Evesham Township offers its roads to thousands of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians every day, and while it’s not often that someone thanks the township for the privilege, that’s exactly what happened at the most recent meeting of the Evesham Township Council.
Jeff Craighead, a member of the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, spoke before council and thanked the township for once again offering Evesham’s roads for this year’s Bike MS: City to Shore Ride on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25.
The annual ride serves as a major fundraiser for Craighead’s chapter of the National MS Society, with about 7,000 cyclists riding from Cherry Hill on a scenic tour of Southern New Jersey before eventually completing the journey in Ocean City.
“There’s only a few routes to get from Cherry Hill to Ocean City with more than 7,000 cyclists, so every community is really important to us and, we want to thank you for that,” Craighead said.
According to Craighead, the society is working the Evesham Township Police Department to ensure the riders and residents of Evesham are as safe as possible during the event. With that safety in mind, Craighead said plans for the ride include restricting traffic on Kettle Run Road between Braddock Mill Road and Sycamore Avenue to local traffic only on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 6 to 9:30 a.m.
Craighead said Evesham will see its majority of riders during those hours, with only about 50 percent making the return trip home the next day on Sunday, usually spread out between the hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Other roads cyclists will use include Braddock Mill Road, Tomlinson Mill Road, Sycamore Avenue, Hopewell Road, Raymond Avenue and Dock Road.
“Our message to our riders is courtesy,” Craighead told council. “We want to be those welcomed guests in your community, so we’re trying to hammer home the point with our riders to be courteous to the communities, to treat the communities with respect, because we respect the fact that you let us come in here.”
In addition to the City to Shore ride, Craighead also spoke about National Multiple Sclerosis Society itself, which provides services and information to 16,000 residents of the Delaware Valley and is using about $50 million to fund 300 research projects.
Craighead said about $4 million of that comes from his Delaware Valley chapter, and much of that comes from the annual City to Shore ride. Last year alone, the ride raised $5.7 million despite ultimately being cancelled due to a state of emergency being declared as a result of Hurricane Joaquin.
Despite falling short of the chapter’s $6 million goal, Craighead said he and the other cyclists were ready to get back out riding and raising money with this year’s event.
“We’re ready to get after it this year,” Craighead said.
Those looking to learn more about the upcoming Bike MS: City to Shore ride or who want to register as a rider or volunteer can call 1 (800) 445-BIKE or visit www.bikems.org.
