The population of Rippey grew by five times on Ground Hog Day!
Yes, an estimated 1,200 bike riders came to little Rippey, population 250 persons. The 42nd annual Bike Ride to Rippey (BRR) was completed Feb. 2, 2019. This 24-mile trek, hosted by the Perry Chamber of Commerce, once again filled the streets of Rippey with bikers from Iowa and numerous other Midwestern states and one known international visitor from France.
Some 800 persons registered for the ride, but it was estimated that many more persons rode their bikes onto the Berkley Road, turning west toward Rippey at the top of the hill.
The warm temperatures made the ride much more pleasant than past times, and some bikers had to shed their excessive winter gear as the temperature was so comfortable.
The Rippey Lion’s Club, the Methodist Church, the Tiger Express and Sparky’s all benefitted financially and enjoyed visiting with the friendly bikers.
The Rippey Lion’s Club sold out of their 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 over $1,000 to the Lion’s 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 bikers to tip their profit coffers to above $2,000.
The Sparky’s convenience store and gas station served pizza and sandwiches to several hundred bikers.
The Tiger Express, a Rippey-based mobile food vendor, happily reported they also had a successful day serving Tiger bowls, a delicious Polynesian-type egg roll and rice. They also served Philly cheese sticks.
Beer beverages were available from Thirsty Kegs, a mobile-event beverage company from Ames. They were sponsored by the Friends of Rippey, and all their profits will be forwarded to the city of Rippey to complete the refurbishing of the former Rippey gym to house the fire trucks and city equipment.
Rippey Mayor Dan Brubaker said, “It was one of our better BRR events. The town was cleared by the 3 p.m. deadline, and there were no major accidents.”
