Hello Everyone,
In less than 18 days, many of us will be gathered in Burlington, VT for onsite registration for this year’s event. With all the work done by the many volunteers, it promises to be another “once in a lifetime” experience.
For those of you who haven’t started training yet, I would suggest NOW would be a good time. You can read this newsletter when you get back from your training ride.
This will be the final newsletter before the event. It is a bit more detailed than usual, to make sure we cover everything. If you have any questions AFTER reading the newsletter, you can send an e-mail to david@charitytreks.org.
2012 EVENT
The 2012 event is from Burlington, VT to Portland, ME. It will be held from Monday, August 13 to Friday, August 17, 2012. Onsite registration will take place on Sunday, August 12 at our host hotel, which will be the Sheraton Burlington Hotel.
If you are planning to attend but have not yet registered (and we know there are a few of you), please take the time to register now at www.charitytreks.org.
This will help us for the planning and accommodations on the ride.
HOST HOTELS
We no longer have rooms blocks with our host hotels (they expire 30 days before the event). However, the Sheraton will honor the Charity Treks rate, if you ask for it when making your reservation. The Holiday Inn By The Bay in Portland is completely sold out, so there aren’t any rooms available there.
If you have issues with accommodations, e-mail david@charitytreks.org and he’ll try to work something out, after chastising you for waiting so long to register.
Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center
870 Williston Road
Burlington, VT 05403
802-865-6600
$142.00 per night + 10% tax = $156.20
Holiday Inn By the Bay
88 Spring Street
Portland, ME 04101
207-775-2311 or 800-345-5050
$178.00 per night + 7% tax = $190.46
DONATION UPDATE
We are currently at $26,000 in funds raised for the event. If you have donations with you, please do not mail them in. Instead, bring them with you and there will be someone you can give them to at registration.
Fundraising for the event will not officially close until October, so if you have donors who give after the event, they will be able to donate online or directly to you.
REGISTRATION UPDATE FOR 2012
The registration number are as follows: 50 riders & 40 crew. We are still expecting a few more rider registrations as well.
We predict that this is the year we will hit the $1 million mark in cumulative funds raised, so current registrants will have bragging rights that they were part of the event when it happened.
BIKE & GEAR TRANSPORT / PICK-UP
Once again this year, there will be a bike & gear drop-off in the DC area for interested riders. Your bike & gear will be driven to Burlington on the gear truck and driven back after the event, all for the exceptionally reasonable price of $75.00.
The drop-off point is Elaina & Bert’s house. For details and directions, e-mail Elaina at elaina@charitytreks.org.
Drop-off times are as follows (may be subject to change):
Sun. Aug. 5: 3 – 8 pm
Mon. Aug. 6: 6 – 8 pm
Tue Aug. 7: 6 – 8 pm
Wed. Aug 8: Not Available
Thu. Aug. 9: 3 – 6 pm
The gear truck will be leaving at 7 pm sharp from Elaina & Bert’s house for Burlington.
Return to D.C.
For the return of gear and bikes to D.C., you have the option of bringing your bike and gear to the gear truck behind the hotel immediately after the event (between 3 – 5 pm on Friday), or on Saturday morning between 8 – 9 am. The bikes and gear will be available for pick-up at Elaina’s as of Tuesday evening.
SCHEDULE FOR ONSITE REGISTRATION
Onsite registration (Day 0) will take place between 2 – 5 pm. Please remember to bring your completed medical and release forms with you to registration. You will confirm your presence, drop-off any donations you have with you and collect your event T-shirt.
As part of registration, there is a one-on-one review with our medical team, then a short safety discussion to review event safety and rules of the road.
At 5 pm, there is an ice cream social, featuring Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, so you have the opportunity to meet some of the people you will be spending the week with.
The crew meeting will take place at 4 pm. If you have signed up as crew, please be sure to attend this meeting.
You are free to do as you please in the evening, and there is usually a small contingent of people who make their way down to the waterfront in Burlington for a nice dinner before the event begins.
