First annual Ride the Hills the United Way Bike Ride, benefiting the East/Central Texas United Way, was held Oct. 31 and riders from East Texas, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Houston, College Station and North Dakota, including two riders who are stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, participated.

Routes of nine, 32, 60 and 100 miles were laid out over north Anderson County generally in an area bordered by Palestine, Bradford, Montalba, Frankston and Neches.

Dale Pletcher, president elect of the East/Central Texas United Way and an avid rider, organized the event. At the end of the ride, Pletcher said he expects the ridership to grow as more people hear about the challenging routes. "Many riders who thought they wanted to ride the 100 discovered early on how challenging the hills are and opted for shorter routes," Pletcher said.

The United Way partner agencies were invited to host rest stops and compete against one another for "best" rest stop as judged by the riders.

The East Texas Area Boy Scouts, CASA of Trinity Valley, Anderson County Champions for Children, the Palestine YMCA and Meals on Wheels responded.

Boy Scouts rest stop was judged to be the best. Celebrating 100 years of scouting, the rest stop featured a display of historical scouting uniforms and equipment, but the highlights were a pineapple upside down cake cooked on site in a Dutch oven and brownies held in orange rinds and baked in hot coals. The ride started and ended at the recently opened Senior Activity Center and home of Meals on Wheels.

Evaluations from riders included comments like, "beautiful ride", "volunteers were wonderful", "we loved the area, people are very friendly and helpful", "best volunteers ever for a bike rally", and "thanks to the police for their help". Almost universally the riders said they would be back and bring others.

The East/Central Texas United Way (formerly Palestine United Way) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization serving Anderson, Freestone, Leon and Limestone counties with 15 partner agencies that provided more than 20,000 people with assistance and support in the most recent annual report.