A late rush to the sign-up sheet pushed the number of riders over 200 for the second "Bike For The Bridge" event along the D&L trail on Sunday.

Blue skies and a nearly picture perfect afternoon greeted riders as they departed Jim Thorpe on shuttles for one of two starting points, the Black Diamond trailhead or Rockport.Funds raised from the ride, which officials estimate will be over $5,000, will go toward engineering and consulting costs for a pedestrian bridge in downtown Jim Thorpe.According to Delaware and LehighNational Heritage Corridor President Elissa M. Garofalo, the $3.1 million bridge will connect the D&L trail in Jim Thorpe to the Weissport section and link all five counties of the trail."It's been a great day and everyone I've talked to had a wonderful ride," said Garofalo, who herself completed the ride. "A lot of different age groups and regions of the state and country have been represented here today."The final number of participants was a great surprise to D&L officials as only around 75 were signed up with a little over a week remaining until the ride, according to Claire Sadler, conservation coordinator."I guess they waited to see the forecast and it worked out perfectly," Sadler said.Riders as far away as Indiana came out to support the cause, but it will be local riders like Louann and Llewellyn Williams of Lehighton, who use it the most."The trail is just so beautiful and it's great to support this cause," Williams, who rode from Rockport, said.After the ride, a build-your-own taco station was setup at Pocono Biking, giving participants a chance to relax and cool down."I think it's awesome that they are putting up this bridge," said rider Kimberly Hedrick, of Zionsville. "This is a great section of the trail and it's going to be great to finally be able to go from one end to the other.I'm glad I was able to come out and support this."In mid-November 2014, Carbon County was awarded $2.1 million to install the prefabricated pedestrian bridge, which will link the Black Diamond trailhead to Cementon.Garofalo expects the project to go out to bid by March 2016 and be constructed later that year.But, before the shovel hits the ground, riders may be in store for another fundraising trip down the trail."We were just talking about that and I think we may do something in November," Garofalo said. "We did a ride last fall and that brought out the most dedicated supporters because it was cold."Many of Sunday's participants said they don't need much of an excuse to bike the trail and would be happy to support the cause again.