Sister Trip- Tour de Donut
Arcanum & Dayton, Ohio
September 5-7, 2014
The Tour de Donut is one of my most anticipated events of
the year! We build a weekend around the
occasion, visiting attractions in the Dayton area when not participating in the
bike race/donut-eating contest.
Last year Megan and I were late to pick up our
race packets and almost missed out- this year we decided to pick up out bibs
early on Friday afternoon. When we
arrived at the Arcanum Field House there was already a buzz of excitement in
the crowd of fellow bike-riders. We
picked up our info, T-shirts and a list of nearby restaurants, deciding to dine
at Pitsburg Pizza Grill just four miles away- we were famished. We were not disappointed. The pizza shop is a no-frills local spot with
sparse décor, old booths and a bathroom door that was very hard to close but
the service was friendly, the food was scrumptious and it was obviously a local
favorite. We loved it- we wolfed down
quite a meal, carbing up for the race and all.
Wegerzyn Gardens was our next stop, chosen mostly because it
was on the way between the pizza place and our hotel. But as soon as we stepped into the gardens we
were amazed by the beauty of our surroundings.
Each garden has a different theme and we spent the evening exploring,
captivated by the vibrant colors of the English Garden, taking in the
tranquility of the succulent garden and wandering along the wooded paths that
weaved between the garden plots. From
there we headed to our hotel to get some rest before the race.
We’ve done the
Tour de Donut a few times now and have
developed a strategy to optimize our performance. No, it isn’t training heavily for the event. We take a very relaxed approach to the whole
thing. Instead of taking off with the pack when the starting gun goes off, we
hang back for a while letting the crowd stretch out a little and cross the
starting line about 15 minutes after everyone else. As we were mounting our bikes to get our late
start to the race, an older gentleman said ‘Are you two girls good and ready?’
We replied ‘We have a strategy!’ and set off.
It took just a few minutes before we were zooming past other
participants in the 16-mile Mini Donut division of the race and we spent the
rest of our ride focused on overtaking as many riders as possible. About halfway through, the older gentleman we
met at the starting line zoomed past us and commented that our strategy was
working. Megan and I enjoyed the ride
through beautiful Ohio farmland at a good pace and ended up placing 11
th
(Megan) and 12
th out of just over 120 women in our age group!
That afternoon we went to the Aullwood Audubon Center & Farm-
I was pleased to find out they were currently hosting a quilt exhibit and was
totally inspired by many of the amazing textile masterpieces. We both relaxed in the bird observation area
which had a huge picture window looking out to several bird feeders catering to
many varieties of birds, including chickadees and hummingbirds. Raptors were housed in an area a little
further back. We explored a few of the
paths surrounding the center and followed one all the way to the Farm just about
a mile away. What a fun time! I witnessed two pigs try to fit through one
small barn door and get lodged in which was pretty funny. They also had a huge vegetable garden, a culinary
herb garden, horses, turkeys and goats- I love goats! It was a crazy chill educational
afternoon.
At some point that weekend we’d gotten a crepe craving and,
amazingly enough, Dayton has a crepe place in what has to be about the fanciest
shopping center I’ve ever seen in Ohio.
That Crepe Place is one of many restaurants in
The Greene Town Center in
Beavercreek, Ohio- a multiuse complex that combines luxury living accommodations
with high-end shopping and many dining options.
We parked on the outskirts of the commercial community and walked the
few blocks past condos and retail stores to score two delicious crepes- one
Bananas Foster and another Classic Parisian with butter and sugar. They were worth the drive across town.
Our hotel, the Drury Inn and Suites Dayton North, hosts a
happy hour each evening so we were able to enjoy a couple margaritas, glasses
of wine and some snacks before settling in to relax after our full day. We pulled chairs over to the window and
enjoyed the view of the city in the distance as we relaxed for night. As always, the Tour de Donut and the
activities we use to fill up our weekend were a blast- we’re already looking
forward to next year!