Bicycle Sundays on the Bronx River Parkway kicks off with 50th anniversary event

The Westchester Parks Foundation is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bicycle Sundays on the Bronx River Parkway with a season kickoff event at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 3.

Bicycle enthusiasts will gather Friday at the Westchester County Center in White Plains to celebrate and prepare for the 13-mile course that opens Sunday, May 5.

Westchester County bicyclists and others have been participating in Bicycle Sundays every week in May, June and September since 1974. The event has been hugely popular, drawing many families and walkers, joggers and other exercise enthusiasts of all ages.

An estimated 60,000 people participate each year.

The program was threatened by budget cuts several times during its early years, but private sponsorships allowed it to continue. The Westchester Parks Foundation, along with sponsors like Con Edison and New York Presbyterian Hospital, have funded the program since 2012.

Each Sunday during the season, a 13-mile stretch of the Bronx River Parkway closes to cars between the Westchester County Center in White Plains and Scarsdale Road in Yonkers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The May 3 event is rain or shine and admission is free. Admission is also free for weekly Bicycle Sundays and registration is not required. For more information, visit the Bicycle Sundays website.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester Parks celebrates 50 years of Bicycle Sundays