As usual the weatherman was saying, "Rain!" However, rain has never quelled the pancake flippers in the past so we were not concerned. Even though it rained the whole time we were loading up The Turtle (our old motor home) we were not concerned. When it rained all the way to Champoeg, we started to be a little concerned. But, as soon as we got unpacked, the rain stopped. We did such a good job getting the weather right that it did not rain during the whole ride and held off long enough for us to get in our "after pancake ride".

We had about 150 riders this year including kids. We were very happy to see whole families out. One even rolled up with a triple and tandem so everyone could ride. Mom captained the ladies on the triple and Dad captained the son on the tandem. We had some little ones in trailers and even a dog in basket. We were happy that everyone was out riding, dog included.

From our viewpoint, this year's ride went very smoothly even though we could have used another griddle. However, everyone was very patient. Tim and Anita, who volunteered to help, think they can come up with another griddle for us next year. Our collection of implements is growing thanks to the kind donations of hot chocolate holder and now extra griddle from our friends. Larry, a seasoned flipper from last year, came out to help again this year. Nancy, whom we cornered in a local coffee shop, also came prepared to flip. With Tim on the pancake batter and Anita on the coffee and table syrup, and Louie's sister, Deborah, on the griddle in the Turtle that left Bec on the sign in table and Louie to wander around fixing bikes and making sure everything went well.

We got the route markings perfect this year. We think there were only a few people who made wrong turns due to the fact that they were having so much fun that they failed to look at the map or the pavement markings. Some people even did the ride without a map.

Everyone liked their prizes especially the legal book for bike riders.

Every year gets easier and easier. However, we could never do this without the help of our friends. It is amazing that each year folks step up to the griddle to help make the pancakes flip. We tip our helmets to Larry, Tim, Anita, Nancy, and Deborah. Without them, the Blueberry Pancake ride never would have happened.

Hope to see you all throughout the spring and summer and especially next year at the Pancake Ride!

This year's annual Blueberry Pancake ride was the best ever for Blueberry Rides. This being our 4th year, really made a difference. We had it down perfectly. However, we were a bit surprised by the run on 50 mile maps. We barely had enough. Next year we will have more maps and will mark the route as well. We had one taker on the 75 mile ride and none for the 100.

All total we had about 140 riders. As far as we know the rider who came the farthest was from Eugene, Oregon. We believe the youngest was two. We couldn't get anyone to admit to being the oldest. We served over 600 pancakes, 4000 blueberries, 3+ gallons of hot chocolate, 10+ pots of coffee, 3 gallons of orange drink, 2 quarts of raspberry tea, and 1.5 gallons of syrup. Whew!

We could not have done it without our volunteers. Liz and Larry did the most flipping followed by Bill and Deborah. Anne made the hot chocolate and Andrew helped with set up and tear down. We were very surprised by the number of folks who helped with the set up and tear down. They just chipped in without our even asking. We tip our helmets to them all!

This year's weather cooperated for the most part with only a few drops of rain near the end. Everyone had a great time. We kept at the pancakes until 2:30 PM which allowed people to have pancakes before their ride and after their ride which accounts for the large number served.

A big hit this year was the blueberry sticker game where riders had to find blueberry stickers stapled to trees and posts along the route. If they brought them back, they could pick a prize. When we rode the route to black out the arrows, we only found 4 that had not been found by riders. Prizes varied from bird houses to coloring books for the kids. One family had a great time finding every single one of them that had been placed along the bike path in the park. They had to look hard but the kids had fun. One boy got the trophy for the most pancakes (5) eaten in his age group. That was no easy feat because they were big pancakes! We had a few takers on the Champoeg quiz. One girl even knew what a zitch was!

What we liked most about this ride is that families can bring their children with them. Most rides are for adults only, but the path in the park is perfect for small children. In the distant past, the Portland Wheelmen used to be for families where they would all cycle out to the countryside for a picnic. This ride is a modern recreation of that theme.

We are carefully cultivating the blueberry bushes in anticipation for next year's ride. We had so much fun. Again, thanks to all our happy volunteers. We could not do it without them.

Standing in the Oak Grove Picnic area in gale force winds wearing three layers of clothes, it was hard to believe that just 3 days before the mercury topped 75 degrees in Portland. We had high hopes for a beautiful day but Mother Nature had other ideas.

The Saturday before the ride Louie and Liz set out to mark the course. It rained. When the road was wet they had to use towels to sop up the water before spraying the Dan Henrys. Louie is so into preparation and making the ride good for folks that he even took a shovel along and cleaned up all the road kill along the way. However, after removing a skunk off the road, Liz made him tie the shovel to the bike rack to keep from having a green cloud inside the car.

Sunday during our drive to Champoeg it rained the whole time, but magically quit right before people stared showing up. Liz and Becky heated up the grills while Louie mixed batter. It was a family affair for Louie. His sister, Camille, tended the sign-in table, and his other sister, Deborah, kept the coffee thermos filled. Deborah's mother-in-law, Donna, came all the way from Minnesota, making her the person who traveled the farthest for blueberry pancakes. All in all we had 73 takers on this year's ride. We felt this was not bad considering the weather. Honestly, we do not know what we would have done if the sun had been around to coax more folks out onto their bikes.

It wasn't long after the riders set out that a few returned and said, "We've had enough of that head wind!" The riders who stayed with it were treated to a great tail wind from Nusom's Orchard and flew back to Champoeg Park at speeds in excess of 20 miles per hour. We only had a few takers on the ride quiz, but the winners took home prizes and a nice big trophy. Those that took the time to

look around enjoyed themselves and the game. Thanks to all who joined us this year, we look forward to seeing everyone on the road this summer and at the next Blueberry Ride!

---

About Us | Weekend Rides | NW Cycling Events | Ride Maps | Mileage Log | Bike Clubs | Cycling Tips | Bike Transit | Stories | Ride Reports | Home | E-Mail