GRR2BRR VI: Return of the Knobbi is for hard-core all-season riders

Central Iowa is so bicycling crazy that riding in the freezing cold isn’t the novelty it was when the annual Bike Ride to Rippey started 37 years ago.

People thought those folks insane back then, pedaling from Perry straight into the polar vortex toward Rippey and back. Today, some Iowans bike to work every day in sub-freezing temps because, well, they always do, and top off their weekends with a pedal through snow on bikes with tires so fat they could be spares for a two-door compact.

That’s why people like Steve Fuller of Johnston upped the ante. Why waste a good, frozen riding day with only BRR’s 24-mile jaunt? Six years ago, Fuller and a half dozen fanatics decided to pedal 30 miles each way just to get to and back from BRR. On gravel.

“We want to get a few more miles in because it’s winter and everyone’s a little out of shape and trying to get in shape for early-spring races,” Fuller said. “It tends to be a lot of mountain biker racers. I’m thinking 28 to 30 of us this year.”

Because bicycle rides require long acronyms, Fuller has named his ride GRR2BRR VI: Return of the Knobbi, which requires layers of decoding. Gravel Road Ride To BRR, followed by something to do with knobs on bike tires and a “Star Wars” sequel theme.

Apparently, serious riders can be equally kooky and mix nicely with the party-hearty crowd in it for the food and beverage.

“From what I’ve seen, it’s developed into more of a social event than the bike ride itself,” said Fuller, who puts in 7,000 miles on the saddle a year.

“I think it’s good. People enjoy it as a way to get together.”

Yet even serious riders aren’t immune to wilting before the Iowa weather. Two years ago, when Fuller and a group of 20 left his Johnston home with his handy maps of the ride in hand, showing the gravel route through Grimes, Granger, Woodward and Bouton, it started to snow. Only five made it through the storm to the ride.

Other than absurd weather, Saturday’s 10 a.m. ride sponsored by the Perry Chamber of Commerce hasn’t changed much in recent years — a Lions Club breakfast in Perry, hot chocolate along the way, a beer tent in Rippey and whirlpool and sauna and entertainment options when you get back to Perry.

As many as 3,400 riders have pedaled on freak years when the weather is warm. Some 1,500 rode in 2013. The forecast is for a relatively decent day this year, with early temperatures in the teens, and a high later of 28 degrees.

Only 42 percent of riders paid the $30 registration (or $15 no-swag option), freeloaders also being a common theme among organized group rides.

What’s also become clear is that Perry is growing up, bicycle-wise. It now is the elbow of the new 71-mile Raccoon River Valley Trail loop. Miles of town trails also lead from school to hospital to downtown. A bike shop opened. And a new bike collective launched with a required acronym, TRRIBE, or The Raccoon River Innovative Bike Experience. Its goal is bicycle awareness, repair and availability to those who don’t have one, or can’t afford it.

“We have a large Hispanic population in town and we’re a working-class town,” said Bob Wilson, the chamber’s executive director.

Get them on bikes and maybe they will take up the cycling lifestyle, which leads to health benefits, he said.

It could also lead to more people who don’t think it’s crazy to venture out in the middle of winter to ride 24 miles, or add 60 miles on gravel for the burn.