RAGBRAI LII July 19 - 26, 2025

Bull riding near Buckeye

  • 21 July, 2015
  • Michael Morain

RAGBRAI bull ridingJust in case RAGBRAI riders weren’t saddle-sore enough, they had a chance to hop on a mechanical bull a few miles north of town.

The rodeo ride was one of several distractions provided by the non-profit group America’s Renewable Future, which advocates for the use of ethanol and other renewable fuels. They put up a sign out by the road: “Have a beer on Iowa’s farmers.”

Amanda Brown of Ames lasted about 30 seconds on the robotic beast. That rivaled the day’s record, according to Way to Play staffer Jacob Davis of Des Moines, who was manning the controls and official cowbell.

He said of the day’s earlier record-holder, “Yeah, we couldn’t throw her off after 30 seconds, so we just gave her some applause and she stepped off.”

ARF’s Alen Sarkic, a native of Serbia, was staffing the homemade Plinko game, where Fort Dodge rider Bryan Holst won a free koozie.

“I feel great about this koozie!” he said with a trace of sarcasm. “But I’d feel better about a beer.”

— Michael Morain

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