Breakfast-Time Throwdown

Well, it’s almost that time of year again. The temperature is going up and the air quality is going down. You smell that? Spring is in the air. Well, it’s either that or car exhaust. With the coming of spring ’round these parts, brings the annual Pancake Breakfast. What’s the Pancake Breakfast you say? Well, take a gander at this sweet little flyer:

For the last 18 years, Pasadena Cyclery along with the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association, and a host of cycling industry companies; get together for a trail maintenance fundraiser in Altadena, CA. Here’s why you should give a shit:

• The trail network in Southern California is under siege by folks that use it irresponsibly. Unfortunately, some of the inappropriate use is at the hands of a small, but significant enough number of mountain bikers. (Usually by grabbing a fist full of brake and locking up some enormo-sized all mountain tire down the entire length of the Lower Merril Trail without stopping for hikers…grrr) It’s our duty as responsible trail riders to let the community know that we care as much as any other type of trail user about the importance of proper trail use. I know you all have heard this many times, but if we don’t take care of our trails, they won’t be here forever.
• The purpose of the MWBA in association with IMBA is to bring out the best in mountain biking by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trailwork participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, grassroots advocacy and innovative trail management solutions.
• The founder of the MWBA, Alan Armstrong, is a Mountain Bike Hall of Fame Inductee for the sole reason of standing up for the rights of all of us as Southern Californian Mountain Bikers.

The Pancake Breakfast is exactly what it sounds like: a pancake breakfast, plus a little more. First, on Saturday April 26th the folks at Pasadena Cyclery will be throwing a party and BBQ at the shop. They’re asking for a $12 donation, but all the proceeds benefit the above trail maintenance and education programs and you’ll get to rub elbows with a few Mountain Bike Hall of Famers: Gary Fisher and Keith Bontrager. (I can tell you first hand that this will be a good time. The last time I hung out with Keith, I couldn’t remember it the next day. Wait…that sounds a little creepy, doesn’t it? Nevermind.)Then on Sunday April 27th, we’ll all meet for a ride that will leave from the JPL parking lot in Altadena to do a little Brown/Your Mom run with the aforementioned knobby-tire luminaries. The breakfast itself will take place at the Cobb Estate. We’ll ride again afterwards, but not before the famous raffle that usually contains about 10 grand in swag. Oh, and we’ll also gorge ourselves with pancakes.

So to recap: Ride and hang out with some industry legends, eat some good food, have a pretty damn good shot at scoring some free stuff, and help out a great cause from which we will all benefit. What’s not to love?