Even founder pondered quitting on first ride (TOSRV) via The Dispatch

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Thursday, May 5, 2011  03:08 AM

The Columbus Dispatch

Charles Siple of Canal Winchester, center - with his sons Doug, left, of Canal Winchester and Greg of Missoula, Mont. - rode in the first Tour of the Scioto River Valley with Greg. Doug has ridden in 42 tours, and Greg has ridden in 30.
SHARI LEWIS | DISPATCH
Charles Siple of Canal Winchester, center - with his sons Doug, left, of Canal Winchester and Greg of Missoula, Mont. - rode in the first Tour of the Scioto River Valley with Greg. Doug has ridden in 42 tours, and Greg has ridden in 30.
Charles Siple in 1962, at the end of the initial Columbus-to-Portsmouth bicycle ride. Their ride later became the Tour of the Scioto River Valley
PHOTOS COURTESY GREG SIPLE | 
Charles Siple in 1962, at the end of the initial Columbus-to-Portsmouth bicycle ride. Their ride later became the Tour of the Scioto River Valley
Greg Siple
 | 
Greg Siple
 

TOUR OF THE SCIOTO RIVER VALLEY

STARTING POINT: OHIO STATEHOUSE, BROAD AND HIGH STREETS (614-461-6648, WWW.TOSRV.ORG)
Cyclists will make the 210-mile round trip from Columbus to Portsmouth, Ohio, and back in TOSRV, which celebrates its 50th   anniversary this year.
START TIME 6:10 to 8:30 a.m. Saturday
REGISTRATION $67, cash only; limited registration is available from
4:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Hyatt on Capitol Square
Charles Siple might have been the first person who felt like quitting early during a bike ride between Columbus and Portsmouth.
He certainly hasn't been the last.
A cyclist at 44, in an era when most riders were youngsters, Siple and his son had been studying a map of Ohio when he noticed a good biking route, a 105-mile course that avoided major roads.
But his enthusiasm had faded by the time they reached Waverly, where in 1962 he sat down on a curb and told 16-year-old Greg that he was miserable.
"I said, 'I can't go any farther; we've got to call somebody,'" recalled Siple, now 92 and living in Canal Winchester.
"And he said, 'Dad, we can't do that. Look how far we've come.'"
In completing the ride (and even adding a victory lap across the Ohio River to Kentucky), the Siples unknowingly created a cycling tour that would be enjoyed for decades to come.
The 50th Tour of the Scioto River Valley this weekend is expected to draw almost 3,000 cyclists, many of whom have made "TOSRV" into a personal tradition.

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