The 27th annual Fabulous 4th Bike Tour is scheduled for Sunday, July 4. This event is the primary fundraiser for the Thermal Belt Rotary Club of Tryon. All of the profits from the event are donated to worthwhile charities in the area.

The profits from last years event were in excess of $10,000. The money went 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 4th grade students and scholarships at Polk County and Landrum High Schools.

The tour will begin with a mass start at 8 a.m. at Harmon Field in Tryon and will cross two states and four counties before ending back at Harmon Field. The 2010 route will be the same as the previous year.

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

Riders may pre-register for the Fabulous 4th Tour by completing an application online at www.fabulous4thbiketour.org. Onsite registration will begin at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the tour.

The tour route was originally designed and organized in 1983 and the first ride was in that year. 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.

Early sponsors for the event include Natures Storehouse, Prince Companies, Quiksolve Solutions LLC, Medicap Pharmacy, Macon Bank, Bill Andersen, Jim and Jean Scott, Pete and Ann Crandall, and more.