Edgewood 80 Backroads bike tour

EDGEWOOD, Texas -- The fourth annual Edgewood 80 Backroads Bike Tour is scheduled for April 21 and hundreds of cycling enthusiasts are expected to be in this historic East Texas town for a day of bicycle tours traversing the rolling terrain of four counties.

Sponsored by the Edgewood Heritage Society and Edgewood Lions Club, this year's event offers five tours ranging from 16- to 100-mile treks through scenic backwoods and villages beginning and ending at Edgewood Heritage Park. Cost of the tours are $30 the day of the event.

Registration is from 7 to 9 a.m. in downtown Edgewood at Heritage Park. Tours begin at 9 a.m. and start and finish at the park. Rest stops and refreshments are located every 10 miles and lunch is provided at the finish line.

Proceeds from the tour benefit the Edgewood Lions Club and Edgewood Heritage Park Museum.

Edgewood is a small rural community located 50 miles east of Dallas on historic Highway 80, the beginning of the "East Texas timberline." Bike tours track the rolling hardwood and pine forests of Van Zandt, Rains, Wood and Smith Counties and the charming, historic villages of the area. The center of all Edgewood 80 activities is the Heritage Park Museum in downtown Edgewood, an outdoor architectural showcase that represents rural Van Zandt County in the early 1900s.

Tour information and registration is available by calling 903-896-4267 or 903- 896-1480 and by e-mail at info@edgewood80.com. Visit the Edgewood 80 website at www.edgewood80.com.