On Thursday, June 19, 2003, there will be approximately 3,000 bicyclists riding into Middletown. They will begin arriving about mid-morning and will leave the following morning. These avid sports riders are part of the annual week-long Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA), an event that covers about 50 miles each day and visits several Ohio communities. Riders arrive in a new town each day, enjoy the entertainment, restaurants and shopping available, stay overnight and depart the next morning to explore another community and enjoy the countryside as they pedal along at their own pace. Middletown is one of the stops on the 2003 GOBA ride.

City of Middletown Parks and Recreation Department personnel are coordinating this year’s GOBA event for Middletown. Community volunteers have been meeting and planning along with City of Middletown employees for several weeks.

With 3,000 guests in the city, organizers are asking local businesses to prepare for an increase in business for that day. Business owners are asked to post welcoming greetings to the GOBA riders on their outdoor signs or in business windows.

Businesses may wish to offer discounts to GOBA riders wearing a distinctive wristband or send coupons or a small gift to the City Recreation Department to be included in a “goody bag” given to each rider as they arrive.

Once riders have arrived and checked in at headquarters in Smith Park, used the portable showers and rested awhile, they will probably eat a snack purchased from the vendors in the park. Several will probably visit the Middletown Public Library to check for email messages. Late afternoon, most will want to partake of the entertainment scheduled for that day and will ride the special shuttle buses to area restaurants and shopping venues on the scheduled shuttle routes.

Organizers are partnering with the Middletown Journal to share local opportunities with the riders. The day before, as the riders visit Xenia, Ohio, they will be given a flyer outlining local happenings and pertinent information they will need for the trip into Middletown. The back of that flyer will have space for advertisements from Middletown businesses. Many riders will likely want to make dinner reservations or at least, arrange for space at an area restaurant before they reach Middletown. Through a central information number, GOBA organizers will provide assistance to riders and local businesses, particularly restaurants, to pass on requests for service or reservation information. To be included in the flyer advertising, interested parties may call the Journal Advertising Department directly at 422-3611.

Letters are being sent this week to area businesses likely to be impacted by the GOBA event. A volunteer with the Middletown hospitality committee for GOBA will be calling several businesses soon to encourage participation.

To offer items for the riders’ “goody bags” or for more information, call City of Middletown Parks and Recreation Department representative Maria Langendorf at 425-7848.


Two shuttle routes will take GOBA riders to points of interest.

Route 1 –
Smith Park
Left on Tytus to Nelbar
Left on Nelbar to Verity
Left on Verity past fast food restaurants to Main Street/Historical District
Left on First Avenue to Middletown Public Library
Broad Street to Central
Right on Central past Central Avenue businesses to Bellemonte Street
Left on Bellemonte to Sunset Park and Pool
Kenwood to Central Avenue to Capozzi/The Jug and return to Smith Park by retracing the route.

Route 2

Smith Park
Right on Main to Reinartz Blvd
Left on Reinartz to University to Roosevelt
Left on Breiel to Middletown Shopping Center
Grand to Marie Drive
Right on Marie into Dillman/K-Mart Shopping Center
Roosevelt/Grand/SR122 to Old SR25
Left on 25 to Towne Blvd.
Right on Towne Blvd to Meijer, Towne Mall, Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Wal-Mart
Roosevelt Ave to SR25 to Danberry Cinema and return past Kohl’s and Target to retrace route back to Smith Park

For more information call: Maria Langendorf, 513-425- 7848 or email to Maria Langendorf

Story Contributed By Ann Mort