Southern York County Life

Southern York librarian launches Ride for Reading

Cyclists welcome: 82-mile round trip to raise funds

Demi Fair has a doctorate in flute and taught music at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa. But it’s her role as director of the Southern York County Library she calls her “dream job.” Next weekend, she’ll combine her passion for libraries, a New Year’s resolution to get physically fit in 2006 and a strong community spirit in the first Ride for Reading fund-raiser.

Her goal: Bicycle 82 miles round trip, from York to Ashland, Md., to raise money for children’s programs and other projects at the Southern York County Library in Shrewsbury.

The event will run Saturday and Sunday along the Heritage Rail Trail and the Northern Central Railroad Trail in Maryland. Fair would like other residents to ride along for part of the trip, even if they can’t participate in the entire journey. And she’s hoping to turn the fund-raiser into an annual event.

Fair said her New Year’s resolution to become more physically fit was motivated in part by a family history of diabetes and cancer. She has been doing some cycling with her 7-year-old son, Joe, who will also be riding with her for a portion of the Ride for Reading event.

Needed a carrot: Setting personal goals is an important part of self-motivation, but sometimes it takes a special incentive to get moving, Fair said.

“Biking the trail has been a terrific way to meet people and become more active. The hardest part of my training was just getting out of the door in the first place,” she said. “Knowing that it could also benefit the library and our communities was the added ‘carrot’ that I needed.”

The event kicks off with registration from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday at the Colonial Court House at the corner of West Philadelphia Street and Pershing Avenue in York. There is no fee to participate; riders are encouraged to get sponsors. Fair is also seeking sponsors who will make donations on a per-mile basis, or donate $25 to sponsor a specific mile of the trail.

Fair said she plans to use the funds raised by the ride for new furnishings and decorations for the children’s portion of the library, including a mural by
local artists.

Dreams of ramp: She also dreams of constructing an access ramp to the library across the steep embankment that separates the library from a residential care facility for the elderly just behind the library.

Fair plans to bicycle from York to Ashland, Md., on Saturday and make the return trip on Sunday. She said she was drawn to bicycling on the rail trail by the little communities and relationships that form there. Each weekend, the rail trail sees hundreds of dedicated joggers, walkers and cyclists.

“I meet many of the same people each week on the trail,” she said.

Her goal for next year? To ride the whole route in one day instead of two.

-- Reach Nancy M. Ruppel at 854-1575 or news@yorkdis patch.com.

Join the Ride for Reading

The Ride for Reading runs 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Demi Fair, director of the Southern York County Library, will bicycle from York to Ashland, Md., on the Heritage Rail Trail and the Northern Central Railroad Trail.

A lunch of sandwiches and bottled water will be provided by the Friends of the Southern York County Library about noon on both days along the Heritage Rail Trial in New Freedom.

There is no fee for participants. Donations are accepted in any amount per mile, or at the suggested flat rate of $25 to sponsor a specific mile of the trail.

Registration for the event will be from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday at the Colonial Court House, at the corner of West Philadelphia Street and Pershing Avenue in York. Participants may choose to ride any portion of the York-Ashland route, on either day, or join Fair, who will depart at 8 a.m. Saturday.

For more information contact: Southern York County Library Friends, 80 Constitution Ave., Shrewsbury 17361; or call Fair at the library at (717) 235-4313 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. She can also be contacted at dfair@yorklibraries.org.

For information about Southern York County Library with a link to information on Ride for Reading and a map of the event route, go to www.yorklibraries.org/syc. Also see the Rail Trail’s Web site at http://ycwebserver.york-county.org/Parks/RailTrail.htm or www.bikewashington.org/trails/ncr/ncr.htm.

Source: The York Dispatch (we obtain permission for external material)
by NANCY M. RUPPEL
Posted by Dan Baldwin on 09/12/2006 at 11:06 AM in News

Send to a friend