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Despite the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Westchester County will continue its “Bicycle Sundays” schedule, which has become a popular tradition each summer.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced this week that the tradition will continue this year, though it will look slightly different.
This year, cyclists will be required to wear protective face masks on the bicycle trail, which includes a stretch of the Bronx River Parkway between White Plains and Yonkers.
“This is not a mandatory requirement in the society but we’re going to make it mandatory if you’re going to be on that bicycle trail,” Latimer said, noting that if they are unable to maintain proper social distancing, the event will be shelved.
Each year since 1974, more than 60,000 participants have biked, walked and jogged on a 13.1-mile loop of the parkway from White Plains to Yonkers. The roadway will be closed from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays for several weeks in May, June, and September.
Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner, a bike enthusiast, said that when he got his start in government and politics in the 1970s, he served as the chair of the Task Force for Bikeways in Westchester, which is how Bicycle Sundays became a regular tradition.
"In 1973 we successfully lobbied the Westchester County Board of Legislators to appropriate funds for the first bikeway in Westchester," Feiner said of the paved path along the Bronx River Parkway, which many cyclists and runners continue to enjoy.”
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