More than 2,000 people took to the Raccoon River Valley Trail through Dallas and Guthrie counties Saturday, each looking for a good bike ride and a lot of bacon.

BACooN Ride 6 was held throughout the day, with 10 designated bacon stops along the way, including at Hotel Pattee in Perry. Harvey’s at Hotel Pattee provided samples of sweet and salty, maple, honey sriracha, and Asian bacon strips, as well as bacon brittle and bacon popcorn. Owner Tom Maxwell was on hand for his second BACooN Ride, and he felt this year surpassed the previous one. “The weather was so much different this year than last. Last year it was 95-degrees by the time they started rolling in, so to complete the ride they had to just stay momentarily and get going if they wanted to get it through. So the weather today has been gorgeous, a little cloud cover, a little wind. It seemed like we had more people here this year, and it’s really fun it’s been very smooth.”

Maxwell felt the setup they used this year was also ideal, with a band playing in Soumas Court and two tables full of bacon samples, so he felt they would try the same thing next year. He also expressed his thanks to the Chamber of Commerce for providing volunteers to help serve the bacon and keep things flowing smoothly. The BACooN Ride also included bacon stops in Dallas Center, Minburn, Jamaica, Panora, Linden, Redfield, Adel, and Waukee. Each city on the route felt the event was a big success. The ride is sponsored by RAGBRAI, the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival, and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition.