Thousands of bikers gather in Anamosa.
Anamosa, IA (June 27, 2009) - A family-owned Eastern Iowa business welcomed thousands of motorcyclists Saturday, many of them with family members in tow.
J&P Cycles, owned by John and Jill Parham and their son, Zach, is hosting a two-day “open house” this year to mark its 30th anniversary and thank customers for their business. Cyclists from as far away as Utah and Florida are expected to make the trek to the company’s headquarters off Highway 151.
Travis Horner of Cedar Rapids brought his children Saturday, the second year they have attended the open house as a family.
“It’s a complete family event that everyone can enjoy,” Horner said. “The kids like to see the stunt shows and all the custom bikes. They really enjoy it.”
Pushing a stroller, Charlene Perreault brought her granddaughter after hearing about the open house earlier in the week.
“My husband and I are full-time retirees from Minnesota who travel in a motorhome,” Perreault said. “We stopped over here earlier this week and they were absolutely wonderful people. We decided it would be the perfect place to bring our grandchildren.”
Saturday morning’s bright blue skies and 80-degree weather had motorcycles lined up before the gates opened at 8 a.m., according to Nicole Ridge, J&P Cycles marketing supervisor.
“They were here before we were ready,” Ridge said. “We also had lots of people here yesterday in the showroom.
“We had 15,000 people for last year’s open house and I would not be surprised if we top that this year.”
Charley Cox and Dan Brown of Kansas City, Mo., were two of the cyclists who arrived before the gates opened.
“We rode up late last night, stayed in Cedar Rapids, and came over this morning,” Cox said. “We decided that we wanted to take a long trip, so we looked at each other and said ‘It’s gotta be J&P.’”
More than 80 motorcycle accessory manufacturers are exhibiting at this year’s two-day event, compared with 20 in 2008. Jill Parham said many are smaller manufacturers.
“We opened our warehouse and did a lot more paving this year to accommodate more exhibitors,” she said. “Our exhibitors sell through our catalog or through our Web site, so they rarely get the opportunity to meet face to face with retail customers.”
John Parham, who launched his company from humble beginnings in 1979, was clearly pleased with Saturday’s turnout.
“We started with a little motorcycle repair shop on Main Street in Anamosa and grew through traveling to large cities for bike shows and swap meets,” he said. “I think our growth reflects our customer service and the loyalty of our customers. We’re really glad to see so many of them come back each year for our open house.”
Gates will open at 9 a.m. today for J&P Cycles’ open house and close at 5 p.m.
