This post may contain affiliate links.

James and I got into RVing because of our cycling thing. I’ve told the story many times and won’t bore you with it again, but basically, our first RV started out as a convenient rolling bathroom for cycling events. While we’ve branched out from our early RV-is-just-a-convenient-bathroom days, at our core, we still RV to ride. Lance is our catalyst between one riding adventure and the next.

Which brings me to this list. Since the RV makes nationwide cycling events and festivals easily accessible to us, this is my attempt at compiling them all into one convenient resource. So, yep, this is going to be a handy reference guide for me personally as I plan our future trips, but since I know we’re not alone in our cycling + RVing love, I’m guessing many of you will find this list handy, too.

I would love your help with growing this event list. Leave a comment below if you know of other bicycling events not listed here that meet this criteria:

1. The event is longer than one day.
2. There are accommodations for RV’s (or at least very nearby).
3. The event stays based at the same place, so you’re not moving the RV each night. (So, no cross-state tours, like RAGBRAI.)

And now on with the list!

Stef’s Handy Dandy List of Cycling Event Awesomeness

(…organized by month…)

Skinny Tire Festival:

• WHERE: Moab, Utah
• WHEN:  March 12-15 2022
• WHAT: Road riding

Moab has some of the most scenic road riding in the US, and this event showcases the best rides the area has to offer… through Arches National Park, along the Colorado River, and to Dead Horse Point State Park and back. There are many RV Park options that you can choose, all within easy riding distance of the festival start/finish area.

Hurricane MTB Festival:

• WHERE:  Southern Utah
• WHEN:  March 25-27 2022
• WHAT:  Mountain biking

This is a jam-packed festival offering group rides (shuttles take you to the trailheads), skills clinics, a large expo area, demo bikes, live bands, beer garden, fun contests, and loads more. Camping isn’t directly onsite, but seasoned riders could make Quail Creek State Park your RV basecamp and ride to the venue from there. There are also loads of boondocking options in the Hurricane area (check your Campendium and iOverlander apps).

Easter Hill Country Tour:

• WHERE:  Kerrville, Texas
• WHEN:  April 15-17 2022 
• WHAT: Road riding

This event happens over Easter weekend in the lovely ‘hill country’ of Texas. While the Friday and Saturday rides are fully supported (you’re on your own on Sunday), there are no mass starts, so you’re free to ride out when you want. You can choose from a variety of route options. All rides offer cue sheets, maps, road markings, and GPS files. They also offer a beer garden, a game night of washers or sand volleyball, food trucks, and live music. RV camping is available at Kerrville-Schreiner Park, about 2 miles from the ride starts and right on the Guadalupe River.

Cycle Zydeco:

• WHERE: LaFayette, Louisiana
• WHEN:  April 20-24 2022
• WHAT: Road riding

Cycle Zydeco takes place in the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole Country. The event proudly lists its priorities in this order: 1) Eat, 2) Dance, 3) Drink, 4) Ride Bikes. RVers can stay right at Beaver Park in Lafayette (full hookup sites are available), however not all the rides start and end in Lafayette so you’ll end up taking shuttles a couple times to/from the campground. Otherwise, you can move your RV to the other ride location (Park Pont Breaux) to avoid any shuttling.

Spring Tune-Up:

• WHERE: Sunflower Farm, Rutledge Georgia
• WHEN: April 16-18 2021 (2022 dates TBD)
• WHAT: Road riding

Spring Tune-Up is held on a scenic, rural farm that makes a perfect base camp for three days of idyllic Georgia road riding. While there are no hookups for RVs, they offer free RV dry camping for attendees right at the farm. The daily bike rides all follow set routes and start times, though the schedule isn’t strict. There’s also live music, beer vendors, and an evening community campfire.

North Carolina Coastal Ride:

• WHERE: Washington, North Carolina
• WHEN: April 23-25 2021 (2022 dates TBD)
• WHAT: Road riding

This is a family-friendly, super casual event that offers daily rides, at your own leisure, ranging from 5-100 miles. All rides begin and end at the lovely waterfront Festival Park venue. Dry camping is available right there, too. If you require full hookups, a few miles away you’ll find: Tranter’s Creek Resort (www.tranterscreekresort.com) and Twin Lakes Resort (Twin Lakes Resort). After riding, you can explore the town’s boutiques and restaurants, or go paddle-boarding or kayaking.

Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic:

• WHERE: College, Pennsylvania
• WHEN: May 25-29 2021 (Sold out for 2021, so register early for 2022!)
• WHAT: Mountain Biking

This is actually a stage race, although it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The atmosphere is more like summer camp for mountain bikers, minus the camp counselors thwarting your fun. It’s even held at a Scout Camp, adding to the whole summer camp vibe. The pretty Allegheny Mountains setting offers a swimming pool and camp lake, as well as nearby hiking, too. There are some full-hookups RV spots available right on-site, and unlimited dry camping options.

Horsey Hundred

• WHERE: Georgetown, Kentucky
• WHEN: May 28-30 2021 (This one fills; register early!)
• WHAT: Road riding

This ride had me at “smooth roads.” With the venue based right at Georgetown College, this a chance to experience the charming Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. After choosing which route you want to do each day (25 miles on up to 100) you’ll ride along the area’s beautiful rolling hills, river palisades, and through charming small towns. The venue also offers cycling-related vendors, food trucks and entertainment options throughout the weekend. There are RV spots available, but no hookups.

Paso Robles Cycling Festival:

• WHERE: Paso Robles, California
• WHEN: May 28-31 2021
• WHAT: Road riding

The Paso Robles area is simply awesome for road cycling, and this festival takes full advantage of the region’s beautiful bike-friendly roads. This family-friendly event, from its expo area to its wine and beer tasting events, is jam-packed with both on and off the bike activities. The venue for the festival is the Paso Robles fairgrounds which offers full hookup RV spots, as well as electric-only and dry camping options, too.

Art of Survival Century:

• WHERE: Tulelake, California
• WHEN: May 29-30 2021
• WHAT: Road, Mountain, Gravel

The rides at this event will pass through the Lava Beds National Monument, an incredible volcanic landscape with cinder cones, expansive black lava flows and more than 700 lava tube caves. Day one, choose from 3 road rides or one mountain biking route. Day two, choose a 50 or 70 mile gravel ride, or an 8 mile family paved ride. Traffic is light in the area and the rides are fairly flat, making this beginner and family friendly (there’s also a bike rodeo event led by CA Highway Patrol!). At each rest stop, you’ll experience ranger/historian led talks highlighting the history, geography, environmental issues and geology of the area. RV camping is available at Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds, with limited spots with hookups, and plenty of space for dry camping.

CampoVelo:

• WHERE: Napa Valley, California
• WHEN: June 4-6 2021
• WHAT: Road riding

CampoVelo is equally about the food & libations as it is about the cycling. Be warned, though, it’s a “leave the kids at home” Napa Valley weekend. You’ll experience hands-on culinary demonstrations led by chefs, pro-cyclists, winemakers, and other notable people.  You can take a hike or a yoga class or participate in a myriad of other activities happening concurrently.  RV camping is available at both the Calistoga Fairgrounds as well as Calistoga RV Park.

24 Hours in the Canyon:

• WHERE: Canyon, Texas
• WHEN: June 4-6 2021
• WHAT: Road and Mountain

100% of proceeds go to a local Cancer Survivorship Center, which makes me very much want to do this one. The event is based right at the gorgeous Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and you camp and ride loops right on-site for however many hours you sign up for: 6, 12, or 24. The road loop is 5 miles and the mountain bike loops are 6 or 8 miles. You can choose to ride solo or with a team, and there are both non-competitive and competitive options.  There are some meals included, a movie night, and other fun festivities happening alongside this awesome fundraiser. Put this one on your short list, and perhaps I’ll see you there!

Bike Virginia Tour:

• WHERE: Farmville, Virginia
• WHEN: June 18-23 2021 (1- day and weekend-only options also available)
• WHAT: Road riding

This is more like a full-on vacation rather than simply a cycling event. You get a variety of route options each day, and there are excursions and activities planned around the rides. The event starts in Farmville with the first three days being based at Wilck’s Lake Park. After that, the basecamp moves to Twin Lakes State Park for a few days. So, you could move locations, or could also just stay at the original basecamp. Check with the organizers for more details on this.

