One of the smartest decisions organizers of weekday and weekend bicycle events have made is to offer participants short, medium and long distances instead of an all-or-nothing ride.

The coordinators of That Dam Ride to Confluence are no exception.

They were among the first to recognize the wisdom of giving bicyclists a choice of pedaling from Boston to Confluence (about 70 miles), from Connellsville to Confluence (about 30 miles) or taking a leisurely 12-mile ride in and around Confluence. More options equal more riders.

The seventh annual overnight ride to and from the town "where mountains touch rivers" is Sept. 10-11. There's about a 600-foot increase in elevation along the Great Allegheny Passage from Boston to Confluence. Weary legs will appreciate the gradual descent of the trail on the return trip Sunday.

The Mon Yough Trail Council, which sponsors the event, said there will be rest stops with water, energy drinks and snacks. The Tour de Confluence, which I've been leading since it was first offered in 2002, will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 10. We'll depart from the Hospitality Pavilion in the Outflow Campground at the base of the impressive 184-foot high earthen dam that gives the main ride its name. The pavilion is just across the bike and vehicular bridges from Confluence.

We'll stop along the trail at the historical marker that overlooks the confluence of the three waterways -- the Youghiogheny and Casselman rivers and Laurel Hill Creek -- that give the town its name. We'll pause again at the one-block-square community park in Confluence and take a 4-mile round-trip ride on the trail to Harnedsville.

The tour will include a pedal-by of the town's restaurants, including the new Chub's Pub on Latrobe Avenue; B&Bs and guest houses and services, including bicycle sales, rentals and repairs.

The $35 cost includes a rest stop at The Parker House guest house for energy drinks and snacks, a homemade pasta dinner at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Confluence, camping with a light breakfast Sept. 11 and an event T-shirt.

Karen Bilcsik, an integral part of the ride from its inception, said the tour was offered in response to requests from participants who pedal the longer rides. "They had spouses or partners who didn't ride much and they wanted them to be with them for the Saturday night events and join in the camping," she said.

For those starting in Boston or Connellsville, the $60 entry fee covers gear transport, refreshments, two lunches, dinner, camping at the Outflow Campground at the base of the dam, breakfast and a T-shirt.

There will be a drawing for a variety of prizes the evening of Sept. 10, including a new bicycle.

Mike Bilcsik, Karen's husband, a veteran bicyclist and a That Dam Ride organizer from its beginning, said recreational bicyclists can prepare for the longer rides by pedaling two 6-mile rides and one 20-mile ride each week from now until a few days before the event. He also advised them to drink a lot of water, much more than they think they need.

The Mon Yough Trail Council uses the proceeds from the ride and the tour to fund trail maintenance and foster trail-related activities. Nine other non-profit organizations provide volunteer support and services and also benefit from the event. More than 300 riders participated last year.

For more information go to, www.thatdamride.org, e-mail, info@thatdamride.org or call, 412-754-1100, Mailbox 4. For more information about B&Bs and guest houses in and around Confluence, call the Confluence Tourism Association, 1-814-395-3452.

Funding the links

The U. S. House and Senate have approved funding for two major projects of the Great Allegheny Passage.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, and a longtime supporter of rail-trails, said the legislation includes $1.6 million to complete the final link of the Allegheny Highlands Trail in western Maryland, a section about 7 miles long that leads into Cumberland.

It also includes $800,000 to remove a dangerous crossing of a state road in Garrett, Somerset County. That project will include a bridge, a culvert under the road and some realignment of the trail.

The groups working on each trail are members of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, a coalition of seven rail-trail organizations located in Allegheny, Fayette, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania and Allegany County in Maryland.

Although both sections are expected to open later this year, trail officials in both states said trespassers will be prosecuted. Be patient.

For more information go to, www.atatrail.org, or call, 1-888-282-2453.

Bruni remembered

Thomas J. Bruni, who designed and built mountain, road and tandem bicycles in his home in Baltimore, died July 9. Police said Bruni, who was riding one of his bikes, didn't stop at a stop sign at an intersection and hit the passenger side of a Pontiac Trans Sport van.

Bruni, 54, a master welder, started Bruni bicycles in 1990.

"His forte was designing and building bikes, and he also loved trouble-shooting and finding solutions for mechanical and design problems," his wife, Therese Spadero, told the Baltimore Sun.

Bruni's bikes, fashioned out of British-made steel tubing instead of aluminum, carbon fiber or titanium, ranged from $950-$4,500. They weighed between 17.5 and 23 pounds and were highly prized by Americans and Europeans alike.

There were no services "because he believed in the Church of the Spoked Wheel," his wife said. "He'd say that every Sunday when we were out riding, taking in the countryside."