More than 600 people signed up for Sustain Charlotte's Biketoberfest this year — and we had a blast riding with everyone through the Queen City on Oct. 30!

We got rained on a bit, but that didn't deter hundreds of cyclists from exploring Charlotte this year. Our long route went through South End, Sedgefield, Dilworth, midtown, and parts of uptown and the Historic West End. Our short route, meanwhile, focused on South End and the Rail Trail. Riders interacted with more than 20 sponsor stops along the route, getting stamps on passports that were later turned into raffle tickets for some great prizes, courtesy of many local businesses.* 

The grand prize went to Cam and James, a couple whose lucky ticket scored them a brand-new Specialized Sirrus 1.0 hybrid bike! 

Like usual, Triple C. Brewing Co. served as our official start and stop point and hosted the Biketoberfest after-party with music from Cosmic Collective and a special collaboration beer called the Oh Shift! IPA, named by one of our Facebook followers! 

Thank you to all our wonderful Biketoberfest route stops this year: Camp Gladiator, Mecklenburg County Solid Waste, Catawba Riverkeeper, Charlotte Cycles Sales Center, Metropolitan, AARP North Carolina, Sunlight Financial, Friends of Queens Park, ImaginOn, Charlotte Center City Partners (The Market at 7th Street), the city of Charlotte (CATS, CDOT, and the city planning department), Five Points Plaza (Jet's Pizza and Rita's Italian Ice), Blue Blaze Brewing Co., Midnight Mulligan Brewing Co., Rhino Market & Deli, Charlotte Regional Transportation Coalition, Craft Tasting Room & Bottle Shop/HopFly Brewing Co./Charlotte magazine, Good Earth Essentials, and Trolley Barn Fermentory & Food Hall.  

We also want to give a big shoutout to the sponsors who had booths at the official after-party at Triple C — Truist, Carter Bank & Trust, Sun Raised Foods, Lime, and Guayakí Yerba Mate — and our other big sponsors, Ally, Recover Brands, Lowe's Home Improvement, Bird, and Crescent Communities.

We want to point out that two of our sustaining sponsors this year, the city of Charlotte and Sunlight Financial, wrote guest blog posts for us. You can read those here and here. 

Last but not least: THANK YOU to all the folks who signed up. In addition to being all about fun, Biketoberfest is also an important fundraiser for Sustain Charlotte. Because of participants and sponsors, we were able to raise more than $80,000! Learn more about why we do what we do and how you can support our mission here. 

*All photos are by Grant Baldwin Photography. See more here. 

*The businesses who donated to our Biketoberfest raffle prizes this year include BikeSource, Trek of CLT, Allbirds, Level Fitness, Crown Town Compost, Anne Springs Close Greenway, Khali Yoga Center, Giordana Cycling, In Good Hands Bodywork, Backdrop Coffee, Lancasters BBQ, Inside-Out Sports Charlotte, Cycling Out Loud, Balanced Energy Reflexology, The Patio Farmer, Cabot Cheese, Queen City Grounds, Enderly Coffee, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee, Bang Energy, Birdsong Brewing Co., Petty Thieves Brewing Co., Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, Giddy Goat Roasters, Benny Ferrovia's, Golden Cow Creamery, Inspired Plastics, Early Girl Eatery, Bechtler Museum of Art, and Shake Shack.