LaCrosse hosts cross-county bike riders from Rutgers University, New Jersey

Eleven cross-country bicycle riders from Rutgers University, N. J., made an overnight stop at LaCrosse Aug. 7 as part of a 3,500-mile cross country trip. Officially notified that LaCrosse was on the chart for an overnight stop, LaCrosse residents developed a plan for greeting and hosting the riders who are making the trip to bring attention to the hunger problem in the United States.

Lana Myers and Leslie Thompson organized the reception.

The riders departed Spokane last Wednesday on the Fish Lake Trail and rode as far as Cheney where they followed county roads south. Their final stint was on the Winona South Road. Total distance of the ride was approximately 79 miles.

They arrived ahead of schedule at LaCrosse Wednesday.

After a shade stop at the Kennedy residence on Leslie Ave., they rode over to the LaCrosse Park where they were greeted by residents and shared a potluck dinner served in the park pavilion.

The group includes seven female and four male riders. They also travel with two escort vehicles.

They rode the Centennial Trail from Coeur d'Alene to Spokane Monday, stayed in Spokane to do volunteer work on Tuesday and then headed for LaCrosse early Wednesday.

Day-to-day routes on the ride are loaded on applications on iPhones carried by the riders.

One change in the route Wednesday was a departure from Columbia Plateau Trail, which is the former SPS railroad route. They had been booked to ride the route to Lamont, but the rail route has not been surfaced north of Lamont and could not be ridden with the road bikes used by the group.

The LaCrosse swim pool was turned over to the riders after the potluck dinner.

They departed Thursday for Pasco.