By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The 1,300 or so bicyclists who arrived in Bowling Green Saturday for the start of the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure know the weather forecast is not on their side this week.
They know that for the next seven days, dampness, drizzles and even downpours may be their constant travel companions.
But the bicyclists – from all across the nation and Canada – showed up anyway.
“This will be the wettest” of his 12 GOBA rides, said Gary Fahrney, of Mineral City, Ohio. “I didn’t even set my tent up. I’m sleeping in my van.”
But come sunrise on Sunday, Fahrney and all the others at the Wood County Fairgrounds will be packing their gear and headed east for a 54-mile trip to the next overnight stop in Fremont.
Fahrney is accustomed to being able to hang wet items from his tent, and a makeshift clothesline. But this week’s forecast – of rain possible every day – may put a damper on that luxury.
“I’ll be dry at the beginning of the ride each day,” since he wrapped his clothing in plastic, he said. But after that, any hope of maintaining dryness may be lost. “They might go back a little musty.”
Fahrney, who rides with friends from the Stark County Bicycle Club, is riding a tandem this year with a 77-year-old member of the group.
He admitted to having fleeting thoughts about not doing GOBA this year when he saw the forecast.
“I did think about it,” Fahrney said. “But then I thought – it’s only water.”
The “O” in GOBA should stand for optimists.
Dale and Sharon Thompson, of Columbus, for example, were well aware of the weather predictions.
“We’re hoping the weatherman is wrong,” said Sharon Thompson, who has ridden GOBA eight times.
But even if the forecasts are correct. “That’s why they call it an ‘adventure,’ not a vacation,” she said.
This is the first year the couple is riding by themselves without their children. So they were hoping to take the route a little easier this year. They also packed items in plastic, so they at least would have dry clothes to sleep in each night.
Though, “the tent might float away,” Dale Thompson said.
But like the other cyclists, they have formed fast friendships with people they peddled with over the years. And a week on GOBA is a week spent outdoors for the electrician and pharmacist.
The couple normally trains heavily in the spring to prepare for the weeklong ride averaging 50 miles a day. But their training was cut short this year due to – yes, you guessed it – too many rainy days.
“There haven’t been as many sunny days,” Dale Thompson said.
Saturday’s rain drowned out the plans for a bike parade through Bowling Green with a party for GOBA participants and community members on the Wooster Green. When the showers showed up, plans shifted to the new exhibition building at the fairgrounds.
By late afternoon, the fairgrounds was full of colorful tents and bicycles – and already every usable electrical outlet was charging devices of the cyclists.
And already, nearly everything was damp.
“I could use a dryer for my socks right now,” Bob Karnak, of Indianapolis, said with a grin.
“We were planning on better weather,” he said, glancing up at the cloudy skies outside the fair building.
Karnak is well acquainted with long-distance bike events, with his last one near Lake Tahoe. He has never ridden in GOBA before, but wanted to since he was born and raised in Ohio.
Like many of the others, Karnak considered canceling his GOBA plans. But then that optimism kicked in.
“You live with the hope,” he said. “You live with the wet.”
As for his camping spot for Saturday night, it was soaked like everyone else’s.
“There are no dry spots for camping,” Karnak said.
Jennifer Mangano, of Wadsworth, Ohio, was not swayed by the forecasts. She had more than optimism – she had attitude.
“Nah, I decided to bring it,” she said. “I got my coat and I’m ready to go.”
Mangano admitted there’s a bit of stubbornness among the riders. “We’re gluttons.”
In addition to the camaraderie with fellow cyclists, she also enjoys the close up view of the towns along the route.
“There are wonderful people. The towns are awesome,” Mangano said.
Steven Langendorfer, of the Bowling Green Bicycle Safety Commission, was helping organize events at the fairgrounds Saturday.
“People are in really good moods,” despite the rain, he said. But Langendorfer added that the gentle rain on Saturday would be a ride in the park compared to the forecasted thunderstorms that might bring multiple inches of rain during the weeklong ride.
“This is just rain,” he said.
“After tomorrow, we’ll see,” Landgendorfer said. “You need to be an optimist to ride in this.”
In spite of the rain, GOBA festivities went on at the fairgrounds, explained Wendy Chambers, executive director of the Bowling Green Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“This is not what we planned, but we’re glad we had this option,” she said of the fair exhibition building.
Though the weather may have kept come cyclists from going downtown, it resulted in many of them seeking dry shelter for the night.
“There were a lot of last minute hotel rooms rented,” Chambers said.
Several community and school groups also served food at the fairgrounds for the bicyclists. Ginger and the Snaps band provided music, and the Right Direction BMX group performed.
And on their way east, GOBA riders will be offered a second chance at breakfast at the Pemberville Fire Station.
In addition to camping in Fremont, the cyclists will also have overnight stops in Port Clinton (three nights) and Oregon (two nights) before returning to Bowling Green next Saturday to complete the long loop route.
