By Benji Bergstrand

Accompanied by a cacophony of cow bells and cheering volunteers, dozens of bicycle riders took to the streets of Bluffton on July 13 as they kicked off the 10th annual Ride to Remember, a program of the Bluffton Lions Club.

Some of those riders were on their way to the Fun Loop, an 11-mile family friendly route complete with 10 jokes and riddles on signs placed strategically along the way. Other riders chose a longer adventure of 24, 63 or even more than 100 miles. 

Joy Stemen chose the 24-mile route, “It seemed like the perfect length for a satisfying ride,” Stemen said. “The occasional hills made it fun, and I appreciated the peaceful views along the way. It was a great way to experience the beauty of our area while getting a good workout.”

No matter which route they rode, all of the more than 200 registered cyclists were helping to support the mission of the Ride to Remember to raise funds to build more bike paths around the Bluffton Community. The Ride was started by the Lions Foundation in 2015 as a way to honor Ropp and Mary Emma Triplett who were instrumental in creating Bluffton’s first bicycle path. Four miles of pathway have been completed and an additional six miles are in the master plan. 

The purpose of the Ride to Remember is essential to riders like Stemen. “It’s a lot of fun and a great way to stay active,” she said. “But more importantly it supports the mission of expanding our community’s bike paths. Events like this bring people together, promote a healthy lifestyle, and help enhance our local biking opportunities.”

It takes a strong core of volunteers to pull off an event like this. The Ride to Remember committee, co-chaired by Travis Music and Bill Croft, meets monthly to plan out the myriad details of the ride from routes to rest stops to swag bags and more. As the ride draws nearer, crews of volunteers join the committee members as they mark the routes, place the motivational signs and set up rest stops among many other tasks. The ride could not happen without the efforts of all of these people. 

“Thanks to all the hard work of our volunteers, we had a very successful 10-year anniversary of the ride,” Music said. “I choose to be involved because it excites me to see people experience and hopefully fall in love with the sport.”

Learn more about the Ride to Remember, see pictures from this year’s ride and get the latest updates on next year’s ride at www.ridetoremember.net or Ride to Remember-Ohio on Facebook.