Up the Creek ride starts at 8 a.m.

Organizers say the weather could bring a record turnout for this year’s annual ride.

Roads into and out of Rome will be awash in color Saturday as cyclists from all over the region spread out from Rome for the annual Up the Creek bike rides.

Hundreds of riders will head out from the Town Green at 8 a.m. on rides ranging from 32 to 104 miles.

The annual ride is sponsored by Trails for Recreation and Economic Development, TRED, a group dedicated to making Rome more bike friendly.

Riders can choose between 32-, 53-, 71- and 104-mile routes. The latter will take cyclists into both Walker County and Chattooga County via some of the most scenic routes in Northwest Georgia.

For those who waited until the last minute to see what the weather might be, registration begins at 6:30 a.m. and will continue right up to 8 a.m. Late registration is $55.

Trey Smith, one of the event organizer said more than 500 riders are already registered and with the good weather forecast for Saturday he anticipated as many as 200 could sign up to ride at the last minute.

“We may set a record this year,” Smith said. He explained the overwhelming majority of the riders are from out of town. “The first guy that signed up online was from New York,” he said.

Smith said most of the riders are leisure riders and a lot of families participate in the event each year.

“They make Rome a family destination trip,” Smith said, point out that many families might only have one person participating in the long rides but other family members might be on bikes along the trails in town.

Somewhere between 50 and 100 serious riders are will be seeking to complete the 104-mile route in less than four hours.

“I would say 90 percent of the people are out for camaraderie and a good ride with good scenery,” Smith said.

All four routes use Broad Street to Riverside Parkway, the Armuchee Connector to Old Dalton Road and Warren Road near the Richard B. Russell Regional Airport. The routes then use Old Summerville Road to Floyd Springs Road up into the Pocket area north of Rome. At that point the routes spread out and meander through the countryside.

Support and gear stations are located all along the course to assist riders who may be having technical problems with their bikes.

Coming back to Rome, all four routes use the section of Old Dalton Road that brings riders by the LCCL Strawberry farm where riders are encouraged to stop and perhaps pick a few berries or enjoy some homemade strawberry ice cream.