BROOKVILLE — Nearly 800 bicyclists visited Brookville on Sunday, June 16.

The cyclists were participating in the annual Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA).

According to the GOBA website, the event is an “eight-day journey of fun and discovery for up to 1,500 riders of all ages.”

This year’s tour took place June 15-22 with routes passing through Preble, Montgomery and Butler counties in southwestern Ohio and through several communities in southeast Indiana.

According to the GOBA website, “GOBA is a tour, not a race.”

“Most riders find plenty of time during the day for sightseeing, snoozing on the grass and enjoying food along well-marked routes that have mechanical and medical support,” the website stated.

“Riding distances between host towns average about 50 miles per day, with sanctioned cutoffs that reduce the routes to about 20-40 miles,” the website stated.

“The tour makes a large loop, with cyclists riding as few as 159 miles or as many as about 400 miles during the week, depending on which optional routes and cutoffs they choose,” the website continued.

Brookville has been part of the GOBA tour for many years. In the past, cyclists have used Golden Gate Park as a campsite.

This year, the GOBA tour listed the park as a place to have lunch on Sunday, June 16.

One of the cyclists who stopped at the park was Kathy Hornung.

Hornung, who lives in Ashtabula County in Ohio, is a big fan of GOBA.

“This is my eighth GOBA,” Hornung said.

“My husband and I did five of them,” Hornung noted.

Hornung said when her husband died in 2012 she stopped participating in the GOBA tour.

“When my husband died I didn’t do it for 10 years. Then I started doing it again a couple of years ago,” Hornung said.

Hornung noted she travels the GOBA tour on an electric bike.

“The hills were really starting to get to me,” Hornung explained as one reason she uses an electric bike.

Hornung said the bike has four power modes: “eco,” “tour,” “sport” and “turbo.”

Hornung said she uses the turbo power mode for hills.

“No matter how high the hill I can make it on turbo,” Hornung said.

“There are also gears, so you can shift to make it easier because you have to be pedaling or else the bike doesn’t do anything. You have to pedal, but it’s so much easier. I love it,” Hornung said.

Hornung, who said she was camping with other GOBA participants at the Preble County Fairgrounds in Eaton while traveling around the area, noted charging her bike was easy.

“GOBA has charging stations set up where up to five bikes can be charged at the same time,” Hornung said.

Other local communities visited by GOBA bikers included Lewisburg.

Cyclists stopped for a water break Sunday, June 16, at the village’s Community Park, located at 1 Knape Lane .

Cyclists also stopped at the park on Friday, June 21.

Reach Terry Baver at [email protected].