Bicyclists head out on the Lawrence Community Bike Ride Saturday. The ride was hosted by the Lawrence Central Rotary Club and offered rides of 10, three and one mile.

About 200 bicyclists of all ages turned out Saturday morning for the Lawrence Community Bike Ride, hosted by the Lawrence Central Rotary Club.

Beginning at 8 a.m., bikers met at the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum, 5100 W. 27th St., to participate in either a 10-, three- or one-mile ride.

The club’s organizers took efforts to make sure the ride was safe by purchasing helmets for riders, securing volunteers and planning the ride along the South Lawrence Trafficway bicycle path, which is a paved surface and a car-free environment.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital volunteers helped fit the free bicycle helmets on participants and members of Lawrence’s professional biking club, GP VeloTek, helped participants with traffic control and road crossing. The Merc Coop provided healthy snacks.

Additionally, the Rotary Club recruited experts to help children with a training wheel takeoff station, where many children had their first experience biking without the extra help.

Lawrence Central Rotary Club President Carolyn DeSalvo said the purpose of the event was to provide community members a safe place to start getting more active.

“We wanted to give people the confidence to try a ride,” DeSalvo said. “Our goal is to promote community health.”

The next ride will be Sept. 20, when the club hosts its first fall community ride along the Burroughs Creek Trail in east Lawrence. The event is free and open to the public.