New Jersey Road Club Sponsors Weekend Cycling Festival

The New Jersey Road Club has assumed primary sponsorship of Dim Tim's Almost Annual New Year's Day Ride, a Central New Jersey holiday tradition since 1992.

This year, the Ride has been expanded to two events under NJRC sponsorship and has been renamed Dim Tim's Almost Annual New Year's Weekend Cycling Festival Presented by the New Jersey Road Club.

The weekend will feature the final ride of 2005 on New Year's Eve, Saturday, Dec. 31 at 11 a.m. leaving from the parking lot on the Harrison Street side of Princeton Shopping Center. The day will feature flat-to-rolling rides of 20 and 30 miles, with an optional climb of Coppermine Road, which is off Canal Road in Franklin Township.

Living up to the "Almost" part of its monicker and in deference to a scheduling conflict involving the ride's founder, the first ride of the New Year will be Monday, Jan. 2 (the day most people will have off since New Year's Day is on a Sunday), also leaving at 11 a.m. from Princeton Shopping Center. This event will offer gently rolling-to-rolling rides of 20 and 30 miles with an optional climb to be named later.

A word on weather: Both events in Dim Tim's Almost Annual New Year's Weekend Cycling Festival Presented by the New Jersey Road Club will be held no matter the temperature or wind chill factor. The rides will only be canceled if there is ice on the roadways or in the event of a steady rainfall that shows no sign of ending during the afternoon. Check the NJRC Website for up-to-the minute news on possible cancellations.

Post-ride beverages will be provided and restaurants in the Shopping Center will be open for dining before or after the ride.

Presented each year since 1992 when conditions allowed, Dim Tim's Almost Annual New Year's Day Ride is one of the area's longest-running winter cycling events. Over the years, attendance has varied between two and 60 riders. The coldest edition was in 1995, when wind chill factors in the minus 20-degree range forced four cyclists to shorten the ride after eight miles. Last year's ride, held in sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, drew 60 riders and a three-member support team.

Princeton Shopping Center is at 301 N. Harrison St. in Princeton Township. For directions, visit www.princetonshoppingcenter.com