Blanchester will host approximately 250 bicycle riders from around the world in late June. Race Across America, a 3,000-mile bicycle race, will make its way through Southwest Ohio June 23-26. The riders will begin the gruelling race in Oceanside, Calif., and race through 14 states to the finish line in Annapolis, Md.

“I think last year the racers came through over a four- or five-day period,” said Tina Fischer, a member of the Blanchester Parks and Recreation Board. “It’s because solo riders start at one time and teams start at another time.”

In fact, solo riders will start the race on June 17, and team riders will start June 20.

Blanchester will be home to Time Station 41, where volunteers are expected to report the time of each rider as they arrive. The reported time will then be forwarded to the next time station, so representatives there can prepare to greet and assist the racers as they make their way east to the finish line.

“We set up the time station between McDonald’s and United Dairy Farmers. That way, it’s in a central location and the crew can get the supplies they need from the store. They’ll be coming through Blanchester and heading on to Chillicothe,” Fischer said.

Currently, the time station has about 20 local volunteers, according to Fischer. The racers come through the time station in a staggered pattern, depending on their departure time and skill level.

“We really need people around the clock,” she said.

Area businesses are getting in on the action as well by supplying water to the racers.

“We will be donating bottled water and apples to the riders,” said Logan Peacock Brown, director of McDonald’s marketing. “We’ll also be raffling a bicycle. The time station will be located on our property, so we will be involved in the race.”

“Kroger will be passing out water to the racers,” said Cortney Hackney, human resources coordinator at Kroger Inc.

The racers will be using State Route 28, arriving in Blanchester from Oxford, and continuing on to Chillicothe.

“This is the second year the race will go through Blanchester,” Doug Phillis, Blanchester’s time station manager, said. “The previous route in 2007 and prior, was further north and went through Troy, London, Circleville and Athens. They moved it south because the Cincinnati and Dayton area is more of a cycling community and has more fan support. The route went through Hamilton, Lebanon, Morrow, Blanchester, Chillicothe and Athens last year. However, Oxford was a better choice this year then Hamilton. The athletes complained about the traffic congestion last year. The area west of Oxford into Indiana is very rural and conducive for cycling.”

The athletes fall into five divisions: solo, two-person team, four-person team, six-person team and eight-person team. The age range is 18 to 70. This year marks the 28th year of Race Across America.

“They were impressed with the turn out and the warm welcome, which is why they chose to come back this year,” said Fischer.

Unlike the Tour de France, Europe’s most publicized bicycle race, Race Across America is not a stage race. The race essentially consists of one stage. Once the clock starts on the west coast, the clock doesn’t stop until each racer reaches the finish line on the east coast. The race is 30 percent longer than the Tour de France, yet racers finish in half the time with no rest days.