By Scott Sullivan
Editor
Saturday’s 11th annual Lakeshore Harvest Ride drew some 600 riders to raise $40,000 for the planned 20-mile Blue Star Trail from Saugatuck to South Haven.
From Douglas’s Schultz Park bikers took Riverside southeast to 62nd Street west, a 126th Avenue jog west to 63rd Street south to 122nd Avenue west, 66th Street north back to Riverside east to Schultz. Routes of 27 miles (follow green arrows), 47 (orange) or 61 (blue) added tire and street rotations.
Also orchard, cider, winery, farm market and art studio stops for recouping and taking in.
Sun rose the third day before summer’s end to if not reinforce tans, make climbs sweatier and summits more rewarding.
Sponsor Friends of the Blue Star Trail, a 501c3 volunteer nonprofit in its 12th year hoping for a Michigan Department of Transportation announcement soon its northern stretch will receive a $1.275-million federal Transportation Alternatives (TAP) grant, had their hands full this day too overseeing this event.
Think 100 volunteers, 43 monetary and in-kind sponsors, 15 farmstands, wineries and galleries plus variables 600 riders of all ages and skill levels traversing four courses of varied square miles bring.
