Bike riders have two opportunities to brave the cold

Two events in Iowa this weekend have similar names and similar goals — to get people out of their houses for some fun and physical fitness. The “BRRRY Scurry” is a four-mile run through downtown Clinton and along the riverfront. Meanwhile in Perry, there’s the “BRR” — that’s the Bike Ride to Rippey. John Doyle, director of the Perry Chamber of Commerce, explains that event’s origination. A group of seven people were sitting around trying to come up with something to do 26 years ago and decided to ride from Perry to Rippey and back — about a 23-mile round-trip. The bike ride has grown since then and has drawn between two and three-thousand riders each year in recent years. Doyle says layering clothing is important in an event like this during the peak of Iowa’s winter.Doyle says riders are already signed up from across Iowa and several other states, including Tennessee, Alabama and Arizona. He says it takes a certain kind of person to ride 23-miles on a bike during February in Iowa. He doesn’t say they’re crazy, but he says a lot of them ride their bikes a lot and this is a time to get together before the annual summer ride.Breakfast and registration begins on BRR at 7 AM with the ride itself starting at 10 AM. For more information, call 515-465-4601, surf to “www.perryia.org” or just show up downtown. As for the BRRRY Scurry in Clinton, call 563-244-7050.