On May 11, cyclists will ride throughout Troup County — on a route that travels to Hogansville, Mountville, West Point and LaGrange — to raise money for The Thread during the first annual Tour de Troup.

The fundraiser bike ride will feature routes for a variety of skill levels ranging from the Family Tour, a 5-mile ride on local residential streets, to the Full Tour, a 100-mile route on mostly low traffic back roads. There will also be two mid-length options for riders hoping to get to know the area a little better while raising money for the local multi-use trail.

“The whole idea is — like The Thread itself threads the entire city together — the idea of the Tour de Troup is to thread the entire county together,” said Rick Brock, who is organizing the ride. “Depending on what route you are on, you’ll actually go all through Troup County. It only leaves Troup County in one place, and that is to cross over into Alabama to get across to the other side of the dam, so that you can come across the dam. It goes to Hogansville. It goes to West Point. It goes through the Rosemont area. It goes through the winery area. It goes near Kia [Motors Manufacturing Georgia], so it threads the entire county together.”

Brock said that the benefit bicycle ride was chosen because the area didn’t have its own cycling event, and the name was partially inspired by a bicycle ride that used to take place in the area called Tour de Lake. Brock said he also hopes the ride will introduce the participants to one of his passions while raising funds for The Thread.

“Even if it is only the 5-mile fun ride, it is getting families, people out and riding — getting them out moving around,” Brock said. “Fortunately for us, the event is being sponsored by Center State Bank, so they basically put up the money to put the event on, so just by signing up and riding, all your money goes directly to The Thread, and you get a cool t-shirt out of it.”

The benefit ride will not be a race, and participants are encouraged to choose the distance and speed with which they feel most comfortable.

“It is good for all cycling levels,” Brock said. “There is a 5-mile family fun ride. You can ride on that. You can ride 35 miles. You can ride 65 miles. You can ride 100 miles if you want to, so it will cover all levels.”

For more information or to register for the ride, visit Bikereg.com/tour-de-troup.