Salem Museum in Salem, Virginia

A Winding, Rolling Route: America’s Bikecentennial (1976) Beyond the Blue Ridge

Salem Museum Speaker Series, Thursday July 9, 7pm

Zoom link HERE

Learn about Virginia’s history through cycling in “A Winding, Rolling Route: America’s Bikecentennial (1976) Beyond the Blue Ridge.” The free talk will be held Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Salem Museum.

Virginia Tech professor Tom Ewing will discuss TransAmerica Bike Route 76, a cycling trail created as part of the nation’s 1976 Bicentennial celebration. The route stretches from Yorktown to Astoria, Oregon. Ewing will explore how the trail intersects with community connections, public history, and recreational tourism, and how the routes in Virginia and beyond continue to offer engaging ways to experience cycling and history 50 years later. He will also note ongoing efforts in the region to promote cycling infrastructure.

Ewing is project director of Bike 76 VA, a Virginia Tech-led initiative that produces a podcast, weekly public essays, and funding for public exhibitions focused on historic biking tours across the Commonwealth. One such exhibition, created by Grace Kostrzebski under Ewing’s guidance, is on display at the Salem Museum. “On the Map: The History of Virginia Along Bikecentennial Route 76 Explored Through Maps” is located on the Museum’s ground floor through early fall.