Sandy and Steve Woosley will celebrate their silver wedding anniversary at the 26th annual Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA) this summer. The couple met at the first GOBA and are among a now elite group of riders who have participated every year or the tour.
GOBA is a seven-day bicycling tour. As many as 3,000 participants ride an average of fifty miles per day, and sleep in tents at night. Each year the tour follows a different route and includes tourist activities in addition to cycling.
On Wednesday of the first GOBA Steve rode out of Springfield in the midst of a thick fog, but as the sun came up the fog didn’t lift. It seemed as if he were alone in the morning mist, a rarity on a cycling tour, until he finally saw someone ahead. When he caught up, it was Sandy.
“It’s not that hard to do, I’m not that fast,” said Sandy. She remembers it much the same way, but noticed he had a handmade needlepoint sign on his bike that said, “No whining.” Apparently he had purchased it at a senior citizen craft sale.
Steve wrote a poem about their magical meeting:
Misty morning, wheels turning
Hearts meeting, twining
Summer bliss, never ending
“What’s a girl gonna do?” said Sandy.
Within a year the couple married, celebrating their honeymoon on the second GOBA.
“After twenty-five years the wheels are still turning and the summer bliss hasn’t ended,” said Steve.
The couple have enjoyed many bicycle adventures in addition to GOBA as well. Steve has ridden coast to coast from California to Florida. As a couple they rode from New England to Florida.
Still, GOBA has a special place in their hearts. There are lots of people they see every year, and of course new people to meet as well. There is man everyone calls Gentleman Jack, who rode into his 90’s. Another young man has been to GOBA every year of his life. In the early years they didn’t have age limits and his mother brought him as a newborn. He hasn’t missed one since.
“The feeling of Gobaville [the camp] is part of the experience,” said Sandy. “It’s sort of like people traveling by wagon train. It becomes this community. Every night you have different neighbors, and yet this shared experience. I call it a traveling utopia.”
As decorated GOBA veterans the Woosleys have plenty of sage advice. They don’t advise skipping “Gobaville” for a hotel, what is gained in creature comforts won’t make up for what is lost in experience. Distinctly marked bags matter more than finding the perfect camping spot. You don’t have to eat as often as GOBA suggests. Invest in a good mattress and bring a comfy pillow. And by all means don’t miss the song contest on the last night.
GOBA 2014 begins in Mansfield this year on June 14 with a bicycle parade on the Lincoln Highway.
“After twenty-five years the wheels are still turning and the summer bliss hasn’t ended,” said Steve.
