With Rail Ride looming, volunteers are needed

MILLERTON — The powers that be behind the fifth annual Harlem Valley Rail Ride are putting out a call to all interested parties: Volunteers are needed — and in a big way — for the July 26 event.

Harlem Valley Rail Trail Administrative Director Lisa DeLeeuw is helping organize the event, along with Bike New York, an outfit that sponsors the five borough bicycle ride in New York City every year. That event consistently draws about 30,000 riders. She said the situation is fairly simple.

“We are looking for volunteers,†she said. “We could really use the help and it’s a fun day.â€

Last year roughly 2,000 riders showed up to partake in the Rail Ride, which has quickly become one of cyclists’ favorites in the area. It includes a series of rides ranging from 25 miles to 100 miles, starting from the Millerton trail head of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. Some of the rides take cyclists on paths meandering through the picturesque farmland and mountainous landscape of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The ride is “fully supported,†which means there are people riding the entire route in case riders need any assistance, with flat tires, directions, emergency water or snacks, etc.

“It’s a pleasure ride, not a race, and it’s a lot of fun,†said DeLeeuw. “Anyone from children and parents to the serious riders with the 100-mile ride, which is very challenging and tackles some of our best hills around here, can ride. It’s beautiful and to be able to ride 100 miles and have food along the way, and bathrooms along the way, is definitely a nice thing.â€

One of the best things about the event, according to DeLeeuw, is that it’s well planned.

“It’s so well organized,†she said, adding that Bike New York really knows how to do an event. “The start times are staggered for the five different rides. Volunteers organize themselves between the needs of Bike New York and the Rail Trail, it all works out.â€

For her purposes, volunteers are needed to station along the Rail Trail and at crossing points to warn riders they are coming to a crossing so they can slow down and dismount from their bikes; volunteers are also needed to keep a general watch on the Rail Trail so riders don’t go too fast and to warn trail users that there will be riders coming through. While DeLeeuw said she “would love†25 volunteers to assist her on the trail, she said there will probably be a need for nearly 100 volunteers to help with the entire event.

“That’s how many it takes to run the ride,†she said. “And anybody we recruit can do anything: registration, volunteer for parking, etc. We need to be very organized to get things going. We need volunteers to hand out water at the end of the ride, those are the main things. If people want to volunteer at rest stops they can do that, which is always fun.â€

People can also volunteer to do SAG, which is when volunteers ride the entire race along with those registered to ride, so they’re present to offer support the minute it’s needed. SAG volunteers have to be prepared to ride the whole race, however, and be confident of finishing strong.

All who volunteer at the Rail Ride will get a free T-shirt and lunch. The day begins at 7 a.m. and is expected to last until 5 or 6 p.m. There is a post-ride festival at Eddie Collins Field, which runs from roughly 11:30 a.m. to about 5 p.m. It offers music and food and booths of interest for cyclists. The festival will be smaller than it’s been in previous years. That’s because organizers have discovered that most riders are just too tired to participate in an extended activity after the ride. But still, the event is enough to give riders a taste of Millerton and the surrounding area and ideally bring them back in the future.

“It’s great. I feel it’s a very successful event,†DeLeeuw said. “It’s bringing people into Millerton, to show people Millerton and I believe a number of people come back. And people who come back generally contribute to the economy and for us, at the Rail Trail Association, to highlight the trail and to highlight the Harlem Valley, that’s great.â€

To learn more about how to volunteer for the Rail Ride, contact DeLeeuw at 518-789-9591, or send an e-mail to hvrta@fairpoint.net. For more on the ride itself, go online to bikenewyork.org.