The population of Rippey grew by five times on Groundhog Day! Yes, an estimated 1200 bike riders came to little Rippey, population 250 persons.
The 42nd annual Bike Ride to Rippey (BRR) was completed on Feb. 2. This 24 mile trek, hosted by the Perry Chamber of Commerce, once again filled the streets of Rippey with bicyclists from Iowa and numerous other mid-western states and one known international visitor from France.
Eight hundred persons registered for the ride, but it was estimated that many more persons rode their bikes onto the “Berkley Road”, turning west towards Rippey at the top of the hill.
The warm temperatures made the ride much more pleasant that past times and some bicyclists had to shed their excessive winter gear as the temperature was so comfortable.
The Rippey Lions Club, the Methodist Church, the Tiger Express, and Sparky’s all benefitted financially and enjoyed visiting with the friendly cyclists.
The Lions Club sold out of its now famous roast beef sundaes. The sundaes are composed of mashed potatoes, roast beef, gravy, and are capped off with a cherry tomato. They also served chili, hot chocolate, water, and coffee. They prepared more food than ever before, and still sold out completely.
They were happy to add a little more than $1,000 to the club treasury.
The Rippey United Methodist Church provided a baked potato bar with a large variety of toppings; chili, cheese, broccoli, and taco sauce. They provided 30 pies, bars, and beverages to the hungry cyclists to tip their profit coffers to more than $2,000.
The Sparky’s convenience store and gas station served pizza, and sandwiches to several hundred cyclists.
The Tiger Express, a Rippey-based mobile food vender, reported they also had a successful day serving a Tiger bowl. This is a Polynesian-type egg roll and rice. They also served Philly cheese sticks.
Beer beverages were available from “Thirsty Pigs” a mobile event beverage company from Ames. Sponsored by the Friends of Rippey, the company will make a donation to the city of Rippey to complete the refurbishing of the former Rippey gym to house the fire trucks and city equipment.
Dan Brubaker, Rippey mayor, commented, “It was one of our better BRR events. The town was cleared by the 3 pm deadline and there were no major accidents”.
