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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2015)
MARCH 20, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE B5 Put pedal to pavement in Monster Cookie ride By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Mmm...cookies. You don’t have to be the Cookie Monster to appre- ciate the Monster Cookie Metric Century Bicycle Ride, taking place Sunday, April 26. The 39 th annual event, sponsored by the Salem Bi- cycle Club, begins at 10 a.m. and covers a 62 mile (100 ki- lometer) path from the state capitol in Salem to Cham- poeg State Park and back. Keizer’s Hersch Sangster and his family started the event in April 1977 and it has grown ever since. “We started with 12 riders that first year,” Sangster said on Monday. “We’re expect- ing about 2,000 this year.” The event derives the first part of its name from the sweet treat; the Metric Cen- tury part comes from the race distance. The event was originally called the Salem Bicycle Club Metric Cen- tury Bike Ride. “The first couple of years, we offered baked apple pies along the route for rid- ers,” Sangster said. “We got complaints, since the riders couldn’t put the pies in their jerseys.” In 1982, that problem was solved when Nancy Lewis and others started baking monster cookies – complete with the M&Ms – and giv- ing them to riders. “The race became known as the Monster Cookie Ride and the name stuck,” said Sangster, noting The Orego- nian refers to the event as the third best bike ride in the state. When the event was start- ed, the goal wasn’t to be bet- WMS Hoops funder raises $5,000 ter than any other event. As far as Sangster is aware, this is the oldest continuous run- ning bike ride in Oregon. True to tradition, monster cookies will still be available at stops. Riders can also or- der a sandwich for $7.50. Pre-registration costs $25 before April 17, or $30 for day-of-ride registration from 8 to 10 a.m. T-shirts are also available for $20. More information on the ride is available at www.sa- lembicycleclub.org or by calling Larry Miles at 503- 580-5927 or via e-mail at cookie@salembicycleclub. org. Salem Bicycle Club is also sponsoring an End Polio Ride with the Keizer Ro- tary on June 28. Information on that event is available at www.keizerrotary.org. Left: Whiteaker sixth grader Olivia Cartwright adds her name to a banner signed by all the Hoops for Hearts fundraiser participants. Below: Ryan Starkweather puts up a shot during a celebratory party at the school earlier in March. KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Whiteaker Middle School students made another huge donation to the American Heart Association this year. The Wolverines raised more than $5,000 exceeding their goal for the monthlong fun- draiser. Students Mikayla Colenan and Noah Kuhl both raised more than $200 for the effort. “I had a grandpa who passed away from heart prob- lems, so this is an issue that means a lot to me,” Mikayla said. “We also just had (de- fibrillators) installed in the school so that goes to show how important this is.” Noah said family members were his biggest source of help. “This is something I do every year because I know people who have had heart problems and I like knowing I’m helping them,” Noah said. What’s the key to being a good fundraiser? “You have to show people how much (the issue) means to you,” Mikayla said. Student Nathan Young was the school’s top fund-raiser this year.
