Before a pedal was turned, the 2017 edition of the Pennsylvania Perimeter Ride Against Cancer was a record-setter.

According to ride organizer Bob Freed, 70 cyclists raised nearly $300,000 for the American Cancer Society and Dream Come True, far exceeding prior totals.“We’ve done this ride every other year since 1983 and have raised over $2 million for those two organizations,” Freed said Sunday before the riders gathered at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Palmerton to board buses bound for the ride’s starting point in New Hampshire. “It’s incredible to see the way this has grown over the years.”The ride will total six days and 540 miles with cyclists arriving back in Palmerton on Saturday.Freed, an Allentown school teacher, started the event in response to the cancer deaths of two family members and a friend.In 1983, the original ride was 1,000 miles around the perimeter of the state, which is how it got its name. Twenty-two cyclists participated in the first ride.Over the years, riders as young as 15 and as old as 60 have completed the journey. Each day, organizers distribute a daily cue sheet with a description of the day’s route highlighted by landmarks and distances. A day on the road usually begins at 7 a.m. and ends by 4 p.m. or earlier.Churches and schools along the way provide overnight lodging.Eighty-five percent of money raised is donated to the Lehigh Valley unit of the American Cancer Society with the remaining 15 percent going to Dream Come True.Locals Barry and Tara Hahn of Towamensing are again participating in the ride.“Your support financially and emotionally means so much to us as well as all those fighting this disease,” Tara wrote on their fundraising page. “Barry rides in memory of both his parents, who he lost 13 months apart and I am riding in memory of my sur-papa Ginder. Cancer doesn’t care who you are or what you mean to people.”Palmerton has been the traditional starting point for the ride.“On our first ride, one of my co-organizers was a Lutheran pastor named Paul Schoffstall and he was transferred from Allentown to Palmerton and allowed us to start there,” Freed said. “Mike Frost is now the pastor and has opened his arms and welcomed us back here again this year.”For updates on the ride, visit the Pennsylvania Perimeter Ride Against Cancer Facebook page.