Anyone looking for a club more outdoor oriented than any of the other 62 club sports offered at OSU have the opportunity to join Columbus Outdoor Pursuits.
COP is a volunteer, nonprofit organization which focuses on educating and participating in a various number of outdoor activities such as biking, backpacking, hiking, climbing, boating, caving and skiing. While classes are offered to educate students on the maintenance and how-to for each activity, the club’s main focus is actually doing the activity.
“Mainly, what we do is take trips, whether it is a hiking or a cycling day-trip. Our goal is to go out, meet others and have fun,” said Sharon Seslar, six-year member and editor at COP.
The organization was originally formed in 1939 as a part of American Youth Hostel. The purpose of the program was to take outdoor trips for a few days by staying in hostels across the state of Ohio, instead of staying in expensive hotels. When the organization shifted its focus from outdoor activities in the mid-1990s, however, there were members who wanted to stay affiliated with the outdoor facet of the organization. As a result, an outdoor program was formed in 1996 to serve as an organization geared specifically towards outdoor recreation.
David Seslar, a COP board member who’s been active in the group since 1985, said he heard about the organization when he returned to Columbus.
“I came back to the area from elsewhere and was looking for a club that was active with trips and participating outdoors and I found the AYH,” he said. “I was interested in taking classes and learning more about boating. So my first activities with the club were boating and kayaking.”
Boating, whether it’s sea kayak, white-water canoe or flat-water canoe, is the group’s second-most popular activity among members, Seslar said. Veteran boaters and beginners alike participate in the activity and classes are held often to accommodate boaters on all levels.
Cycling is the most popular activity. The group is the primary organizers of the two largest biking tours in the state. The Tour of the Scioto River Valley, which annually attracts 3,500 riders, is a two-day, 200-mile bicycle tour that starts from Columbus, heads to Portsmouth and ends up back in Columbus. The ride, held during the weekend of Mother’s Day, is open to members as well as non-members of the group.
The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure is a week long, 50-mile-a-day excursion through some of Ohio’s scenic tourist destinations. The event attracts about 3,000 riders and is a more family-oriented ride. The designated route is released at the end of November and the ride itself is held at the end of June.
While COP organizes a number of large rides, it is involved in a variety of one-day rides, as well. Members ride every Wednesday and every weekend of the year as long as roads aren’t icy. The usual weekly route runs from Worthington, through the OSU bike trail, to the Short North and ending back in Worthington.
Ann Gerckens, office manager of COP and 30-year member, said cycling is so popular within the club because it’s not something that requires a lot of preparation.
“Cycling is something you can do at the spur of the moment. Columbus is a great area to ride, where you don’t have to drive five hours away to West Virginia for a good ride,” she said.
The weekly rides vary in the number of riders because of the weather.
“Typically, we have about 20-30 riders when the weather is nice out. On an early summer night we can get around 50-60 riders,” Gerckens said. “But when it’s real nasty outside, we only get 2-3 die-hard riders.”
While COP primarily deals with outdoor activities during the warmer months of the year, the organization does hold some winter activities, such as skiing. The club tries to organize as many ski trips as possible to such places as Mad River Mountain Resort, as well as to resorts in the western part of the country. These trips depend on how much snow the resorts get, and as with cycling, plans could be altered at any time.
“Weather plays a big part in our organization, and plans change all the time,” Gerckens said. “We communicate via e-mail a lot.”
COP holds program meetings on the third Tuesday of every month where members and non-members get the opportunity to meet, ask questions and watch slide shows on various outdoor activities. Each month a featured activity is highlighted during the meetings. Classes are also held throughout the month to educate members on the activities.
Membership for the group is $30 a year, with student and family discounts available. Members receive discounts on trips, classes and rental equipment. Several area stores, such as Sabo’s and Outdoor Source, offer discounts to members, as well.
Applications for membership are located on the back page of the monthly newsletter, which can be picked up at various local outdoor stores. Applications can also be downloaded at www.outdoor-pursuits.org.
