Thursday, November 18, 2010 10:40 am

From left: Nell Perry Bovender, RHP executive director; Billy Honeycutt, president of the RHP board of directors; Jerry Stensland, recreational, cultural and heritage planner for Rutherford County; and Alan Herrick, member of the Rutherford Outdoor Coalit

   ROC, a local nonprofit founded in 2003, is dedicated to growing outdoor recreation in Rutherford County.  ROC hosts multiple outings including hiking, paddling and trail-running trips, weekly cycling rides and more.  

   One of those cycling events, the Tour De Pumpkin, is an annual event begun in 2004 in connection with Rutherfordton’s Hilltop Festival in October. RHP partnered with ROC this year, providing a meal for Tour De Pumpkin cyclists at the end of the ride, and ROC donated proceeds from the ride to RHP.

   Rutherford Housing Partnership provides urgently needed repairs to the homes of qualified low-income homeowners.  It sponsors a cycling event each spring, Gears & Gables, a one-day fully supported ride around Rutherford County that features four routes – 30 miles, 65 miles, 102 miles, and its signature route of 127 miles.

Gears & Gables will be Saturday, May 7, 2011, during the annual Mayfest in Downtown Rutherfordton.  For more information about that ride, call 828-245-0716.