Riders who make it out to the halfway point get Brain Juice and Brain Bites before the stunt show and the ride home. It is called brain juice. It is not brains.
The Schwerins and the DeSantis family
This one has the best origin story of anything at the festival. In the first year, Jay Schwerin and his family simply appeared along the bike route with drinks and something to eat, unannounced, because they thought riders halfway round might want them. Nobody had asked. Nobody had arranged it.
They have come back every year since. Seven years now: Jay, his family, and their friends the DeSantis family, standing at the roadside handing drinks to a few hundred costumed strangers.
The festival has grown enough that brain juice is a budget line these days. They still do the work themselves, and here is the part worth reading twice: the Brain Bites are sold, and they donate the proceeds back to the festival. They fund the thing they are volunteering for.
On the day
Brain juice is free. Brain bites cost a little, and are proper Halloween desserts rather than a token gesture. Bring some cash for those, and say thank you to whoever hands you the cup.
