One Lehighton couple recently celebrated their 78th birthdays in a unique way: By riding their bicycles for 78 miles.

George and Nancy Markley, who both turned 78 earlier this year, biked the D&L Trail from Lehighton to Cementon, a 39-mile trip that they complete often, twice in the same day."This isn't new to us. We've been biking for over 50 years," said Nancy, who noted that they began biking when their youngest was small enough to ride in a bike carrier.She added that while this is likely the longest ride they've taken to date, it's not the first time they've marked a milestone birthday with a bike ride. They completed 70- and 75-mile rides for their 70th and 75th birthdays as well, both on New Jersey trails."We do a number of longer rides, 40 to 45 miles, in the summer," said Nancy, adding that most rides take about four hours to complete. "I tell people that it's not worthwhile to get my bike out of the garage to do 10 miles."They completed the 78-mile ride in roughly eight hours, which included time to rest, eat and enjoy the day.The trip was filled with the beauty of nature, including what George believes was a newly born fawn wobbling near the trail."That's one of the reasons we bike, to see things like that," he said. "It's wonderful. We like to take our time and stop to look at things."Both George and Nancy noted that while they've ridden their bikes in nearly every state, including Acadia National Park in Maine and as far as Alaska, the number of nice trails in this area has increased dramatically since they began biking 50 years ago. They frequently ride the Ironton Rail Trail and up to the Lehigh Gorge."There are a lot of really nice trails in our area. You don't have to go far," said Nancy. "For anybody who wants to bike, the trails around here are well-kept and the people you meet are so nice. We've been staying close to home since the trail from Lehighton to Cementon was finished."She noted that one benefit of the Rails to Trails paths is that they rarely have a grade steeper than 2 percent. You don't coast downhill at any point, but you also won't face any "monster" hills.George and Nancy are hoping to stay active enough to complete an 80-mile ride in two years."I'm looking forward to 80, I really am," said Nancy, laughing. "I have a goal that I will be riding bike when I'm 100."Both said they are fortunate to have healthy, long-lived family members, but that it's important to become active when you're young - and stay active as long as possible.The couple was surprised to see family members, including several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, waiting for them when they finished the ride in Lehighton."That was really nice to see," Nancy said.