Columbus Outdoor Pursuits
By Attila Horvath
A warning to those who stay on the porch making excuses to not go for a ride: Columbus Outdoor Pursuits (www.outdoor-pursuits.org) may obliterate your lack of motivation. COP is best known for their big bike tours like the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA), which draws around 3,000 people every June, and TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley), which draws upwards of 2,500 riders every May for back-to-back century (100-mile) rides. But COP also runs much smaller group rides in the Columbus area, as well as outings for paddlers, backpackers, hikers, cavers, skiers and rock climbers.
Their outings calendar is heaviest on cycling, and they have a ride six days a week. “There’s always a ride somewhere, so it’s easy to find a group your speed,” says Tim Faigley, a COP member and ride leader. That’s what Susan Miller of Canal Winchester, OH found out. She’s been doing COP group rides, usually one on Sundays, for 10 years. What keeps her coming back? “I hate riding alone. I ride harder and farther with other people.”
I join Susan and about a dozen other riders on the Sunday COP ride looping out of the Cyclist Connection bike shop in Canal Winchester. The pace is relaxed at first but bumps up to brisk, about 17-19 mph, through flat and rolling terrain. The vibe is friendly, upbeat and inviting. Despite me being a newcomer among a group mostly made up of long-time riding partners (almost everyone has been riding with COP for years) I feel comfortable in the environment this group creates, which lacks big egos and overly competitive types. The fast riders wait up for the slow ones, and I suspect that what motivates people like Susan to stick with COP has as much to do with the relaxed attitudes as it does with an opportunity to ride faster and more often.
I wonder if the group rides are always populated with such an agreeable attitude, so I ask Eve Hush, a 10 year COP member to describe the profile of COP riders. “Diverse personalities,” she says. “We get everyone from college kids, ditzy blondes, engineers. From the real quiet to the obnoxious.” But there appear to be no obnoxious riders in the group today. We ride a bit over 60 miles in perfect, sunny warmth through fields of corn seedlings, we tackle a few stout, fun climbs, and pedal past a covered bridge crossing Clear Creek—perhaps enough to make even the obnoxious just shut up and enjoy the ride.
Most of the activities that COP offers are local, but occasionally go much farter afield—COP is doing a backpacking trip to South America next summer. In addition to outings, COP also runs classes for canoeing, kayaking, orienteering, first aid and bike maintenance. Since COP is a largely volunteer-run non-profit, some of their outings like the ride I go on, are free. Classes are modestly priced to cover costs and liability.