READY, SET, RIDE: Annual YP Bicycle Classic returns this Saturday 

Published 2:41 pm Thursday, June 8, 2023

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NATCHEZ — This Saturday, at least 110 bicycle riders are expected to kick off the fourth annual bicycle ride hosted by the Natchez Young Professionals and Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce.

Lyn Jenkins, CEO of the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce, encouraged locals and spectators to come out Saturday at 8 a.m. to greet the riders and participants in the fourth annual YP Natchez Bicycle Classic, who will be traveling here from all over the Miss-Lou, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama and beyond.

“It’s just another great event and an additional tourist attraction in Natchez,” Jenkins said. “A lot of them will be coming with their families and it would be great for the City of Natchez to come Saturday to show support for people who’ve come into town and greet them.”

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Online registration at natchezbicycleclassic.com ends at 5 p.m. Friday and in-person registration takes place at a welcome party and packet pickup for those registered from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at Smoot’s Grocery on Broadway Street.

Registration is $65 per rider with their choice of a 15 to 62-mile paved ride or a 48.5-mile mixture of paved road and gravel ride.

Registration will continue an hour before the event Saturday, which starts at 8 a.m. in front of the Natchez Grand Hotel on Broadway Street.

“It’s a bike ride, not a race,” Jenkins said. “So, go at your own speed or maybe have some inside competition with your group.”

Many came together to make Saturday’s event happen.

Registration packages include entry into the welcome party and a post-ride lunch party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring live music from talented local artists Matt Willis and Tyler Greg.

It also includes “swag bags” that contain specialized water bottles sponsored by Visit Natchez and bicycling socks sponsored by Jordan Carriers and a T-shirt. Coca-Cola also sponsored sag stops along the bicycle routes where riders can refresh with snacks and drinks.

Post-ride lunch is sponsored by Cross Country Mortgage, Wardos and Southwest Distributors, Jenkins said.

There is more fun to be had on the Natchez Bluff following the bike ride.

Paired with the bicycle classic is the Natchez-Trace Kiwanis Club’s inaugural cornhole tournament on the bluff by Smoot’s Grocery.

Registration of teams is $50 per team, with all of the proceeds benefitting Kiwanis scholarship awards for area students. The tournament starts at 2 p.m.

To register, contact Daniel Guedon at 601-807-8914, Sherry Gill at 601-431-8135 or Lisa Sanders at 901-827-7932.

“We’re excited about the number of riders and are expecting more to show up before we begin,” Jenkins said. “It should be a nice kick-off for a summer weekend.”