To the editor:

It may have been Feb. 5, but the heart of winter was a fabulous day to ride a bike in Saranac Lake thanks to the efforts of the good people at Dewey Mountain Recreation Center and the quirkily brilliant brains of Jack Drury and Bob Seidenstein.

For the first time, Dewey Mountain hosted the Empire State Winter Games Winter Bike races that morning with fat bike riders ages 6 to 68 ripping around prime conditions on Keough’s K and Cookie Monster thanks to the incredible support of the town of Harrietstown and the “Dew Crew.” As one rider, from Massachusetts told me after the race, “this was one of the greatest fat bike races I’ve ever participated in.”

An hour and a half after the last racer crossed the Dewey Mountain finish, around 100 cyclists from all over the North Country — and some Empire State Winter Games participants — donned costumes and hit the downtown streets for a cycling celebration fitting of our Decidedly Different village. Needless to say, the Blue Buns Wheel-a-Palooza was an instant hit and no doubt will grow exponentially next winter. And it should. It’s a great idea that promotes creativity and activity. In other words, good, clean, fun!

This, my friends, is a healthy culture home grown from the joy that is riding a bicycle. It’s Barkeater Trails Alliance developing multi-use trail networks around the community. It’s Saranac Lake Innovative Cycling Kids creating a family focused mountain bike festival at Mt. Pisgah and using the funds generated to develop a community bike park. It’s the Adirondack Rail Trail Association diligently working over a decade to connect our communities by people power. Let’s keep it rolling.

Thanks to the Rail Trail, our communities are about to see a lot more bikes. It’s time to plan for it and make their experience safe and fun. I’m all in to help.

Doug Haney

Bike Adirondacks

Saranac Lake