TOSRV 2007 - Final Report
By Charlie Pace, Director
By all accounts, this was one of the best Tours ever. Sunny skies, warm weather, and even a tail wind on Saturday gave everyone a boost. Former Portsmouth Mayor Greg Bauer (Kim's husband) told me that he thought that the crowd in Tracy Park was the biggest that the Park had ever seen. Even so, the TOSRV volunteers made it all look easy.
Volunteers
There are more than 300 volunteers who spend the weeks preceding the Tour and Mother's Day weekend preparing for and supporting TOSRV. Phyllis and Alan South were again in charge of recruiting this army of volunteers. Registration processing was again held at the House of Pace and ran very smoothly under the leadership of Jim Redpath, Neil Ludban, and Terry Bradley. Friday Registration and Day of Ride Registration was under the able direction of my Assistant Tour Director Rick Hoechstetter and his assistant Terry Bradley. Saturday Morning Registration was again under the direction of Glenn Beachy, and Sunday Check-in was directed by Eve Holland and Greg Forst. Bill Duemmel managed the on-line registration process. We certainly appreciate the talented efforts of these fine folks.
Friday Night Registration
The Hyatt on Capital Square was our official host hotel for the ninth year, accommodating Registration on Friday and Saturday, and Check-in on Sunday. Packet and merchandise distribution went very smoothly. Keith Mayton did his usual great job as our Vendor Coordinator. The popular `leftover table' did a brisk business in previous year's merchandise. We always have some orders left over. If you did not pick up your merchandise this year, please send $3.25 to cover postage and we will be glad to send it out to you. If you did not order a t shirt or jersey and still want one we currently still have all sizes. Check TOSRV.org for merchandise.
2,722 riders signed up for TOSRV this year, including 1222 on-line registrations. We continue to see increases in riders who use the electronic option. This year Bill Duemmel set up the PayPal feature that allows someone to pay for a TOSRV registration with a credit card even if they are not a member of PayPal. We were able to keep the website registration open beyond the April 14 registration deadline because electronic records may be integrated with the current database with a command, where the mail-in applications must be entered manually.
The Tour Route
TOSRV followed the same route as last year departing High Street at Dering and following Rohr and Pontious Pike to follow Walnut Creek Pike all the way into Circleville. With the development along Harmon Avenue and increasing truck traffic making the old route more dangerous for bicycle traffic we are very pleased with the route to Circleville on the east side of the Scioto.
Photos (not available online)
North, into the wind, on Sunday. Photo by Jack Hornsby.
A Cleveland tandem by the river murals. Photo by Jack Hornsby.
A quad pulling an infant trailer just south of Chillicothe. Photo by Jack Hornsby.
Gus Comstock (City of Delaware economic development advisor) He helps with MOC. With: Tim Nusbaum, DDS and Judge Scott Nusbaum of Ross County. Photo by Jack Hornsby.