diff --git a/lib/geocoder/stores/active_record.rb b/lib/geocoder/stores/active_record.rb
index 5002a9f0853f04a1d3510c9fe3fc16a66b690061..84498be1c2d665bddeca16ac1c8a81fce973d945 100644
--- a/lib/geocoder/stores/active_record.rb
+++ b/lib/geocoder/stores/active_record.rb
@@ -111,10 +111,11 @@ module Geocoder::Store
         else
           conditions = ["#{distance} <= ?", radius]
         end
-        default_near_scope_options(latitude, longitude, radius, options).merge(
+        {
           :select => select_clause(options[:select], distance, bearing),
-          :conditions => add_exclude_condition(conditions, options[:exclude])
-        )
+          :conditions => add_exclude_condition(conditions, options[:exclude]),
+          :order => options.include?(:order) ? options[:order] : "distance ASC"
+        }
       end
 
       def distance_from_sql_options(latitude, longitude, options = {})
@@ -157,17 +158,6 @@ module Geocoder::Store
           (bearing ? ", #{bearing} AS bearing" : "")
       end
 
-      ##
-      # Options used for any near-like scope.
-      #
-      def default_near_scope_options(latitude, longitude, radius, options)
-        {
-          :order  => options[:order] || "distance",
-          :limit  => options[:limit],
-          :offset => options[:offset]
-        }
-      end
-
       ##
       # Adds a condition to exclude a given object by ID.
       # Expects conditions as an array or string. Returns array.