For nearly three decades, the River Rendezvous bike ride has been bringing in cyclists from near and far to enjoy the scenery of southeast Ohio.
Husband and wife tandem bike team Donna and Jerry Green have been making the trek to the starting point at Duncan Falls from Pittsburgh every year. Donna first started riding the Rendezvous 28 years ago and brought Jerry along in the early 1990s.
"We actually met on a bike ride," said Jerry Green. "We've been doing this one since before we were married ... the bike is older than the marriage."
The bike is a tandem bicycle that the couple, married 15 years in July, pulls out as soon as the ground thaws.
"As soon as the snow and ice is gone, we pull out the tandem and then, as soon as the ride is over, it goes back on the wall until spring," Green laughed.
The couple try to bicycle - separately - as often as possible.
Fact Box
If you go
What: 29th River Rendezvous
Where: Ride starts in Duncan Falls, southeast of Zanesville, and goes along the Muskingum to Marietta.
When: Registration starts at 7 a.m. Saturday. The ride is 65 miles and events are planned in Marietta Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Lunch will be provided at the Stockport fire department and a pasta dinner will be held at the First Baptist Church in Marietta.
Cost: $50 for adults, $20 for children five to 10, $10 for children four and under.
For information: www.mariettarcc.org or 336-4942.
"We can bike to the grocery store, the hardware store, we have nice paths ... we're both in our 60s and we're starting to slow down a little ... but it's something that we enjoy doing," Green said.
This ride was started 29 years ago by Roger Patterson, Dan Jones and the late James Stephens. The event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Marietta Rowing and Cycling Club and for other nonprofit organizations that provide services to the riders over the 130 miles traveled during the weekend.
Around 200 people have signed up for the event so far but people of all ages are welcome to sign up through Saturday, according to Rick Ralston, one of the ride coordinators.
Club member Roger Kalter said riders come into town from Gilman Avenue and often venture out to shops and restaurants. The club has been in contact with the city to try to get the streets cleaned up to make the roads safer for cyclists.
"This is our 29th year and it really is a great event to showcase the community," he said. "A lot of these people come back during different times of the year."
For the Greens, the annual River Rendezvous serves as a kind of homecoming.
"A lot of the people remember each other year after year," he said. "It's just such a well-organized nice, scenic ride."
