Community members can participate in a morning of countryside biking to help out local charities in the ninth annual Tour de Exchange hosted by Charleston’s Exchange Club at 6:30 a.m. Saturday at Charleston High School.

Harold Strangman, an Exchange Club member, said this year the Tour de Exchange is a 25-mile bike event in which participants will start at the Charleston High School and take a route that will pass through Westfield, a village 13 miles east of Charleston.

There, the bikers can stop and rest, as well as get water and fruit. Participants will be given a specific map of the route when they arrive.

The Tour de Exchange will start at 6:30 a.m., but participants can arrive anytime between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m., as the event will have a staggered start. The entry fee is $25 for adults and $10 for children who register the day of the event.

All of money collected will go straight to local organizations that help prevent child abuse.

Strangman said helping to prevent child abuse and raising awareness about it is the national project of the Exchange Club.

While attendance has fluctuated in the past, Strangman said he has received more calls this year about the event, which he said was encouraging.

He said he hopes the increased interest will translate into a larger turnout.

Strangman said another feature is that the Tour de Exchange will have SAG support on hand.

SAG stands for support and gear, meaning if a rider encounters a problem with his or her bike or becomes fatigued, an SAG driver will come to their aid.

Strangman said the idea for the Tour de Exchange spawned from the famous Tour de France race. He also said Charleston’s Exchange Club is unique in that it was the first club to hold an event like the Tour de Exchange in the state and possibly even nationally.

Strangman said Charleston’s Exchange club was featured in the national Exchange Club magazine, Exchange Today, for the Tour de Exchange.

Since then, Exchange Clubs as far away as Austin, Texas have held Tour de Exchange events.

According to the organization’s website, The Exchange Club is the nation’s oldest service organization with almost 20,000 members.

Charleston’s Exchange Club meets every at 7 a.m. Tuesday at What’s Cooking, located at 409 Seventh St. in Charleston.

Justin Skare can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].