My friend Pat, a Champaign County resident, has only missed riding in two of GOBA’s 23 rides. She trains by cycling between 300 and 500 miles before joining the 2,500 other cyclists touring south central Ohio. Considering the amount of rain we have had, that she has been able to attain that mileage has been a feat this year.
Pat says that she has seen more of Ohio on her bike than in any other vehicle.
Traveling by bicycle gives a different perspective to being on the road, starting with the spectacle of being one of several thousand bicycles exiting a town in early morning.
Pat talks about the generosity and warm welcomes by the communities GOBA visits. The year I rode, central Ohio was experiencing a drought and many home owners leave hoses out near the street for riders to drink and fill water bottles. Pat adds that many businesses have GOBA specials to entice riders.
Part of the allure of GOBA is giving the riders a “taste” of the city — planting seeds for the riders to plan future day trips.
Pat has had both a son and a daughter join her “cycle-cation.” Each rode with her for five years but not the same five.
GOBA is returning to Champaign County this Friday, June 24, for a lunch stop at the fairgrounds.
Lunch starts at 6:30 a.m. since riders get up early to beat the heat and the automobile traffic on the roads.
Pat recalls a year when the cyclists outnumbered the population of a host city.
That won’t be the case this year, but the increase will be perceptible.