Overcast skies, 20 mph winds and temperatures in the mid-30s greeted bicyclists in downtown Perry Saturday morning at the start of the 48th annual Bike Ride to Rippey, better known as the BRR Ride.
The ride is the largest fundraising event of the year for the Perry Chamber of Commerce.
Jim Hurley of Ames, who graduated from Perry High School in 1978, the first year of the BRR Ride, spoke to the gathered riders at the start of the ride from the steps of the Carnegie Library Museum in downtown Perry. Hurley is the son of BRR Ride co-founder Dennis Hurley, who died in 2024.
Breakfast was served by the Hotel Pattee, and the St. Patrick Knights of Columbus held their annual raffle of a new bicycle. Jim McCauley of Perry was this year’s lucky winner.
Numerous stops are available in Perry, Rippey and along the route in order to fortify riders on the 24-mile round-trip circuit.