes/

Make a Difference

The Tarwheels donate all proceeds, in excess of expenses, to bicycling related activities in our community.  In the past 6 years we have donated more than $15,000/yr.  Recent recipients include Triangle Bike Works, Bridge2Sports Adaptive Cycling Program, Durham Bike Cooperative, the Special Olympics Cycling Team, and the Carrboro Bicycle Coalition.  Click here for more information on their activities and contributions to the community.

Food and Support

The Tarwheels take pride in the volunteers who contribute time, energy, and the tour’s hallmark homemade cookies and baked goods. They have made the Rural Heritage Tour one of the most enjoyable bicycling events in North Carolina.  Refreshments will be provided at the end of the ride, but all riders are still encouraged to carry their own water bottles.

This is a fully-supported ride with rest stops, refreshments, and restrooms.  Routes are clearly marked and patrolled by SAG vehicles.  Mechanical support (repair) is provided on a cost-of-parts-only basis.

 

 

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On Sept. 20, Chapel Hill Transit will make temporary schedule adjustments to increase the reliability of the bus system in the face of staffing shortages.

Chapel Hill Transit will make temporary schedule adjustments to increase the reliability of the bus system in the face of staffing shortages.

Starting Monday Sept. 20, CHT will implement the following adjustments:

The last trip on most routes will run until 8 p.m.

• On weekdays, the NS route will run less frequently until 10 p.m.
• On weekends, the J and NS routes will run every hour and 20 minutes.
• The schedule for FCX and NU routes will not change

No midday service on F, G, HS & T routes.

The F, G, HS, and T routes will only run between 6:30 and 9 a.m. and 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. to provide options for students and employees commuting to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, UNC-Chapel Hill, and UNC Hospitals.

• F Route Trips (from Jones Ferry Road): 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. & 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.
• G Route Trips (from Booker Creek): 7 and 8 a.m. & 3 and 4 p.m.
• HS Route Trips (from Morris Grove): 7:15, 7:50 & 8:25 a.m. and 3:25, 4:00 & 4:35 p.m.
• T Route Trips (from ECHHS): 7:05 and 8:05 a.m. & 4:10 and 5:15 p.m.

420, CL, NU, weekend J, and weekend NS customers will have fewer trips

• The NU route will run every 30 minutes
• The CL route will run about every 40 minutes
• The weekend J will run every hour and 20 minutes
• The weekend NS will run every hour and 20 minutes

• Route 420 will run at the following times:
• –  6:00, 6:55, 7:30 & 8:30 a.m. from Hillsborough
• –  3:40, 4:40, 5:15 & 6:15 p.m. from UNC Hospitals

Friday Center South Park and Ride Lot users will need to use the Friday Center Park and Ride Lot

The Friday Center South Park & Ride Lot will be closed (formerly the NC-54 Park and Ride Lot)

• The S route will serve the Friday Center Park and Ride Lot
• The FCX route will serve stops on NC-54 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and after 8 p.m.

These reductions will remain in effect until Chapel Hill Transit is able to hire more operators.

Chapel Hill Transit is actively recruiting operators. Chapel Hill Transit offers wages starting at $16+ an hour, paid training and benefits. People interested can apply at chtransit.org.

Chapel Hill Transit will operate Tar Heel Express shuttles from four local park and ride lots for the North Carolina Tar Heel’s 2021 Football Season.

Chapel Hill Transit will provide Tar Heel Express shuttle service for the North Carolina Tar Heel home games at Kenan Stadium. Shuttles begin running three hours before the scheduled kick-off time from the Friday Center (Friday Center Drive) and Airport Drive (103 Airport Drive) park and ride lots. Shuttles begin running an hour-and-a-half before the kick-off from the Southern Village (105 Sumac Road) and Jones Ferry Road (south of Old Fayetteville Road and Jones Ferry Road) park and ride lots.

All customers will be required to wear face coverings while waiting at the park and ride lots and on the vehicle.

Shuttles drop off and pick up on South Road at Carmichael Auditorium and Woolen gym. The shuttles will provide continuous and fully accessible service, running every 10 to 15 minutes between the park and rides and Kenan Stadium, until 15 minutes after kick-off. An on demand return shuttle will operate until the end of the game, when full shuttle service resumes. The shuttles will operate for forty-five (45) minutes following the game.

Park and ride permits are not required during Tar Heel Express events.

For more information visit: Tar Heel Express

Know before you go: Kenan Stadium Bag Policy

Chapel Hill Transit will be closed and provide no service on Monday, September 6, for the Labor Day holiday. Chapel Hill Transit has had difficulties recruiting and training operators. To provide more reliable service, we are developing a new service plan that will likely mean temporary reductions in service. We know that all our service is important to different people and we are making the plan to provide as many different options as possible. We hope to restore full service as soon as we can, but we are unlikely to be able to do so until we have filled more than 40 open positions. The bus stop at Manning Drive and Paul Hardin Drive across the street from the Craige North Deck is temporarily closed while UNC-Chapel Hill repairs the parking lot and sidewalk. Chapel Hill Transit will provide Tar Heel Express service to the UNC v. Georgia State football game. Visit our Tar Heel Express page to learn more Masks are required on Chapel Hill Transit buses. Please show up early. Don’t ride the bus if you’re sick.

The Chapel Hill Police Department will perform four special traffic-safety initiatives in September—in addition to normal patrols—with the main goal of improving safety for pedestrians.

• Friday, September 3, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Thursday, September 9, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Friday, September 17, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Friday, September 24, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

*Dates and times are subject to change

Each effort will focus on areas with heavy pedestrian and bicycle traffic, including downtown, and mid-block crosswalks (ex. along the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard corridor). We encourage everyone traveling, regardless of your mode of transportation, to remember that community safety is a shared responsibility.

Chapel Hill Police will also perform three speed enforcement operations this month:

• Tuesday, September 7,  6 a.m. to 8 a.m.
• Tuesday, September 14, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 21, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Please use the following tips to improve safety for everyone on and near the roads:

• Limit distractions
• Phones down; eyes up (this is true for people driving, walking, riding a bike, and rolling)
• Keep your music at an appropriate level to hear what’s happening outside your car or around you
• Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
• State law says all vehicles must yield to pedestrians once they have safely entered a crosswalk
• Please use designated crosswalks to cross roads
• Walk against traffic; ride with traffic
• People walking that don’t have access to sidewalks should walk in the opposite direction as traffic
• People riding bicycles should ride in a bike lane or in the same direction as traffic if there isn’t a designated path
  • Bicycles are permitted to ride on the sidewalk except downtown (Franklin and Rosemary streets) and on the east side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in front of the Chapel Hill Police Department

The Town will utilize its variable message sign (VMS) boards throughout Town to alert people driving of the events as well as encouraging them to limit distractions and watch out for people walking and people riding their bikes.

The Road to Zero

The 2019 Pedestrian Safety Action Plan is a key component in turning the Town’s Road to Zero commitment into a reality. This plan lays out strategies to address pedestrian safety concerns through policy, infrastructure, and programming. The Road to Zero Task Force advises implementation of the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan with a focus on equity, public engagement, safe routes to school, and data analysis. Read more: Road to Zero