Hoping to be able to provide more than 100 bicycles for Muscatine County youth, the West Liberty based Dirty Danglers side-by-side organization will host their second annual “Bikes for Tykes Benefit Ride” for the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office this Saturday, Oct. 12.
Anyone is welcome to join the group at the Muscatine County Fairgrounds at 101 N. Clay St. in West Liberty - including Jeeps, classic cars, trucks and motorcycles, as well as ATV side-by-sides - as they collects funds in a ride that will feature five area bars. “Any licensed motor vehicle can participate,” organizer Jackie Petty of West Liberty said.
The ride, which begins at 10 a.m., includes stops at Burt’s Bar in Nichols, Roomy’s Grill & Chill in Fruitland, Headquarters in Muscatine, Missipi Brew in Muscatine, as well as Axe & Oak in Wilton. The event concludes at the fairgrounds at 5 p.m. to draw poker hands and announce winners of silent auction prizes. A scavenger hunt, Halloween costume contest and “Crank it up” contest, as well as a 50/50 drawing, will also take place.
Petty said when the Dirty Danglers learned about the efforts of Sheriff Quinn Reiss and the department’s “Toyz 4 Kidz Fundraiser,” the group decided they wanted to help out. The fundraiser is in its second decade of helping children.
Sheriff Reiss said the fundraiser typically collects enough to buy 50-60 bikes and trikes a year, but when the Dirty Danglers got involved, those numbers flourished last year.
Last year, the side-by-side based group donated $4,000 for bicycles, helping that portion of the program double in size, giving all the money to the sheriff’s department to buy the bikes.
Reiss said the whole idea centers around providing underprivileged youth in the county a better Christmas. They work with the Muscatine chapter of the Salvation Army, which was started by Viola Werner, a former dispatcher for the sheriff’s office whose husband, Whitey, was a long-time chief deputy officer.
Reiss said the fundraiser has grown “tenfold,” noting when he first participated, donations of toys and bikes could fit in two pick-up trucks. “Now, we’re using 16-foot enclosed trailers to haul this stuff,” he said.
The sheriff will help kick off the event by being at the start Saturday and said some of his staff members have committed to ride in the event as well.
The sheriff’s staff has always been a willing participant, including last year when the total bike count came to 99. “One of our sergeants went out and bought another bike to make it an even 100,” he said. He also noted the staff provides gift baskets for the silent auction, while many of the deputies buy bikes on their own for the cause. That including the sheriff, who said he bought two last year. Reiss said he’s even tried participating in the chili cook-off when they give away the bikes at Jody’s Bar in Muscatine. “It’s not done well for me. I’ve never won,” he said with a laugh.
The sheriff said bikes aren’t an easy thing for many struggling parents to afford at Christmas. Families claimed every bike last year when they lined them up in front of Jody’s Bar in mid-November. “We don’t hold anything back for next year,” he said.
Petty said her group that started “as a joke,” about three years ago, which includes her husband Randy and son, Joe, jumped on the bandwagon with the sheriff’s department and gives the group another fundraising activity. She said the group – which includes more than 200 members - has been on rides throughout the Midwest. She added Saturday’s event could draw participants as far away as St. Louis and Illinois. Last year, about 120 vehicles participated, beginning their route in Muscatine.
Cost is $10 to participate in the ride and Petty says she never knows how many people will participate because she doesn’t handle pre-registration. “We just did it for the fun of it last year,” she said. She noted they will try to beat the 100-bike goal this year, and hope to raise a lot of money to buy toys as well, benefitting youth all over the county.
Petty, a grandmother of three, said she gets a lot of help from residents and friends all around the area in raising money, giving a lot of credit to even “non-participants.”
She said anyone is welcome to join the group in the sendoff or return from the fairgrounds on Saturday.