Question -- so am I correct in thinking that Ripple allows you to send XRP alone through the system, while it does NOT mediate sending BTC through the system, but only BTC IOUs that have to be sent separately (off-network) through the transacting gateways?
BTC would be converted to XRP and Ripple will select a path for your transaction based on trust lines.
If you want to send BTC from a Bitcoin wallet to another Bitcoin wallet then there's really no need for Ripple. If you want to do anything else with money, you might soon get some good use out of Ripple.