The 2021 towns are no secret because they were announced shortly after the pandemic forced cancellation of GOBA 2020 in March. A huge thanks goes to our four 2020 communities in western Ohio for stepping up again to host GOBA on June 19-26, 2021. The tour is scheduled to start in Sidney (one night), then take us to Wapakoneta (two nights), Versailles (one night), Troy (three nights) and back to our cars in Sidney.

Registration presents a special challenge. With cases of COVID-19 surging in Ohio and elsewhere, we are taking a cautious approach to signing up riders. Therefore we will delay opening registration until early 2021. Prices will be announced then.

Our hope is that by February we’ll have a clearer picture of the prospects of holding GOBA in June and whether we might need to limit the number of participants. A major factor will be how quickly a vaccine can be approved and distributed.
Regardless, we expect that mitigation measures such as facial coverings, social distancing and enhanced sanitizing will be necessary to some degree. We are working with state and local health departments, who will determine whether events like GOBA are allowed and whether there are restrictions on the number of people and the types of activities permitted (indoor sleeping, for example). We also are exchanging ideas with other bike tours to try to develop safety protocols.

Our highest priority is the health of our riders, volunteers, staff and the communities we visit.

For 2021 registration, preference will be given to those who wish to use their GOBA 2020 deferment in 2021, and to those who converted their 2020 deferment into a donation to Outdoor Pursuits (thank you!) and wish to purchase a 2021 registration (at the 2020 price).

If you hold a 2020 deferment, you can use it in 2021, 2022 or 2023 at no additional cost and can wait until as late as June to decide. Or you can transfer or sell the deferment to someone else, who can use it in 2021, 2022 or 2023. For deferment details, please see the accompanying box.

Next in line for registration would be people who weren’t registered in 2020. The number of spots available to new registrants will depend on how many participants GOBA is allowed to have and how many people use their 2020 deferments in 2021. In a normal year, registration is capped at 1,500 people. Most likely, the limit will be set lower than that when 2021 registration opens early in the year. We will increase the number of spots as conditions improve and health departments ease their restrictions.

In January 2021, GOBA will send an email to 2020 registrants to ask them whether they plan to ride in 2021 or defer to 2022 or 2023. This nonbinding survey will help us gauge how many riders to expect in 2021 and will include a link for riders to register for 2021 at no charge if they wish to do so early. The 2020 registrants can sign up for GOBA 2021 anytime before June at no charge by using their deferment. If they decide later not to ride, they can cancel their 2021 registration without penalty and defer their deferment to 2022 or 2023.

GOBA also is preparing for the scenario that no one wants to see — the possibility that the pandemic continues to rage and forces another cancellation due to the risk to participants and communities. Because of the logistics and large expenditures involved in putting on GOBA, both for Outdoor Pursuits and the communities, a decision to cancel would need to come by mid-April. If there is a cancellation, all 2020 deferments would carry over to 2022 or 2023, and any new registrations would be fully refunded.

We appreciate your patience and support as we work through the challenges of putting together a bicycling tour in 2021. Cycling is a healthful activity with the proper precautions, and certainly there is a pent-up demand for two-wheel adventures. We’ll do our best to offer a 2021 GOBA that’s as “normal” as possible!

Please stay safe and protect others.