2012 Relay for Life to Include Motorcycle Ride

Expect Saucon Valley Relay for Life be a little louder in 2012, thanks to the revving of motorcycle engines in and around .

On Dec. 5, a representative for the local cancer charity went before Hellertown Borough Council to request permission for Relay to sponsor a Saturday, May 19 morning ride in memory of Brian Lambert, a 44-year-old Lower Saucon Township resident who died from the disease in 2010.

"There would be motorcycles riding through Hellertown," Raea Pereira explained, adding that the 9:30am ride will coincide with the start of the .

Pereira said organizers will probably need the assistance of the Hellertown Police Department in order to successfully stage the ride, which she said she expects to include 35 to 50 bikers.

"We would probably need a police presence," she said, adding that this is her first time planning such an event.

"I've never been involved with anything like this, either," admitted Police Chief Robert Shupp, who agreed to sit down with Pereira in order to ascertain what types of assistance will be needed from his department.

Pereira said Relay officials are also planning to meet with representatives from a local motorcycle club to help plan the ride.

The riders will tour the Saucon Valley and return to Dimmick Park at around 1pm, where they will enjoy a pig roast from 1 to 3pm, she added.

A motion by councilwoman Gail Nolf to allow the ride to take place, contingent upon the number of riders being capped at 50, was approved unanimously.

In light of the fact that this will be the first year the ride is held, Nolf said it would be wise to limit the number of riders.

"You don't want to be overwhelmed," she told Pereira, who is to report back to council on the planning of the event.