The Dick Melloni Youth Foundation 10th annual Fifty-Five Charity bicycle, held Sunday, September 18, brought in approximately $16,000 for the organization.

"Everything really went off nice," said John Scheub, who co-founded the charity 55-mile bike ride in 2001 with fellow Board of Director member Kim Melloni. "It was a beautiful day."

The ride began with a pedal along the Cape Cod Canal, headed through the Myles Standish State Forest, rolled through Onset, and ended on the Cape Cod Canal where it began.

The foundation, named for Richard H. Melloni, a former Wareham fire chief who died suddenly in 1993, was formed to support the health and education of area youth.

The bicycle ride fundraiser helps the foundation pay for its many programs, including a literacy program in which books are given to children at regularly scheduled "well-child" doctor visits, and Lids-4-Kids, an initiative to provide bicycle helmets to area youth in an effort to prevent cycling-related head injuries.

The organization's Family Fun Ride, new this year to the fundraiser, was also successful, said Scheub. About 30 children participated in that part of the ride, which took families on a ride down the Cape Cod Canal for anywhere from one to 14 miles depending on the participants' preference and skill-level.

Scheub and Melloni said they hope that aspect of the ride will continue to gain momentum.

Next year, the organizers say they plan to offer distance options to attract participants who may not want to ride the whole 55 miles.

For more information about the foundation and its upcoming fundraisers, visit www.dmyf.org.