By Paula Scott

The 9th annual Bluffton Ride to Remember was a big day for organizers and for cyclists. The Bluffton Lions Club fundraising event brought 200+ riders together to enjoy four loops on Bluffton area roads, supported by volunteers who planned and then manned event registration and rest stops. The Bluffton community pitched in with facilities, opportunities to enjoy lunch with a discount coupon and a cinch sack full of gifts from Bluffton merchants and organizations.

The Ride, which raises funds to expand Bluffton bike and pedestrian pathways, was started and finished at Bluffton Community church at the corner of Snider and Main, which provided a larger parking lot for riders. Indoors, riders registered or picked up their cinch sacks and commemorative t-shirts. Outdoors, DJ Courtnee Morris made announcements for riders while Raymond and Liz Harner of Bike Crazy LLC helped riders with last minute bike checks.

Shortly before the 8:00 a.m. mass start, the Steele family of Bluffton gathered to make an announcement regarding their premiere sponsorship of the event. Tracy Steele explained how her son Taylor gained a new independence on a recumbent bike riding Bluffton roads and trails after he lost the ability to drive a car due to the symptoms of epilepsy. Taylor also was an active supporter of the Ride to Remember.

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The Steeles sponsored the 2023 event in memory of Taylor and to advance local knowledge of SUDEP, Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. Taylors parents, Tracy and Steve, and the extended Steele family showed riders the recumbent bike with battery assist that Taylor rode and purchased in Bluffton. Tracy asked listeners, do you wonder how a family could manage a sponsorship level previously held by corporations? With monthly installments, she said. For further information on SUDEP, visit epilepsy.com.

The 8:00 a.m. mass start was led by Police Chief Ryan Burkholder in a police cruiser, with Officer Abby Michael on a bicycle donated by the Bluffton Lions, and with Village council member Mitch Kingsley on the Lions Club’s “boneshaker” replica, a high wheel bicycle from the late 1880s. The mass start also included several family groups and the Team Roadrunners, a Lima, Ohio bicycling club.

The event also serves as a family reunion of sorts for the Triplett family, which has supported Bluffton's bike pathways since the 1980s. Ropp and Mary Em Triplett lead a community effort to create the first bikeway, which connects College Avenue and Village Park by providing a paved route under I-75. Some 25 Triplett family members were in Bluffton to assist with and ride in the 2023 Ride to Remember.

How did weather impact the 2023 event? Riders who left early or had shorter itineraries enjoyed cloudy but cool weather with just an occasional sprinkle. "Perfect riding weather," according Lions organizing committee co-chairs Bill Croft and Travis Music. Later in the morning and early afternoon, there were some heavy showers. At the Gilboa rest stop, the Icon met riders who took the opportunity to have their passports signed, refill their water bottles and have a few snacks under a large pavilion.

Courtesy vans were available to assist riders along the routes and rest stops were provided in Ada, Gilboa, Pandora, Ottawa and Rawson.

Several riders finished three marked loops, totalling 124 miles, also known as a double metric century. These hardy riders were distinguished with ribbons and certificates for completing the Ramseyer Challenge, named for Ride to Remember organizer Dick Ramseyer.

The Ultimate Challenge was to ride all four loops for a total of 135 miles. These riders are dubbed "Quad Loopies."

2023 sponsors are:

PREMIERE SPONSOR: SUDEP: In Memory of Taylor Jay Steele. 

MAJOR SPONSORS: ADS Recycling, Ameriprise Financial-Gregory Averesch, Allyse M. Averesch, Bike Crazy LLC, Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce, Bluffton Family YMCA (BFR), Bluffton Icon, Bluffton University, Community Markets, Edward Jones-Ryan P. DeMarco, Kira's Flipside Grill, PromoHits, Lewis Family McDonalds.