What may or may not have been the 24th Annual Pancake Ride is in the books, and the kids at miniSOL and Junior SOL are going to be well stocked with snacks. Even with some threatening weather, over 100 riders turned up for Sunday’s Pancake Ride. Aged from 10 years old to over 70 and staring down 15 miles or 70, the parking lot was full of eager and smiling faces ready for a morning in Leelanau County.

All too soon, the heavens opened up, with showers on and off for much of the morning’s ride, especially as the 70 mile group headed down the fast and twisting descent of Bow Road and the ascent of Inspiration Point. It was still sprinkling for the stop in Glen Arbor, with some sun finally peaking through the clouds after a little over two hours of riding.

That rain did little to take away from the magnificent Stars’n’Stripes of recently crowned US National Champion (and TC local, if you didn’t know) Larry Warbasse, who hopped in for the ride and dutifully flexed his muscles on Tower Road. The ride also saw riders from Chicago, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and all over the state.

The 70 mile route featured all the famous Leelanau County climbs, including Inspiration Point and the classic Sugar Loaf climb from the old Cherry-Roubaix course. You can see Sean Kickbush’s day here. 

By that time, a number of riders from the shorter distances were already gathering back at the park to enjoy pancakes and coffee. We all have to thank Kim White and the Lyons flipping, with some help from the legendary Ted Shaw. Kim took over cooking preparations and put together all the pieces, including cutting up 30 pounds of strawberries!

With a $5 suggested donation, we raised $750 for Norte and Hagerty Cycling’s Blue U, with the money going toward snacks, prizes and year-end awards for miniSOL and Junior SOL, including the next batch of SOL World Champion jerseys in August.

Big thanks to Hagerty Cycling and Breakaway Cafe and Coffee Bar for contributing to the food and coffee.