GOBA 34: A first-timer’s impressions of the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure ride

I’m just back from a week of biking about 350 miles in northeastern Ohio for this year’s edition of the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. I’m giving it a big thumbs up. Here’s why:

1.Incredibily well-marked routes

The “A” on the road points you in the right direction, reassures you on straighter stretches … you really don’t need to download the route from Ride With GPS (so much so that someone shocked me by saying “what’s that? Don’t have it.”). And of course you’re never far from some of the other 1,000 or so cyclists.

You’ve also often got options for a shorter route than the standard 50 miles. Or if it’s a loop day (and 3 of the 7 were this year), you can opt not to ride and just chill instead.

Yeah, I know some people grumbled about how hilly this GOBA was, especially combined with the heat on Day 4. Glad I live near hills, not just flat routes, so my legs weren’t shocked. Some didn’t like the occasional busy, busy road. Well, I’m used to that. And after all we were on the outskirts of the Cleveland metro area.

But no denying that I loved heading out of Kent on Day 6 on about 10 miles of rail trail!

2.OMG the food

This is not your standard SAG-supplied fare of PBJs, bananas and maybe some Snickers. Local groups are selling food, raising money for their own cause. I’m thinking this is what RAGBRAI must be like.

My favorite stops were in Fairport Harbor, where the lunch options were a shoutout to the area’s Finnish and Hungarian immigrants, and the afternoon stop at Double-R BBQ and Creamery less than 10 miles from Kent. A 1/4-pound brisket sandwich for $5.50, and then the server went a bit overboard with the small two-flavor ice cream for less than $2.50.

Other times it was pizza or a sloppy joe or a hot grilled cheese fresh off the grill and of course plenty of sweet stuff. Homemade donuts for $1? Yes please.

Sometimes I think all I did was eat! So much for any hopes that 350 miles = lose weight.

Is there a way to work in “eating extravaganza” or similar into the GOBA name? Maybe Great Ohio Bicycling and Eating Adventure, or GOBEA?

3.The history lessons

I had no idea that Ashtabula County, up against Lake Erie, was one of the three biggest anti-slavery hotbeds (along with Buffalo and New York). Some 90% or so of the county anti-slavery, led by one of the richest, most politically connected families in the county. Stop at their house, an Underground Railroad terminus.

Then there was the May 4 Visitors Center at Kent State University, which reminded me just how divided this country was more than 50 years ago. I also now know why the National Guard was on campus then: campuses across the country had erupted after Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia, the ROTC building at Kent State was burned, and the mayor asked the governor to send in the National Guard. And if you don’t know, four students were killed when a small group of National Guardsmen opened fire on May 4, 1970.

A couple of lessons for me: people have the right to protest, whether you agree with their views or not. And the answer should always be use the least amount of force needed to diffuse a situation. Not that in this case the students were doing anything at that moment, not even throwing rocks. An overreaction, and no one knows whether there was an order to fire. And then why the live ammo?

It wasn’t all life-and-death history. In the small town of Garrettsville, I read the historical marker about the last great train heist … and why the high school nickname is G-Men. We went on a ghost walk in Willoughby. I just wish we’d been closer to the James A. Garfield House to get a bit of presidential history.

4.Other sights

I expected the covered bridges. The views of Lake Erie. A few Amish buggies. Discovering multi-million-dollar homes in places like Hunting Valley and more worn spots elsewhere wasn’t really a surprise. But these?

This geodesic dome. (I have no idea why ASM International, a professional organization for materials scientists and engineers is in the middle of rural Ohio.)

This Mother Mary statue, billed as the world’s largest statue of Our Lady of Guadaloupe.

Bikes that welcomed us in Willoughby.

And this at Kent State.

5.The riders

I haven’t been on a ride with 1,000 other people in a long, long time. Lot of GOBA devotees, and plenty of opportunities to chat about other rides. (We surprised many with our DIY approach.) I loved the tandems and triplets and more with parent + child(ren) … what a family vacation!

6. The camping

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how much I’d like camping for seven days with 1,000 other people in wide-open county fairgrounds and city parks with little shade. But I also knew there aren’t many places that can handle a crowd like this.

Would it just be portapotties? No, but you’d have to look for the flush toilets. Yes, there were lines for showers unless you waited til after dinner. What about the snorers? Bring ear plugs plus an eye mask (lots of daylight in the week with the longest day).

There were times I cursed the trains rumbling through at night and, worse, blowing their whistles, jolting me awake. One rider told me to think of it as the sound of commerce.

But overall, I was good with it. Even when it rained a bit. Especially because we didn’t have to pack up and move every day.

There were also some big changes since the last time I did a group camping ride … now there’s a small trailer with charging stations, an area with power for those using CPAP machines, another for car campers. Plus indoor camping options (and hotel shuttles). Glamping? That’s not new. (Here with generous tents put up by someone else, luggage delivered to the tent vestibule, daily fresh towels, your own chair, snacks). But now there’s something called a Snooze Box, where you don’t ever have to repack.

But we also learned of cheaper ways to get some group perks: the “community camping service” from the glamping company or the GOBA services from the Dayton Cycling Club. Shade included! That’s valuable when you’re camping in a wide-open field. Had we known we could have joined mid-ride….