Paradise Pit serves up a sweet Santa Barbara highlight for the Aids/LifeCycle ride

A favored stop on the Aids/LifeCycle ride through Santa Barbara Friday was the tasty break at the “Paradise Pit.”

Thousands of bike riders taking part in the charity event put on their brakes for an array of treats.

The location was near the Andrea Clark Bird Refuge off Cabrillo Boulevard, about halfway on the ride from Lompoc to Ventura during the week-long event.

It started with an idea from local resident Rod Lathim on his ride more than 20 years ago when he said a special Santa Barbara stop needed to be created. Back then it was eight gallons of ice cream and hot dogs from Bill Connell the late owner of All American Surf Dogs who donated his cart and food to the riders. The event was at the QAD campus between Montecito and Summerland.

In recent years, the grassy area near East Beach has been the spot where ice cream, fresh fruit, toppings, cookies and refreshments are served.

Scoopers were digging in with one yelling “I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream!”

Lathim said “it is a favorite stop for the riders. They love the ice cream. They love the community coming out for them. It is good stuff. People are so grateful they are all thanking us, and we say ‘no, thank you!'”

The Paradise Pit Mayor Sean Dooner said, “This is their last full day of riding, so they are going to ride from here to Ventura so, they know they can do it up right here. We try to welcome them to Santa Barbara with Santa Barbara love and Santa Barbara Ice Cream Company ice cream.”

Dooner welcomed the crowd with a megaphone launched message while standing on a ladder.

The event went for about three hours but the riders had to hit the road for their trek south to the San Buenaventura beach campgrounds.

And to work off the ice cream break.

The Aids/LifeCycle ride information can be found here.