TROY — Registration is open for the fourth annual Tour de Donut, to be held Saturday, Aug. 29, in Troy.
The 2019 Tour de Donut brought in over 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. Be The Match invites all runners and walkers to participate in the Buckeye Donut Dash. The 5K will begin in downtown Troy at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, and will run simultaneously with the Tour de Donut. The Buckeye Donut Dash raises funds to help patients in need of a bone marrow transplant. With support in fundraising, more patients are able to afford transplants, add potential marrow donors to the Be The Match registry and make more life-saving research possible.
During the Tour de Donut, riders visit donut stops along the course. For each donut the rider will eat and keep down, five minutes will be deducted from their ride time. The Glazer, a special donut shop, will return by popular demand. Each donut eaten at this stop is woth a10 minute deduction in ride time.
Traditionally, three distances of 16, 32 and 64 miles have been offered for the Tour de Donut, but in 2019, an additional distance of 10 miles with one donut stop was added for beginners and young riders who want to participate, but do not feel comfortable riding on the road with other riders due to car traffic.
The Donut Mini will return with one donut stop. The Full will offer two donut stops. 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.
A free children’s bike ride will take place at 8 a.m. on North 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.
A “Donut Jam” will be held on Friday, Aug. 28, in tandem with packet pickup to welcome riders, runners and residents and will feature bands, a donut eating contest, beer and food trucks and many children’s activities.
Registration for the Tour de Donut and Buckeye Donut Dash will begin at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 with both events starting at 8:30 a.m. Online registration is open and cyclists interesting in participating can visit https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/TROY/TourDeDonut to register. Runners and walkers interested in the Buckeye Donut Dash can visit https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Troy/TheBuckeyeBetheMatch5KRunWalk or http://www.bethematchfoundation.org/site/TR?fr_id=4346&pg=entry to register.
Volunteers are needed and those interested can contact the Miami County Visitors Bureau at 937-339-1044 or Troy Main Street at 937-339-5455.
