Staff report
TROY — For its fourth year in Troy, the Tour de Donut ride will once again start and end around the square of downtown Troy on Saturday, Aug. 29.
The 2019 event brought in more than 2,900 riders, the largest participation number to date. Being Ohio’s largest one-day bicycle event, cyclists traveled to the Tour de Donut from 28 states and Canada.
For 2020, the Tour de Donut once again welcomes Be The Match as their official charity partner. Runners and walkers are invited to participate in the Buckeye Donut Dash, supporting Be The Match. The 5K will begin in downtown Troy at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 running simultaneously with the Tour de Donut. The Buckeye Donut Dash raises funds to help patients in need of a bone marrow transplant. With fundraising support, more patients afford transplants, add potential marrow donors to the Be The Match Registry and make more life-saving research possible.
The Tour de Donut is a unique bicycle event in which participants’ ability to eat donuts is just as important as their ability to ride their bicycle. During this timed bicycle event, riders visit donut stops along the course. For each donut the rider will eat (and keeps down), five minutes will be deducted from their ride time. The Glazer, a special donut stop, will return by popular demand. Each donut eaten at this stop is worth a ten-minute deduction in ride time.
Traditionally, there have been three distances offered for the Tour de Donut, 16, 32, and 64 miles, but in 2019, an additional distance was added. The 10-mile ride on the bike path, with one donut stop, will be offered again for those beginners or young riders who want to participate, but do not feel comfortable riding on the road with other riders due to car traffic. While the distances offered will remain the same, new routes have been established for a slightly different riding experience.
The Donut Mini will return with one donut stop. The Full will offer two donut stops. And, for the experienced cyclist, the Double D Challenge will have three donut stops. Winners of each category for each ride will receive a Championship Jersey.
Registration this year will take place in the newly renovated Lock Box 290. Holding registration in this venue along with new starting line-up procedures will make the start of the race a better experience for all cyclists.
A free children’s bike ride will take place at 8 a.m. on Nourth Market Street. Anyone interested can register the day of the event beginning at 7 a.m. under the red Tour de Donut tent by the Rec parking lot in downtown Troy. All children participating will receive a free T-shirt, finisher medal and all the donuts and milk they care to eat courtesy of Orthopedic Associates of Southwest Ohio.
Due to packet pickup on Friday, Aug. 28, an evening event has been designed to welcome riders, runners and residents to the area. This event, “Donut Jam,” will highlight bands, a donut eating contest, beer and food trucks, many children’s activities and the popular shops and restaurants in downtown Troy.
Saturday’s festivities will begin early with registration starting at 5:30 a.m. Breakfast foods will be available throughout downtown. Everyone will be gearing up for the 8:30 a.m. start of both the Tour de Donut and the Buckeye Donut Dash. More musical entertainment and children’s activities, along with a visit by the Columbus Zoo, will fill the morning.
Online registration is open. Cyclists should visit https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/TROY/TourDeDonut and runners/walkers should visit https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Troy/TheBuckeyeBetheMatch5KRunWalk or http://www.bethematchfoundation.org/site/TR?fr_id=4346&pg=entry to get registered.
Volunteers are needed in a variety of areas including Tour de Donut setup and registration, the kid’s race, the children’s activities area and beer pouring from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28 and from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the Miami County Visitors Bureau at 339-1044 or Troy Main Street at 339-5455.
