With Christmas carols playing from his smartphone, Santa Claus, known to family and friends as Dennis Richardson, rides his bicycle and waves to passers-by Sunday morning on Route 4 in Auburn. “I do this every year,” Richardson said of his beard and red suit. He said he rides for Bikes for Tots and has ridden with Patrick Dempsey in the Dempsey Challenge. “I started riding when (Dempsey) challenged me to quit smoking,” he said. (Sun Journal photo by Abigail Austin)

(Sun Journal photo by Abigail Austin)