4th Annual Cherry Ride

The 4th annual Cherry Ride is in the books as of last Saturday.  We woke up to a beautiful sunny day but before long the skies turned dark and gray and the wind and rain followed.  The ride was scheduled to start at 11 am at Jethro's in White Bear Lake but by 7:45 am, we already had cancellations due to the weather.  Registration for the ride started at 10 am with Michael's sister Kim and Lisa registering people and running the cherry store. Jethro's opened early for us so people could get breakfast and a Bloody Mary.  Due to rain and a delay in some people getting there, our ride started about an hour later than planned but we still had a great turnout.  A lot of us had our cherry gear on and we were ready to hit the road.

Michael's family

Selling cherry gear 

Before we headed out, Mark, an ordained minister, did a blessing of the bikes.  It was his first time doing this and he did an awesome job.

With the skies clearing and the sun shining, we took off through Mahtomedi and headed up north to Marine on the St. Croix to our first stop, Brookside Bar and Grill.  We had several more bikes that met up with us there.  Some had beverages and some had food and some stopped for a piece of chocolate next door at the St. Croix Chocolate Company before hopping back on the bikes and going further north.

We crossed the St. Croix river into Wisconsin in Osceola and went north up 35 on a Rustic Road and to St. Croix Falls.  We had a slight detour due to a missed turn (Ahem...Ray) but we recovered quickly and rode the River Road all the way to Wolf Creek Bar.

The turnaround 

 Most had a quick pop before deciding whether to stay or get back on the bike as the skies were getting very dark.  Some left early heading back before the rain actually started but it is hard to get a group to make a decision so by the time we decided to head out and try and beat the rain, it was already raining.

Some had rain gear and some didn't but either way, we headed back to Minnesota to Taylors Falls to Romayne's.  It was about a 20 minute ride and it rained the entire time.  I had rain gear so I barely got wet but others were soaked.  The rain only added to the experience and as Michael said, it's a lot easier to ride in the rain than it is to battle cancer.  Not that anyone was complaining about being wet, but that put it into perspective. 

Some people headed back to their homes after Romayne's but the rest of the group finished the ride to Meisters in Scandia.  The skies were gray and it was chilly on the way there but no more rain on the bike for the rest of the night.  

After Meisters, Michael and I completed our day with a trip to the cemetery to say hello to Cherrie.  She was the cherry on top of a perfect day.

The Cherry Ride was a complete success as always.  We had 32 bikes with us this year and we raised $935 in addition to one donation going directly to the American Liver Foundation and some more possibly rolling in.  I want to thank the following people for coming along on this ride and making it successful:

Johnny, Marcia, John Jr., Jana, Fonzie (Greg), Randy, Ray, Dolly, Allie, Eric, Sean, Beth, Mark, Becky, Tom, Jody, Jim, Lorrie, Lynn, Bobby, Chris, Michelle, Kayla, Kim, Greg, Loren, Michelle, Joe, Showdy, Jerry, Corey, Ryan, Brian, Murad, Jenny, Jeremy, Amber, Andrew, Billy, Mike, Nakia, Mike, Steve, Rob, Kim and Brian. 

Thanks to those that drove up to Jethro's to help and to see us off:

Karen, Lisa, Tiana, Craig, Scott, Julie, Tim and Samantha.

Thanks to Ray for planning the route and being our guide.

Special thanks to Johnny, Sean and Jana for being our road marshalls and keeping us safe. 

Thank you to Michael for creating the Cherry Ride and designing great pins. 

Bikers love their pins!

My role for the Cherry Ride is to design the flyer, brainstorm with Michael for ideas and improvements from each year to the next and to take photos and capture the day.  I really wanted to take a photo of everyone on their bike and I did get most of you but there are a few I didn't and I'm really sorry for that.  Thanks to you all and see you next year! 

Mike and Nakia

Sean

Ray and Dolly

Ray and Kayla

Mark and Becky

Chris and Michelle

Rob

Johnny Jr. 

Eric and Allie

Jeremy and Jenny

Andrew and Amber

Joe

Marcia

Loren and Michelle

Beth

Fonzie- My favorite picture of the day!

Bobby

Jim and Lorrie

Mike

Lynn

Billy

Randy

Showdy and Jerry

Corey

Tom and Jody

Jana

Ryan, Brian and Murad

Michael and me 

Check out the Cherry Rides of the past:

2010
2009
2008

Last but not least, one of the riders, Joe put together an awesome video of the day.  Thank you so much for doing this Joe!