GOBA (no pictures)
I swear Ohio has more water than the Gulf Coast! Seriously,
there are so many bodies of water! Rivers, creeks, ponds, lakes, and FLOODING.
So much water everywhere. And since I’ve been here, it’s been raining a lot
(hence the flooding). On Saturday we decided to go ahead and head north for
GOBA to get our run in; skies looked clearer up there. And it’s true, they
were.
Arrival in Van Wert, Ohio meant a 10 mile run for mom and a 13 mile run
for me.
But let’s back up. First they parked me (the RV) in grass
~you read all ^ that up there about recent flooding right? I knew when they
parked me there that I was going to sink, but it didn’t quite connect in the
thought process to say anything out loud. While running, my concern grew
heavier. I decided when we were done, I was moving the RV. As soon as I put it
into drive I knew it was too late. I was sunk and the tires were spinning. Call
in the farm boys with big trucks!! It didn’t take long for an F250 to come
along and pull me right out. To top it off, the nice guys found me a little
piece of black top to safely park for the week.
Now let me back up to GOBA. The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure
is a 7 day 350 mile bike ride. Every year, new cities across Ohio are selected
and we start at point A, bike 50-70 miles to point B, camp, and then wake up the
next morning to bike to point C (and so on and so forth until we end up back at
point A). Two nights are in the same city so the loops become optional and one
day they throw in a 100 mile loop. My goal is always to hit 500 miles. My
mother and I have been riding GOBA for... well, this is our 15th year
(nonconsecutive). But we are now official GOBA veterans <-- that’s what
they call us after 15 years. Woohoo!!
So how it works, they have 4 big semi trucks that lug our
gear from city to city. You pack enough clothes for 7 days + a tent and
sleeping gear. I basically have two bags. One with clothes and shower accessories
and one with a tent, sleeping pad, bag, and pillow. There’s also a “car camper”
option. Typically this is where you’ll see the bike clubs. And we are with the
Dayton Cycling Club. So the club rents a big Penske truck, someone volunteers
to drive, and we lug our own stuff city to city. It’s the same concept but on a
smaller scale. Big families also opt for car camping. 2 more big semi trucks offer mobile showers and we usually stay at a school, park, or fairground so we have other shower options too.
Each city knows we’re coming and prepares entertainment and
plenty of food. The local VFW, scouts, and churches usually do inexpensive
dinners for us (which raises money for them). It’s truly a great time!! And
there’s always plenty to do.
Riding starts on Sunday. Van Wert to Bluffton – 53 miles. It
was flat with a tailwind and so scenic. Ohio is full of water and GREEN.
Cornfields and beans and wheat and trees and miles and miles of just GREEN.
It’s so peaceful and wonderful. Summertime only though!! I cannot deal with the
snow in the north!!! We realized we were riding much faster than most of the
GOBAians so we goofed off a lot at rest stops. Arriving in Bluffton, we were
ready for a cold drink and food. An early night for an early wake up…
Getting sleep on GOBA is a joke. We sleep in tents so you
can hear everything. And people think they need to stay up til midnight, pee
all night, and wake up at 4am. Zip, zip, porta jon door slam, zip, cough,
snore, sneeze, AHHH!! I had a horrible night of rest and up way too early to
bike.
Monday Bluffton to Defiance – 60 miles. Mostly flat with
headwind and HEAT. Today was hot. We shot out fast and had a really strong
morning. We slowed by the end but still ended with a great pace. We set up camp
for the night and shot out for a 30min run. A quick visit to a local ortho and
FOOD.
That’s where I am in life!!
Enjoying time with my mom and enduring a whole lot of booty
pressure (and by booty, I mean NOT my booty :O :O :O ). She is raw and pretty sore (TMI much!? Ha ha!!).