BONHAM, Tex. -- When fall rolls in, it often brings with it crisp weather and falling leaves. But Saturday in Bonham, it brought bicyclists, with about 1,500 riders spending the morning pedaling through the city for the 22nd Autumn in Bonham.

The more than 1,000 bicyclists passed through the starting point of the race, beginning their tour around Fannin County. Bonham Chamber of Commerce xecutive director Bill Jones says it's a great way to kick off the fall season, and provide a jolt to the city's economy.

"They're going to go all around spending some money and buying gas and buying food and all that, so it's a big impact. They'll probably spend at least $100 a day," says Jones.

Hurricane Ike is responsible for bringing about 400 of the riders to Saturday's race. The storm delayed Texas-Tough's charity ride. Their team members were excited to be able to finish what they started and join the chamber's event.

"We had over 350 police officers scheduled, and 250 volunteers. You just can't go tell all those people 'Well, we're going to do it in two weeks,' it just doesn't work like that. So, what they're doing is huge for us," says team member Geoff Godsey.

Some people are riding just for fun, like Myron Wilson of Melissa. He regularly competes in bike rides, but hasn't ever ridden in Bonham. He wanted to try the hilly terrain .

"Great way to end the biking season. Bonham's a beautiful area," says Wilson.

No matter who they are riding for, Jones says he's happy to have the riders in the area. He says he knows once they see how beautiful the area is, they'll be back.

"These are outdoors people and they really had rather come up here and ride out through by the lake, and out through the woods than to ride in the middle of Dallas, so we think that's our biggest draw," says Jones.

Jones doesn't expect the relationship between the chamber and Texas Tough to end this year. He hopes to see all of the riders return next year and watch the event grow again next year.