Chocolate Lovers' Ride 2012
August 5th marked the 20th (possibly the 21st or 22nd) ULLR's annual Chocolate Lovers' Ride, hosted by Karen Holmquist & Sherrie Mitchell. We had a beautiful summer day to ride, following many hot days of extreme heat. It seems that many other bicyclists had the same idea, to get out and exercise and enjoy the nice weather that day. Things did get a bit overcrowded on the streets and trails, as the day continued - more on that later.
A few adjustments have been made over the years, such as the location of our meeting place for our always-tasty chocolate
breakfast and point of departure for the bikers. We have been meeting at Lynnhurst Park in south Minneapolis for the past few years. Our ride continues to be approximately 20 miles (mostly flat, with a couple gradual inclines) along Minnehaha Parkway, across the Ford bridge, along River Road to Summit Avenue, and up Summit Avenue to Victoria Crossing in St. Paul. By tradition, we have lunch at Billy's at Victoria & Grand, before returning to Minnehaha Falls through quiet, interesting St. Paul neighborhoods, back across the Ford bridge, and back to south Minneapolis.
In the past, all Chocolate Lovers' riders created and wore chocolate Hersheys Kisses by wrapping their helmets with aluminum foil, twisting the top, and completed with crepe paper tails on which the words "Hersheys Kisses" appeared. Karen, as the leader, was the only rider this year with a Hersheys Kiss on her head, although the Hersheys Kiss materials are always available at breakfast for making Hersheys Kiss helmets in the spirit of the chocolate theme. This year we had 11 riders departing from breakfast, and picked up 2 additional riders at Minnehaha Falls for the shorter version of the ride. Sherrie drove the sag wagon, guarding our precious cargo of chocolate and picking up any potential broken bikes or broken bodies.
By the time our group arrived back at the Falls, the trails and street lanes were VERY crowded with bikes and riders of every description. These dangerous conditions led to the only accident/injury we had on this year's ride. One biker, paying no attention and riding in Karen's lane, going the opposite direction, crashed into our fearless leader, causing her to fall. Karen was able to finish the ride, but with scrapes and bruises, and a very sore body. This led to our vow to not run this trip on weekends anymore, but we will continue to run the great annual Chocolate Lovers' Ride in the future and during weekdays. We hope you will join us next year!
Happy trails again!
Karen & Sherrie
|
