About 3,000 cyclists will roll into Athens this June as part of the 22nd annual Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure.
Participants of The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure, a bike tour project of Columbus Outdoor Pursuits, travel about 50 miles per day for a week on a loop through different areas of Ohio. This year's June 19 to 26 tour will travel from Logan through McConnelsville and Marietta to Athens, through McArthur and back to Logan. The cyclists will bike through Athens June 23 to 25.
Tour coordinators determine a section of Ohio to feature as host cities and send representatives to determine if the city has a camp for 3,000 people, good biking roads, good core of volunteers and unique character, said Julie Van Winkle, director of the tour. Forty to 50 volunteers from Athens will work information booths at the event.
Athens hosted the tour in 1997 and Nelsonville hosted it in 2001, said Jenna Dill, Athens' coordinator and spokeswoman of the Athens County Convention and Visitor's Bureau. She added that bringing the tour back to Athens would be positive for the city and its tourism.
The tour will be a great boost to our economy during the downtime of summer when the students aren't here
Dill said. We hope to make $500 000 during the three days the tour is here.
The Athens area Chamber of Commerce told businesses about the tour months ago and is sponsoring a night with the Southern Ohio Copperheads, Athens' summer baseball team, said Wendy Jakmas, president of the chamber.
We are excited about them coming Jakmas said. Anytime anyone comes to Athens we appreciate them and how they bolster our economy.
Visiting cyclists will camp at the Athens Community Center and attend many entertainment events during their stay, Dill said. She added that the cyclists can take a shuttle to and from uptown Athens to explore the city.
On June 23, visitors can go to the Dairy Barn Arts Center to eat Kiser's BBQ Shack and view the Barn's quilt collection.
Kiser's BBQ and the Dairy Barn teamed up because the adventure wanted non-profit organizations to benefit from the events, said Sean Kiser, co-owner of Kiser's BBQ. He added that Kiser's plans to give half of what it makes to the Dairy Barn.
Andrea Lewis, executive director of the Dairy Barn, said the event would have a big impact on Athens.
We decided to host an event because the theme of the tour is 'Not your (grandmother's) quilt (trip)
' said Andrea Lewis, executive director of the Dairy Barn. It's a great opportunity to welcome people to Athens and fundraise for our non-profit.
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Alex Stuckey
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The 22nd annual Great Ohio Bike Adventure is a big boost to Athens' economy when many students go home for the summer. This year's tour will go through several southeastern Ohio cities. (PROVIDED)
Annual event will boost economy
