HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — As a beautiful full moon inched its way higher in the darkening sky Saturday night, the bicyclists began arriving for the 45-minute ride along a 6-mile route along the Lawrence Hopewell Trail through Mercer Meadows.
The estimated turnout for the second annual Full Moon Ride, co-hosted by the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail and the Mercer County Park Commission, was 670 cyclists from Mercer County and beyond.
“Without a hitch,” was the way Mercer County Park Commission Executive Director Kevin Bannon described the night.
“An awesome adventure,” said Jay Watson, the LHT board member who conceived of the event celebrating cycling, the outdoors and astronomy. He noted that with the enthusiastic and generous support of the park commission leadership and rangers, as well as dozens of volunteers from the LHT board and its friends, the ride along Rosedale Lake, under tree canopied park sections and over to the Pole Farm, was safe and enjoyable.
Local bike shops and ice creameries were on hand to tend to cyclists’ every need from a quick bike tune up to a sweet reward at the end of the ride.
The Lawrence Hopewell Trail (LHT) is a 20-mile-plus bicycle and pedestrian trail and transportation corridor through public and private land in Lawrence and Hopewell townships. The idea for the trail grew out of a commitment to improving the quality of life for all of those who work in the region.
The LHT supports an active, livable and sustainable community with alternative forms of transportation to reduce the reliance on automobiles. It also promotes health and fitness, recreation and outdoor education.
The LHT is a key member of the Circuit Coalition, a 750-mile network of bicycle and pedestrian trails connecting people to jobs, communities, and parks in the greater Philadelphia region. For more information about the LHT, visit www.lhtrail.org.
