23rd Great Ohio Bike Adventure

[MichelleOH]

I am planning to pack very light, but only have the advice of a man on what to pack... so would be grateful for any advice on that too.

My Uncle has done GOBA for something like 15 years and loves it. You don't have to carry your own gear...they move it for you from town to town. My point is...I would therefore overpack. Have fun!

[Catrin]

Signed up to do GOBA this year. My hubby has done it 4-5 times in the last 10 years. This will be my second year of cycling and I just turned 57. Last summer I put about 900 miles on my Synapse, but 35 was about the most I could do in any one day. I am concerned about making it 50 miles several times in one week. Any advice on how to train for this week long trip?
I am planning to pack very light, but only have the advice of a man on what to pack... so would be grateful for any advice on that too.

I have no constructive advice outside of wishing you a great time! I really would like to do this, but not this year. I think that I will focus on doing this in 2013. I second Michelle's advice to over-pack as your gear will be moved for you

[goldfinch]

This seemed like an ideal ride for me plus we have a small camper my spouse could drive so I wouldn't have to tent. Tenting and me don't mix. But no pets allowed in the camper. So much for that.

[indysteel]

To answer your question on how to train: do as many back-to-back training rides as you can over similar distances and terrain as you will encounter on the tour. When I trained for a similar tour in Tennessee in 2007 and 2008, I did a lot of Saturday and Sunday rides in the range of 65 miles or so, and I tried to ride some hills as often as I could.

As for packing: I'm not a light packer, especially if somebody else is carrying my bag. For the tours I've done, I bring enough jerseys and shorts so that I don't have to wear the same things twice. Arm and leg warmers, a rain jacket, and any other item you might want for cool mornings (ear warmer, long-fingered gloves) are handy. Of course, I'm not sure how cool your June mornings will be, but since most of those things take up little space, it's better to be safe than sorry. Beyond that, bring a handful of shorts and t-shirts that you can wear in the campground. Throw in a sweatshirt, some long pants, and a pair of sandals and you should be good. If you need to cut down on what you're bringing, try to focus on fabrics that you can get away with wearing multiple times--like wool.

For gear, I bring a spare tire, tubes, two water bottles, some extra snacks, my Road ID, an extra pair of gloves and sunglasses, and whatever else I might like to have "just in case," e.g., a spare cleat. I'm sure there are a handful of other things that I'm forgetting, but you get the idea. For the campground, I like to have a headlamp, earplugs, a camp chair, flip flops for showers, a quick-drying camp towel, and some stuff sacks so that I can keep my dirty/wet clothes separate from clean/dry.

[Kathi]

Are you camping or staying in motels?

Even though your gear is sagged you still have to lug it to your room or campsite. I use a bag that has wheels and is large enough for my sleeping bag, bike gear and clothing. I tent so I pack my gear in waterproof compression sacks. The clear ones from Eagle Creek work well as you can see what's in them. I have one for my bike shorts, one for my jersey's, etc. I also pack my socks in the jersey pocket they go with. That way I'm not searching for them. Prescriptions and small items go in Eagle Creek cubes. I also pack my sleeping bag in a waterproof compression sack.

Unless Ohio is having a dry spell be sure to have rain gear. I always take 2 pair of cycling shoes, if one pair gets wet I have a dry pair the next day.

I'm picky about my tires so I pack an extra folding tire, it doesn't take up much room and extra tubes. I ride 650c wheels so the tubes are just in case the support crew doesn't have that size.

Energy bars and Accelerade powder (servings packed in sandwich baggies or small containers) a small bottle of dish washing liquid and bottle brush to clean the energy drink out of my waterbottles. Many rides do have Gatorade at rest stops but I can't stand it so I take my own.

I tend to overpack on casual clothes, I take things "I think I'll need" and then wonder what I was thinking.

[Kathi]

Another thing, if you have any health issues that you might need to get prescriptions meds for know where you can get prescriptions in each town.

Last year I was in a very rural area of Wisconsin and had problems with asthma. I knew I was having issues but failed to call the Dr.'s office when I was in Superior where I could have easily gotten my meds. The next town had no drugstore and it was a 40 mi. roundtrip to the nearest drugstore. Cell service was pretty bad in the area and I had to call my prescription drug company to find out where I could get the prescriptions filled. Not having the meds would have ended the tour for me and possibly a visit to the emergency room. Another women did quit riding for the same reason.

This year I'm taking a list of the nearest drugstores available to me on our routes.