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My How They've Grown!

When the Central Bucks Bicycle Club first toured Bucks County’s covered bridges, the riders numbered 125. Last weekend more than 2,000 cyclists pedaled in the 22nd Annual Covered Bridges Ride.

Cars filled the field at Tinicum Park, where the ride began and ended. It was an amazing turnout on the overcast fall day, with bikers, many in gold covered bridges shirts, fill the back roads and the Delaware Canal towpath, some in large groups, some riding singly. Cyclists could choose their rides, from 20 to 63 miles, and over flat or hilly terrain. The tours, depending on the route, covered up to seven covered bridges.

Creating the 20- to 30-mile flat routes was a challenge for the ride planners. The 20-mile tour passed two covered bridges, the 30-mile route, three. Both routes took advantage of the Delaware Canal towpath and the longer route left Pennsylvania at Bulls Island Bridge and headed south on Route 29 to Stockton, N.J.

The 33-mile hilly ride included three covered bridges and farms with rolling hills. It started with a climb along Headquarters Road and Hollow Horn Road and settled into the ridge that runs parallel to the Delaware River.

None but the most experienced signed up for the 50-mile hilly ride. It climbed the scenic Upper Tinicum Church Road, descended to a valley and ascended again to a rest stop at Palisades School before a breather along Durham Road and Stony Garden Road. Bikers passed two of the four bridges on the tour after the 40-mile rest stop. The club calls the toughest ride the Metric Century Hilly Ride. It started with the uphill climb of the 50-milers but split off at Knecht’s Bridge. The riders cycled all way to Perkasie and the view of Moods Covered Bridge and on the homeward trail found two more covered bridges to bring up the total.

Part of the proceeds were earmarked for Windows of Hope, an organization that aids families affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks. The rest will go to the club’s operation and its advocacy efforts for cyclists. Staging the ride took a lot of volunteers from the club. They were needed for registration tables, rest stops and finish line help, serving lunch and organizing the event. To make sure the volunteers did not miss out on the tour of covered bridges, the club held a ride for them the week before the main event.

Wayne Siefert, special events coordinator for the club, has organized the Covered Bridges Ride since 1997. He talked at the Tinicum Park finish about the club’s growth. The club now has five ride coordinators who plan bicycle tours throughout the year. The club meets on the first Monday of the month in the Pearl S. Buck Room at the Bucks County Library Center, Doylestown. In October, Lisa Jones, a registered dietician, spoke about good nutrition for better biking.

The club will have its annual banquet November 16 at The Warrington. Members are advised to put on their dancing shoes for the evening.