Saturday marks the 13th edition of Royalton Community Radio’s Pedal Power to the People — a gravel bicycle ride that benefits the station and, lately, another community partner as well.
Individuals can donate on a sliding scale between $50 and $75 to get into the ride, which begins in Tunbridge and features three routes of varying length — 10, 18 and 30 miles.
“It’s not a competitive ride; it’s a very scenic ride — it’s scenic no matter what course you decide to take,” said Todd Tyson, the co-founder and station manager of Royalton Community Radio, which started in 2013 and is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization.
In the early days of Pedal Power to the People, the ride’s goal was to raise money for the station.
However, over the last three years, Royalton Community Radio has partnered with Fledge Fest, which its website describes as “an all-ages, community-minded music, food and arts event,” in Tunbridge.
Ultimately, riders who make a donation also receive admission to the community event, in addition to the ability to take part in the gravel ride.
While the ride has evolved over the years, it still benefits the station, Tyson said. While Tyson indicated financial benefit is minor, donations to take part in the gravel ride are split between Royalton Community Radio and Fledge Fest.
“If we got 20 riders and they, as an average … let’s say they pick $60 as their number … we’d roughly keep half of that … and our riders would get to go to this festival, which a lot of them may not have even known about,” he said.
“So there’s a little bit of money for us,” Tyson added, but maybe the bigger part, as he put it, is “we’re out in the community, doing a community event that’s paired with another community event.”
Notably, Royalton Community Radio is planning to carry four hours of the musical performances from Fledge Fest on their station.
“That’s the sort of exposure part; people are going to find out about us and about Fledge Fest in kind of a different, more community-vibe way,” Tyson said.
Individuals can register online in advance. Day-of registration at 213 Bicknell Hill Road in Tunbridge will also be offered starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
“This is not a race. There are a lot of gravel rides, where there are serious riders that are going to end up getting a plaque for being king of the mountain. … This is, I would say, more of a tour,” Tyson said.
For more information, visit https://www.royaltonradio.org/.
