Did you know that instead of the Monster Cookie, it could have been called the Fried Apple Pie ride?
Fifty years ago, 12 people showed up for the first Salem Bicycle Club Metric Century ride. What was on that first dessert menu? Not cookies- it was fried apple pies. Hersch Sangster brought these in from a local Salem bakery and they were delicious. Brother, John Sangster, put his foot down. He said “you can’t have apple pies for dessert when you are riding because you can’t carry apple pie in your pocket.” So, Mary Ann Sangster, Mary Ann’s mother, Lois Soderstrom, Diane Sangster, John’s wife, and Nancy Lewis from Scott’s Cycles started making cookies. The next year lots of club members joined in and donated homemade cookies for the ride. The ride then became known as the Salem Bicycle Club Cookie Ride. Eventually Mary Ann made her family’s own oversized Monster Cookies and within a few years people were calling it the Salem Bicycle Club Monster Cookie Metric Century Ride, a name that has stuck to this day.
Hersch Sangster and his family organized the Monster Cookie ride for around 18 of the 50 years it’s been happening. In fact, Kiki Sangster, the Sangster’s oldest daughter, rode the Monster Cookie before she was even born. Every year their 3 kids would ride in a bike trailer behind the couple’s tandem all the way to Champoeg Park and back. Kiki is currently a beloved Salem-Keizer elementary teacher. She also completed her first half-Iron Man last year. She is known to be a strong bike advocate and she leads and supports cycling events every year, including bike skills events for kids(rodeos). She consistently supports the Monster Cookie every year with fellow teachers cheerfully serving lunch to hundreds of riders.
The Sangster’s support of cycling dates way back. Mary Ann’s dad, Duane, was always very involved with the Monster cookie. Mary Ann’s Mom, Lois Soderstrom, supported the Monster Cookie by driving the Sag Wagon for 25 years. She would bring her percolator up to Champoeg and put on coffee on the grill at a campsite. A former school bus driver, Lois often had kids with her when she drove sag. They would put refreshments on the tailgate of her truck and stop along the route to offer refreshments to support riders. Hersch’s brother, John, was the club president when the Monster cookie was born 50 years ago as a fund raiser for the club. The club already had a 100-mile full Century ride going that originally went out the the Roaring River Hatchery and back past Scio. That ride evolved into the Peach of a Century Ride the club put on every summer until very recently. But not everyone wants to ride 100 miles all at once, so they thought up a shorter ride, a metric century (62 miles). The Portland Bicycling Club has always been a strong supporter of our Salem club and Salem club leaders wanted to set this shorter ride at a time that wouldn’t interfere with the Portland Wheelman’s Pioneer Century. So, they came up with a spring ride to take place on the last Sunday in April. People wonder why SBC hosts a ride in our rainy Willamette Valley spring weather. But, Hersch Sangster researched this and historically the last Sunday in April has been a surprisingly low rain day. And so, rain or shine, The Monster Cookie has developed into the beloved first Willamette Valley cycling event of the season.
Even though they have passed the Monster Cookie organizing baton onto other cycling enthusiasts, Hersch and Mary Ann never stop giving back to the cycling community. They have been involved with the Keizer helmet program since 1997. This program has provided over 6000 helmets between 1997 and 2024 to mainly Keizer youth but also some adults where needed. These are used not just for cycling but for skateboarding and scooters as well. So many local young brains have been protected by this dedicated family. The Sangster’s also are very involved with putting on bike skill and safety events for local children, at least one every year since 1984. In fact, last year they put on or supported 5 of them including one in Monmouth honoring long time cyclist Hank Bersani, who was in killed in a bike accident on Highway 22.
The Sangster’s Continue to make their mark in our Keizer-Salem Community. They are one of those families with a long tradition of always giving back and we are so lucky to have them here. They are working alongside all of us to make our community a little healthier, happier, and safer place to be.
Spokes Contributor
Debbie Miller |