(Photo credit: Furnace Town Living Heritage Village website)

The event, co-sponsored by the Furnace Town Living Heritage Village and the Rotary Club of Snow Hill, gets underway at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, May 6, and begins and ends at Furnace Town, located at 3816 Old Furnace Road west of Snow Hill.

Cyclists have their choice of three ride options: 50K, 50 mile and 100K routes among rural roads and farms in Worcester County. The nice thing about the ride is that riders can go as fast – or as slow – as they want.

“This is just a ride, it’s not a competition,” said Furnace Town Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “What people like is that it can be done at a leisurely pace. The route we take is through one of the more beautiful parts of Worcester County.”

Delmarva is a great place for bicycling as the peninsula is flat and mostly rural. The Iron Furnace Fifty’s routes are entirely rural with very little traffic, making it ideal cycling country.

The ride will include a route map with turn by turn, well-marked road paint, a specific rider number and a SAG vehicle patrol to assist riders. The ride will also have rest stops including water, fruit, snacks and johns. One of the rest stops will feature ice cream at Chesapeake Farms Dairy, located at 4111 Whitesburg Road.

The ride also includes free admission to Furnace Town where a free luncheon with entertainment and complimentary beverages (beer for adults) will be provided at the end.

The historic iron furnace at the Furnace Town Living Heritage Village. (Photo credit: Kye Parsons)

The number of participants in the Iron Furnace Fifty continues to grow every year, according to Rofe, who said last year’s event had about 170 riders. This year’s event has more than 200 registered riders. Rofe said he believes the ride is growing in popularity for a few reasons.

“I think the number one draw is that it’s a fun ride that the entire family can do,” he said. “You can take it at a leisurely pace. It’s also a nice ride through the Pocomoke Forest with a nice stop at Chesapeake Dairy, with a nice meal at the end.”

All profit from the ride will go toward education programs at Furnace Town, and college scholarships awarded by the Rotary Club of Snow Hill.

Click here for more information about the Iron Furnace Fifty.