Local motorists will want to keep an extra-close eye out for bicyclists this weekend -- 130 of them to be exact. That's how many cyclists are expected to take part in the annual Habitat 500 bike ride in support of Habitat for Humanity.
As participants pedal their way into Cloquet today -- probably between 2-3 p.m. -- they will be concluding Day 6 of a seven-day, 500-mile trek through Northeastern Minnesota. The day's 80-mile ride will take them from Hibbing High School to their overnight stop at Cloquet High School.
The group will enter the area from the north along Canosia Road, turning onto North Cloquet Road until it intersects Highway 33, where they will head south across the bridge, circle around to Avenue B and eventually work their way up 13th Street to Prospect Avenue and then on to the high school. Dinner for the riders will be provided that night by Zion Lutheran Church of Cloquet.
The final leg of the ride will begin Saturday morning with breakfast at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. The group will then head out of town along Washington Avenue and Highway 45 to Carlton. There, they will pick up County Road 3, turn left onto County Road 4 and eventually head down Highway 23 and on to their final destination in Sandstone, where the ride also began.
Each rider taking part raises an average of $2,600 in support of Habitat for Humanity. In the past 17 years, the Habitat 500 has raised over $3.5 million in support of Habitat's affiliates throughout the world.
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Nine riders from the Cloquet-Duluth area are riding in this year's event, with the goal of raising $10,000 for the Western Lake Superior Habitat affiliate.
Last year, local riders raised $9,953 for local Habitat programs, helping repair an existing home and build two Habitat homes in Carlton County. In 2010, the Western Lake Superior Habitat affiliate is expanding its activities through its new "A Brush With Kindness" program, designed to help low-income homeowners make necessary exterior repairs to their homes.
For more information on the ride or on Habitat for Humanity, visit habitat500.org or habitatduluth.org .
