Nearly 400 cyclists participated in the Tour de Lebanon Valley bike ride, held June 8.
The tour, presented by the Lebanon Valley Bicycle Coalition, the Lebanon Valley Conservancy, and the Community Health Council of Lebanon County with support from Visit Lebanon Valley, raised over $10,000 total, half of which will be donated to the Lebanon Valley Conservancy land preservation program.
The Lebanon Valley Conservancy land preservation program protects natural and culturally important Lebanon County locations, with the conservancy having already preserved over 800 acres and hoping to double that by 2020.
Along with Lebanon residents, some participants traveled from as far away as New York and Florida.
Cyclists of various skill levels were able to participate, thanks to the three courses available; the 62-mile Metric Century course, the 25-mile course, and the 6-mile Family-Fun Ride Course. The courses all started from the Lebanon Valley Expo Center with staggered start times.
“The majority of riders chose the metric century route this year,” said Nikki Maurer, executive director of the Community Health Council and chair of the event. “Our family ride was also a highlight. We had quite a few young riders on the Rail Trail and even some parents with toddlers in tow!”
The courses took cyclists through local sights including Mount Gretna, the Iron Furnace, and preserved farmland. The family course followed the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.
Interested in participating in the Tour de Lebanon Valley next year? As of now, it is scheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2020.
An earlier version of this post described participants as “bikers,” a term generally reserved for motorcycle riders. We have updated the post to be more descriptive. Due to an error by the editor (sorry!) the event was also mistakenly referred to as the “first-ever”. We regret the error.