by Frank Lee
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Success was never so sweet for those who, during one of the hottest days in St. Joseph, finished the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride sponsored by the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
The ride started in Albany June 11, but participants could choose their routes and make their way to Holdingford, Bowlus and the Blanchard Dam, to Freeport or to Avon and St. Joseph.
“I just use the trail to ride in the mornings,” said Terra O’Neil of St. Joseph Township. “I used to rollerblade it, but I’m too old to rollerblade now, so I got myself a nice bike and I get my exercise that way.”
O’Neil took one of the fresh caramel rolls from Kay’s Kitchen in St. Joseph that was waiting for participants at the Lake Wobegon Trail Facility next to Resurrection Lutheran Church on CR 2.
“There are hundreds of miles of great trails in Minnesota, and this is one of them,” said Mary Millard, an event volunteer handing out caramel rolls. Millard lives two blocks from the Lake Wobegon Trail in St. Joseph.
The registration fees for the Caramel Roll Ride were $25 for adults and $10 for children who were ages 7 and older, while children who were ages 6 and under were free.
Proceeds from the event will help the Lake Wobegon Trail Association promote and maintain the 46-mile long, 10-foot wide, bituminous-surfaced hike-and-bike pathway that opened in 1998 and extends from St. Joseph to Osakis, and the funds will help extend the trail seven miles to St. Cloud.
“We did it just to have a nice ride with our family and to check out the trail – see how close it is to home – and to just be outside and be active,” said Beth Arneson, a 43-year-old wife and mother from Sartell.
Side trips included Hemker Zoo in Freeport, St. John’s University in Collegeville and the Celebration of the Arts Festival in Avon, depending upon which route was taken.
The Caramel Roll Ride draws between 300 to 400 riders annually from nearly 100 cities across Minnesota and other states as well, according to the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
“We had fun,” Arneson said of bicycling with her friends and family in the event for the second time. “It was a nice, easy ride – easy to get to (the trail) – and the caramel rolls are also a good incentive.”
Terra O’Neil of St. Joseph Township helps herself to one of the fresh caramel rolls at the Lake Wobegon Trail Facility in St. Joseph, which was one of the cities that bicyclists could visit June 11 as part of the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride, sponsored by the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
Bicyclists make a stop for refreshments June 11 at the Lake Wobegon Trail Facility in St. Joseph after finishing the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride on the Lake Wobegon Trail, a 46-mile long, 10-foot wide, bituminous-surfaced hike-and-bike pathway that opened in 1998 and extends from St. Joseph to Osakis.
A bicycle is parked along one side of the Lake Wobegon Trail facility in St. Joseph next to Resurrection Lutheran Church on CR 2 after its owner started the day in Albany on June 11 as a participant in the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride, sponsored by the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
Mary Millard of St. Joseph volunteers her time handing out caramel rolls, grapes, bananas and other refreshments waiting at the Lake Wobegon facility in St. Joseph June 11 for participants in the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride, sponsored by the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
Fresh caramel rolls from Kay’s Kitchen in St. Joseph greet participants at the Lake Wobegon Trail Facility in St. Joseph on June 11 who rode from Albany in the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride, a fundraiser that helps the Lake Wobegon Trail Association promote and maintain the popular trail near Resurrection Lutheran Church on CR 2.
Beth Arneson of Sartell leads a group of her friends and family across CR 2 on June 11 as they approach the Lake Wobegon Trail Facility in St. Joseph, which is one of the stops of the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride sponsored by the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
Beth Arneson (left) and her daughter Maren Arneson, both of Sartell, select some fresh caramel rolls from Kay’s Kitchen in St. Joseph to enjoy June 11 at the Lake Wobegon Trail Facility in St. Joseph upon their completion of the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride, sponsored by the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
Erin Kotzenmacher (left) and her mother Pam enjoy fresh caramel rolls from Kay’s Kitchen in St. Joseph June 11 upon their completion of the 17th annual Caramel Roll Ride sponsored by the Lake Wobegon Trail Association.
