The weather was hot and sticky on Saturday, July 14th for the 5th annual Cherry Ride. We started this year at Bennett's Chop and Railhouse in St. Paul. Before we started on the ride, riders and passengers could come to Bennett's and eat a complimentary breakfast buffet.
To our best count, there were 48-50 bikes that started with us at Bennett's with a handful more to join us at our stops.
We left the Monkey Bar at 5:30 pm. One of my favorite parts of the day is counting the money to see how successful and generous the riders were. This year we definitely broke a record. We had in surplus of 55 bikes at $20 a bike plus we sold merchandise to arrive at a grand total of $1,800! Considering that we raised a total of $2,000 for the last four years combined, this was a big success! Everything raised will go to the American Liver Foundation.
Kickstands were up at 11 am but before everyone got on their bikes, Mark did a blessing of the bikes and Michael read the Blessing of the Bikes prayer.
This post is of few words and tons of pictures.
First, this year's pin:
Our first stop was Beach Bar & Grill in Lakeland, MN. We stopped there for a drink while the manager played us a song on his guitar. My aunt Terri and uncle Ken joined at this stop.
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| He looks drunk but he was just blinking |
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| Terri and Ken |
And then we rode.
Our second stop was the Nauti Hawg in Diamond Bluff, Wisconsin, right on the St Croix River.
We were then headed to Ellsworth, Wisconsin to the Gas-Lite Bar.
Our final destination was the No Name Saloon & Monkey Bar in Prescott, Wisconsin. Many riders had dropped off at this point as it was beginning to be a long and hot day.
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| The ride ended at Cherry Street! |
We left the Monkey Bar at 5:30 pm. One of my favorite parts of the day is counting the money to see how successful and generous the riders were. This year we definitely broke a record. We had in surplus of 55 bikes at $20 a bike plus we sold merchandise to arrive at a grand total of $1,800! Considering that we raised a total of $2,000 for the last four years combined, this was a big success! Everything raised will go to the American Liver Foundation.
Thanks to all those that rode. Thanks to all of those that came out just to see us off. Thanks for Beth and Sean for the hookup at Bennett's. Thanks to Mark for blessing the bikes. Thanks to Jana, Johnny, Ray and Sean for being our road captains and keeping us safe. Thanks to Dolly, Karen and Kim for helping with the collecting of money and selling merchandise. Thanks to Michael for creating and organizing this ride. And special thanks to Cherrie as this ride would not be possible if not for you. RIP, Cherrie.
Some of the photos shown at Bennett's were taken by Bennett's. Check out Bennett's Facebook page for more photos from our starting point. Thanks to Bennett's and all the bars for all their hospitality!
