(09/08/06) MIDDLETOWN ? New Jersey?s finest kicked off of a four-day bicycle tour Friday benefiting families of those killed in the World Trade Center attacks.

Tour de Force includes 270 miles of terrain, embarking from ground zero in lower Manhattan Friday and ending at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Monday. NJ state police officers are among the 105 cyclists taking part in the fundraiser that raised over $52,000 last year. Middletown Lt. Joe Capriotti says he participates in Tour de Force in memory of the 37 Middletown residents who lost their lives on 9/11.

After the first leg of the tour, which includes a ferry and two bridges spanning 22 miles, the participants will take southbound Interstate-95 for a flat ride throughout most of the remaining 250 miles. They will arrive at the Pentagon on 9/11.