Bicycles and birds will come together in Louisa County this weekend.

Louisa County Trail Council, Louisa County Conservation, and the Port Louisa National Refuge are hosting a “Raptor Bicycle Ride” this Saturday starting at 9 a.m. The free ride starts at Toolesboro Mounds and goes to the Port Louisa National Refuge. Cyclists can then attend the RARE – Raptor Advocacy, Rehabilitation and Education event at 10 a.m., which is free and open to the public.

Louisa County Conservation Executive Director Katie Hammond describes the raptors that will be viewed live, “The birds that they have are their advocates. They are birds that have been injured one way or another, and are not able to be released because of an injury. So they might have a broken wing that can’t be fixed or they might not be able to see. And so any birds that they can rehab and put back into the wild they do, but sometimes they just get species that are injured too bad to where they wouldn’t be able to survive.”

Those who attend the RARE presentation and cycle back to Toolesboro Mounds can register to win gift certificates. The 12.8-mile Raptor Ride will highlight the newly paved six-foot wide bike shoulder on the northbound lane of County Road X61, allowing cyclists to have a safer ride along the scenic section of the Great River Road/Mississippi River Trail.