After two bright and sunny days in Logan County, riders with the 29th annual Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure departed this morning under a stormy sky, but with plenty of positive memories of their stay in Bellefontaine.
GOBA riders Suzanne and Mike Cleveland of Nokesville, Va., pause to take a photo of the Piatt Castle Mac-O-Chee as a tour group exits the castle Thursday afternoon. Most of the GOBA riders, who had a two-day layover in Bellefontaine, made side trips Wednesday that took them on a loop through southern Logan and northern Champaign counties. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)
“I don’t know if it’s Bellefontaine or if it’s GOBA, but whenever we come here, it seems like it storms,” said Jerry Rampelt, director of Ohio Outdoor Pursuits, which organizes the annual bicycle adventure. During a 2000 stop in Bellefontaine, the GOBA ride was forced to seek shelter inside the Bellefontaine High School when the area was placed under a tornado warning.
Rampelt said he had a conversation with Logan County Chamber of Commerce Director Paul Benedetti and other ride organizers earlier in the day Thursday and made plans to run buses to Findlay to allow any riders who wanted to get their automobiles a chance to do so before the storm front that was expected in the early morning hours Friday made its way into the area.
While most riders chose to tough out the expected rains and thuderstorms, which were originally forecast to begin in the early morning hours today and be more severe than they turned out to be, some opted to forego today’s ride, the director said. The group was slated to travel around Indian Lake and along a scenic loop through Hardin County before camping at Kenton, but an alternate more direct route was planned for today’s ride.
“Most of them are staying with us,” Rampelt said, “and by Saturday it should clear up as we are headed back into Findlay.”
Complete story and more photos in Friday’s Examiner.
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