Annual Ride offers routes from 10 to 100 miles, with a special stop at the Hartford Apple Festival and Hartford Hill Winery

A fall bike ride through Trumbull County countryside sounds pretty good. Add homemade cookies, an apple festival and a winery stop, and you have the makings of a GREAT September Sunday.

The Out-Spokin’ Wheelmen will host its 53rd annual Northeast Ohio Century, or NEOC, on Sunday, Sept. 20, bringing cyclists from Northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania together for one of the Youngstown-area club’s longest-running traditions.

This year, the 25-mile route adds a little extra fall flavor with visits to the 62nd Annual Hartford Apple Festival and Hartford Hill Winery and Brewery.

And don’t let the word “century” scare you off.

In cycling, completing a century means riding 100 miles in a single day, a milestone for cyclists much like completing a marathon is for runners. At NEOC, riders who want that challenge can complete both of the event’s approximately 50-mile routes to reach 100 miles.

But 100 miles is definitely not required.

Riders can choose routes of 10, 25, 50, or 51 miles, making the event an option for cyclists looking for anything from a short recreational ride to a full-day endurance goal. Participants ride at their own pace along color-coded routes through mostly flat terrain.

NEOC has also earned another, perhaps more delicious, nickname: the Northeast Ohio Cookie Ride.

Out-Spokin’ volunteers bake dozens upon dozens of homemade cookies to keep cyclists fueled throughout the day, and lunch is included with registration.

Riders can begin between 7 and 10 a.m. at the Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge, 6400 State Route 46, Mecca Township. Helmets are required, and support vehicles will be available until 5 p.m. to assist cyclists with mechanical problems or other needs.