North Carolina Mountain Ride:

• WHERE: Forest City, North Carolina
• WHEN: August 6-8 2021
• WHAT: Road riding

Forest City is a beautiful, quaint mountain town that makes a perfect basecamp for 3 days of friendly riding. The routes are especially scenic, meandering along rivers and streams through the Blue Ridge Mountains. After riding, you can explore the town and the local entertainment. There is dry camping available right at the event’s venue: Sumney Park.

Hotter’N Hell 100:

• WHERE: Wichita Falls, Texas 
• WHEN: August 26-29 2021
• WHAT: Road, Mountain, Gravel

This “Texas ‘ride’ of passage” is a bucket list event for any cycling enthusiast. Not only are there ride options for any type and level of rider, there are also races you can watch or participate in! When you’re not riding, or spectating, you can check out one of the coolest bicycling consumer shows in the US… with over 90 vendors offering all sorts of cycling related products. Saturday’s mass start is kicked off with an Air Force fly-over and a ceremonial cannon blast. And for you true cycling masochists, sign up for the “Triple Threat”— where you’ll complete the mountain bike race on Friday, century road ride on Saturday, and the half marathon run on Sunday. Not insane enough for you? How about the Quadzilla! Do the Triple Threat AND add in the Saturday night 100k gravel grind… which means on Saturday alone you’d do 100 miles road and another 100k gravel. I’ll cheer you on as you leave on your evening gravel ride, and then I’ll join the sane cyclists for the Saturday evening pub crawl. Foodies will appreciate the “Finish Line Village”, where 25 restaurants from all over the region will have booths set up and various bands will be playing throughout the day. There are 100 RV spots with hookups at the venue, but they’re first come first served and they go quickly. If you’re not fast enough, no worries. There are unlimited spots for dry camping, and if you require hookups, there are RV parks within a couple miles of the venue.

Wydaho Rendezvous Teton Bike Festival:

• WHERE: Alta, Wyoming
• WHEN: September 3-6 2021
• WHAT: Mountain

This fantastic mountain bike fest is a fundraiser for Teton Valley Trails and Pathways, and offers not only a variety of group rides to choose from each day, but also an excellent array of skills clinics, as well as demo bikes to test. Festival camping, for both RV’s and tents, is available at right at the venue… Grand Targhee Resort, and is first come, first served. There are ‘evening shenanigans’ each night, too– their words, not mine. But who doesn’t love an event with evening shenanigans?

Bourbon Country Burn

• WHERE: Lexington, Kentucky
• WHEN: September 24-26 2021 (2-day option also available)
• WHAT: Road riding

The Burn — part bike tour, part bourbon festival — takes you on a ride tour of the bourbon distilleries and Thoroughbred horse farms nestled around the area’s rolling bluegrass hills. Daily distance options range from 20 – 100 miles and stop at up to six different distilleries. Back at Bourbon Base Camp, located at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground, enjoy live entertainment while you sip local bourbon from the same distilleries you biked to that day. Must be 21+. There are RV campsites right at the base camp.

Sea Otter Classic:

• WHERE: Monterey, California
• WHEN: October 7-10 2021
• WHAT: Road, MTB, Gravel

This is the cycling festival to top all cycling festivals… with something like 70,000 attendees each year. It’s not only RV-friendly, the camping experience is possibly the best part of Sea Otter. There are races going on all day, a huge expo area, demo bikes, friendly group rides, live music, beer, food vendors, stunt shows, and so much more. I’ve written about it before HERE, and we attend this one every year.

Hilly Hundred:

• WHERE: Ellettsville, Indiana
• WHEN: October 22-24 2021
• WHAT: Road

Join over 2,000 cyclists for a weekend of riding the scenic back roads of Owen and Green County. Each day offers two different routes, around 40 or 50 miles, with multiple sag stops and a lunch stop with live music. The venue is located at the Edgewood Schools campus, a part of the Richland-Bean Blossom Community Schools Corporation, and you can overnight in your RV right in the school’s parking lot (no hookups). There’s also a Bicycle Marketplace hosted by local bike shops, food options, and live entertainment offered throughout the weekend, along with some friendly contests (costume and photo).

So! There you have it.

Please help me keep this list up to date by sharing any changes you learn about or any new events not already listed! And if you do share event suggestions, can you also provide info on the RVing scene at the event, too? Thanks all! Happy riding!