Adults and children ages 12 up are invited to join hundreds of bicyclists on a six-mile, late-night ride through the open meadows and woods on Sunday, Aug. 21 during the Full Moon Bike Ride.
Sponsored by the Lawrence Hopewell Trail and the Mercer County Park Commission, the ride kicks off at 9:30 p.m., but riders should give themselves time to sign-in for the event. Registration online is strongly recommended and will speed up the preliminaries, according to Jay Watson, LHT board member and curator of the Full Moon Ride.
“We hope individuals and families will join us for this late night ride. From 9:30 p.m. on, riders will begin the six-mile trek as they arrive,” Watson said. “This ride takes cyclists through one of New Jersey’s premier open spaces, Mercer Meadows, via the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, which serves as the backbone of an extensive trail system in the park.”
From a starting gate at Rosedale Lake, riders will head to the Maidenhead Trail, on to the Twin Pines Trail, then back to Rosedale Park, in a ride expected to take about 45 minutes.
“We are very pleased to join with the Lawrence Hopewell Trail for the third year in a row, welcoming bicycling enthusiasts to our 1,600 acre park, which features scenic biking and walking opportunities through meadows and woodlands,” said Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes.
“The Mercer County Park Commission is dedicated to providing recreation opportunities and encouraging leisure time activities and preservation of open spaces, among other aims,” said Andrew R. Worek, president of the Mercer County Park Commission. “The LHT Full Moon Ride has become a wonderful annual event that brings residents out to see our parks in a different way and certainly at a different time of the day.”
At the bicycle ride, bike decorating will be encouraged and limited glow sticks will be provided to light up participants’ bikes. Cyclists are encouraged to use bicycle headlights for the late night ride, and helmets are required. Local ice cream vendors will be at the event, selling their frozen concoctions.
The participation charge is $10 per cyclist, $20 per family, with funds used to help defray LHT’s operating costs and helping fund further trail construction and maintenance. Riders are encouraged to print out the registration form they are asked to complete in advance of the ride. Registration can also be completed the evening of the ride, but those who choose to register on-site should factor in extra time for registration.
Should there be any question about weather impacting the ride, please visit the LHT website on Aug. 21 after 6 p.m. The LHT will post information about cancellation, should that be necessary.
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