Date set for inaugural Tour de Sharpsburg

Sharpsburg Community Library has planned a new family activity designed to get people looking at the borough from a different angle.

The inaugural Tour de Sharpsburg is set for July 29.

Named after the Tour de France, the annual, multiple-stage bike race, the Sharpsburg version is a bike ride through town starting at 11 a.m. at the library, 1212 Main St.

The route will likely be set the day of the free event by tour guide James Graham, the library’s teen coordinator.

He said riders will be stopping at borough parks and several businesses, such as the Second Harvest Community Thrift Store.

“People can just get a better sense of the town and the community and learn some bicycle education and safety because of it,” said Graham. “That’s basically the goal. I think (riding a bike) keeps you more grounded with your surrounding and what’s going on in the community much more so than a car would, and it’s fun especially this time of year. Anyone and everyone can come, but they just have to register.”

Registration is available online at coopersiegel.librarycalendar.com. More information is available by visiting the library.

“We think a bike ride would be a great way to get kids and families riding around Sharpsburg as a group,” said library assistant Mari An Rolewicz. “It would be a fun thing to do, and see all the nooks and crannies that people don’t usually see.”

The library will provide a limited number of bikes and helmets for participants who don’t have them.