History of the Cassoday Bike Run

[Ken Krumm]

http://cassodaybikerun.org/home

Many of us have enjoyed riding to Cassoday for the monthly bike run. I attended my first Cassoday Bike Run shortly after moving to Kansas in 1993 while it was still only a couple hundred attendees. I was unaware that it was started by the Christian Motorcyclist Association in conjunction with the owner of the cafe in 1991 with the intention of feeding 30 or more riders. Nonetheless, a good website to earmark.

[Ken Krumm]

History of the Cassoday Bike Run...from the site.

Yep, you got it. It was started by some bikers, stopping at a small cafe in town one day back in 1991. They were from the Christian Bikers Association, and they enjoyed the ride through the Flint Hills so much that they wanted more to enjoy it. So they asked the owner of the Cassoday Cafe at that time, Norma, who now owns the only gas station and food stop for miles around, if she would open for a few hours on Sundays so they could come and eat breakfast there while riding their bikes. This would give them a time to rest, too, before getting back on their wheels and tearing off into the wild blue yonder. The deal was that she would IF they could assure her that at least 30 or so bikers would come in. And so they did just that, and it became the first Sunday of each month ride to Cassoday as a Breakfast ride, and today it is known as the "Cassoday Bike Run". Most people know the one Sunday a month ride due to the Cassoday Cafe, which had another important owner, Diana Carlson, that put out more food on that day than you could shake a stick at. Most bikers still recall her and they started riding in from all over the place, from all around the country. During the really good riding months of the summer there has been estimated as many as 7,000 bikers coming into the little quiet and quaint town of Cassoday. Having the Kansas Turnpike, I-35, right to the west of Cassoday brings riders in as well as Hi-way 177 and 150th, which is also known as 1st street out of Newton. So, in 2011 we, the Cassoday Business Organization would like to thank all the bikers and everyone else that just came to see what this was all about, the business owners, the vendors, an most of all the people of Cassoday. Thank you. Enjoy the ride.......