Adults and youngsters aged 12 and up are invited to join hundreds of bicyclists expected to participate in a six-mile, late-night ride through the open meadows and dark woods lit by a full moon on Sunday, August 21. The third annual Full Moon Bike Ride will be held at Mercer Meadows.

Sponsored by the Lawrence Hopewell Trail (LHT) and the Mercer County Park Commission, the ride starts at 9:30 p.m., but riders should give themselves time to sign in for the event. Pre-registration at the LHT website, www.lhtrail.org, is strongly recommended and will speed up the preliminaries, according to Jay Watson, LHT board member and curator of the full moon ride.

“We hope individuals and families will join us for this late night ride. From 9:30 on, riders will begin the six-mile trek as they arrive,” Watson said. “This ride takes cyclists through one of New Jersey’s premier open spaces, Mercer Meadows, via the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, which serves as the backbone of an extensive trail system in the park.”

From a starting gate at Rosedale Lake, riders will head to the Maidenhead Trail, on to the Twin Pines Trail, then back to Rosedale Park, in a ride expected to take about 45 minutes. “We are very pleased to join with the Lawrence Hopewell Trail for the third year in a row, welcoming bicycling enthusiasts to our 1,600 acre park, which features scenic biking and walking opportunities through meadows and woodlands,” said Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes.

Bike decorating will be encouraged and a limited number of glow sticks will be provided. Cyclists are encouraged to use bicycle headlights for the late night ride, and helmets are required. Local ice cream vendors will be at the event.

The participation charge is $10 per cyclist, $20 per family, and the funds will be used to help defray LHT’s operating costs and further trail construction and maintenance costs. Riders are encouraged to print out and complete the registration form in advance of the ride. Registration can also be completed the evening of the ride, but riders who reister on-site should factor in extra time for the process.

For questions about weather, visit www.lhtrail.org.