Spring City Spinners host annual Pedal the Kettle bicycle tour

WAUKESHA COUNTY (WITI) -- The Spring City Spinners Bicycle Club on Sunday, September 15th gathered for the group's 22nd annual Pedal the Kettle bicycle tour.

"Waukesha County is a recreational wonderland! We’re seeing a lot of bike racks on vehicles with license plates from other states—Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota -- people are really coming to this county for a bicycling destination," Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas said.

"There’s probably two reasons that we do this—one is to bring people to this great area for bicycling. Wisconsin’s one of the best states in the nation for bicycling, and in Waukesha, we have trails, but this is mostly a road ride," Mark Blackman with Spring City Spinners said.

The other reason involves raising money for a variety of bicycle-related charities. Cyclists can choose to ride 33, 66 or 101 miles, and many -- including the folks who represent the Young Life Ministry grind it out as a group.

"It’s a great ride! It’s very scenic. The hills are a little bit killer near the end and if the rain holds off –it’s gonna, it’s just a great ride," Chris Fanning with Young Life Ministry said.

Many said Sunday morning's cool temperatures may have kept some of the registered riders away, unaware of what would await them at the finish.

"What we do—it’s a lot different from other clubs—is provide vegetarian chili and chicken salad sandwiches—nice to warm ‘em up," Blackman said.

To keep riders warm, each stop along the ride offered samples of the Spring City Spinners homemade cookies and cakes.

And then there's the spirit-warming nature of the experience, itself.

"We still have people coming out, in this drizzly, Seattle-type weather to experience riding in Waukesha County," Blackman said.