My second year accomplishing the Tour de Donut is in the books! In 2022, my husband and I learned about the unique Troy, Ohio ride at the last minute and signed up two days before the event. Coined as the “sweetest ride in Ohio,” the Tour de Donut is a fun challenge with donut stops along routes that range from 9 miles to 58.5 miles. You get five minutes deducted from your ride time for each donut you eat.
With only a few months of riding experience, I was nervous last year. Thirty-four miles seemed long and beyond anything I ever imagined riding. During the mass start, we (a thousand plus cyclists) inched our way to the start line.
Our route had two rest stops. The first one was not even 10 miles out and was crowded! Volunteers were handing out donuts and marking how many we ate on our bibs. I ate two donuts while I waited in the long line for a porta potty. With so many people, you couldn’t help but feel all the excitement and energy.
A Casual Pace
As we got back on the road, maintaining a casual pace, pelotons whizzed past us, as did riders on tandem bikes and Ellipti-Gos. I remember encountering shifting issues going up the hills due to my gears not properly catching. It progressively got harder going up inclines, but I kept going. We stopped briefly between rest stops for a water break and then rode to the second rest stop at around mile 25, where we took pictures and ate more donuts.
The bonus donut stop, called the glazer (a frosted jelly donut last year), counts as two donuts (10 minutes off your ride time) and was close to the finish line. Although he could have easily gone faster, my husband stayed with me the entire ride and let me finish a few seconds ahead of him.
My goal last year was to have fun and to just finish the 34.4 mile route, which I did. We had such a blast that we decided to make a weekend out of it this year since festivities begin the night before with live bands, etc.
Our Game Plan
Knowing what to expect, having done the donut bike tour the year before, I was excited but not nervous. It was nice to see a few people we knew from our local bike club both at the start and during the ride. We rode with one couple for a few miles before our routes split.
I wanted to see how much I could improve my ride time this year (while still having fun, of course). I pushed myself to go faster. My husband and I agreed to bypass the first rest stop and go straight to the second one to save time.
We stopped by the side of the road near the first rest stop only to drink some water and then kept going. Around 18 miles, I was feeling it, as we had been maintaining a faster pace than the year prior. Knowing that the second rest stop wasn’t too far I felt motivated to keep plowing along.
Different from What I Remembered
While it may have been the same ride, what I experienced this year differed from my recollection of last year. Outside of a couple hills, I must have convinced myself it was an easy ride if a beginner like me could finish it on a granny cruiser. I remember parts of the route and some of the hills, but I was surprised that it wasn’t as flat a route as I remembered. There were stretches with continuous inclines. I felt like I was constantly pedaling — hardly ever just cruising. I almost couldn’t believe I rode the same route the year before on a cruiser.
We started to notice the same people as we took turns passing each other which prompted us to keep pushing. We made it to the second rest stop, where we both ate one donut, drank water, and stretched. With less than 10 miles left to the finish, we proceeded to the glazer stop, which I initially planned to be the only donut I would eat the entire ride. The glazer bonus donut was a sticky, sweet, frosted, and sprinkle-covered cream-filled donut. I ate it as quickly as I could, washing it down with water, and then we were off again. We weren’t far from the finish line, and with the end in sight, we finished strong.
My Personal Victory
Last year, my average speed was 12.1 mph, and overall placement was 542 of 586 riders. With my faster bike and more riding experience, my average speed improved to 14.4 mph this year, and I placed 304 out of 626 riders. I was excited about this major improvement and my personal victory.
Already planning for next year, we said we would skip the glazer donut and head straight to the finish line. It will still be the sweetest ride in Ohio.
