&bsp;This event is the primary fundraiser for the Thermal Belt Rotary Club of Tryon. All of the profits from the event are donated to charities in the area. This was in excess of $10,000 this past year to Boy Scout troops 150, 155 and 659, Steps to Hope, Red Cross, Harmon Field, Polk County Youth Football, Polk County Rescue Squad, Thermal Belt Amateur Radio Club, Polk County 4H Clubs, Tryon Fire Department, ARC of Rutherford, books for fourth grade students and scholarships at Polk County and Landrum High Schools.

On site registration will begin at 6:30 a.m., with a mass start at 8 a.m. at Harmon Field in Tryon. &bsp;

The tour will cross two states and four counties before ending back at Harmon Field.&bsp; The 2009 route will be the same as the previous year.

Approximately 500 riders are expected to participate in this event.&bsp; Members of local Amateur Radio Club will be providing emergency communications from mobile and stationary locations along the route.&bsp; The Polk County Rescue Squad will assist with a mobile medical unit, and &dquo;sweep&dquo; vehicles will pick up disabled riders along the entire route.

Riders may pre-register for the Fabulous 4th Tour by completing an application found at fabulous4thbiketour.org.

The tour route was originally designed and organized in 1983 and the first ride was in that year.&bsp; It has since grown to be one of the most popular short tours in the Southeast with more than 5,400 feet of cumulative climbing with both long hills and short steep ones.

Additional information about the Fabulous 4th Tour may be obtained from Jim Scott, telephone 828-859-5797 or jimscott11@charter.net.