Have bike, will ride.

How far, exactly, remains to be determined when the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor hosts Bike for the Bridge in Jim Thorpe on Saturday.The event is sponsored by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Pocono Biking and Webfoot Digital.From the start, participants and their bikes will be shuttled from downtown Jim Thorpe to their starting destination by Pocono Biking.Those who participate will have the option to ride from the Black Diamond Trailhead to Jim Thorpe (36 miles), or from Rockport to Jim Thorpe (15 miles).The price is $29 per person, or $45 with a bike rental, and will include a D&L membership.To register, call Pocono Biking at 800-944-8392.All proceeds will benefit the completion of the D&L Trail, as well as building the pedestrian bridge at Jim Thorpe to connect to the Lehigh Canal Towpath and Weissport.The pedestrian bridge at Jim Thorpe is a critical connection linking all five counties of the D&L Trail. The completion of the bridge will create 130 miles of continuous trail.The bridge is expected to help reduce traffic congestion around Jim Thorpe and create a commuting alternative. This span will connect the D&L Trail across the Lehigh River.Tom Sexton, director of the Northeast Regional Office for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, said, "the bridge at Jim Thorpe epitomizes the state of the current shared-use pathway build-out in the nation.""Many communities are awaiting the construction of a relatively short span of a bridge over a waterway or road that will unite isolated trail segments and create a substantially longer trail," Sexton said. "In this case, construction of this one gap will not only unite two segments, but create a regional system of 165 miles. I don't know of a project with more at stake and that will be more impactful."The D&L is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that preserves the historic pathway that carried coal and iron from Wilkes-Barre to Philadelphia.Today, the D&L connects people to nature, culture, communities, recreation and other industrial heritage.