Ride out on Monday morning from the Sheraton Burlington will be between 7:15 and 7:30 am.
VEHICLES
If you are planning on bringing a vehicle and using it in your work as crew or handing it over to the crew members to use on the ride, please e-mail Mark (mark@charitytreks.org) and give him the information on your vehicle. It is very important we know all the vehicles in advance to be sure that there is sufficient crew to get them from camp to camp and on to Portland.
If you don’t register your vehicle, it may get left behind.
Below is the information needed for each vehicle:
– Your name
– Vehicle make, model and year
– Insurance Card / Information and Valid Registration must be in the vehicle
– Manual or automatic transmission (automatic is preferred for crew vehicles)
– Bike Rack: Yes or NO. If Yes, for how many bikes
Please keep in mind that if you provide your vehicle for crew, you cannot use the vehicle as your own personal rolling warehouse. Do not store anything you want instant access to in the vehicle. We cannot guarantee that your vehicle will be at camp when you arrive. All of your gear needs to go on the gear truck. We can guarantee that the gear truck will be in camp when you arrive; crew vehicles may need to be out assisting riders who remain on the route.
DRESS IN RED DAY / RED DRESS DAY
We have looked at the route and taken feedback from people and think that the most appropriate day for Dress-in-Red-Day would be Day 3, which is the shortest day of the event and ends at Camp Woodlawn (Rosanne’s house for repeat riders).
For new riders, Dress-in-Red-Day is simply 1 day of the event where riders wear something red in order to call attention to AIDS and/or honor or commemorate a loved one we have lost. It is not a mandatory activity, just part of the experience of the event.
NEW THIS YEAR: HOSPITALITY CAMPER
On Thursday evening at Camp 4 (Naples Campground), there will be a hospitality camper hosted by Marcia Root and Bill Hock, who tested their concept informally last year with great results. They promise snack food, goodies and other assorted instruments of good cheer. Please be sure to stop in and say Hello to them.
SCHEDULE FOR CLOSING CEREMONY – FRIDAY, AUGUST 17
By 1 pm on Friday, all riders will be assembled at Payson Park in Portland, ME, which serves as the holding area prior to group ride-out. Event volunteers will give riders the signal to leave Payson Park for the group ride-out at approximately 1:30 pm. Riders will cycle to Deering Oaks Park (approx. 2.5 miles) and will arrive between 1:45 – 2:00 pm. Closing ceremonies will be from 2-3 pm at Deering Oaks Park Stage (near fountain).
After closing, participants are free to make their way to the hotel (Holiday Inn By The Bay) to check-in and relax & prepare for the celebratory dinner at 6 pm at 51 Wharf restaurant in downtown Portland, ME (cost of dinner not provided by event).
CELEBRATORY DINNER INFO (Menu & Sign-Up)
There will be fixed menu pricing for the celebratory dinner at 51 Wharf restaurant. At registration, you will be asked to choose your meal and reserve meals for other people who may be joining you for dinner.
There will be more details available at registration but please keep in mind that we will ask you to reserve the quantity and dinner selection in advance so the restaurant can prepare for our arrival. The entire restaurant is reserved for Charity Treks.
Note: The cost of this dinner is NOT included as part of the event.
FAMOUS (OR INFAMOUS) CHARITY TREKS AUCTION
At the Friday night dinner, we will be holding our annual Charity Treks auction, with all proceeds going to our beneficiaries. Past articles of interest were a plastic spatula used to cook meals during the event, autographed jerseys, a slab of concrete from a washed-out road and beautiful handmade quilts. The items, as well as the auction itself, are difficult to describe and not to be missed !!
LINK TO UCLA ARTICLE ABOUT CHARITY TREKS
At the request of many, here is the link to the article about Charity Treks that appeared in the UCLA Insider:
http://aidsinstitute.ucla.edu/workfiles/publications/insider-Winter2012.pdf
Click the link, or copy and paste it into your browser and it will download the Winter 2012 Edition of the UCLA Insider; Charity Treks is featured on pages 22 – 27.
There will be a representative from UCLA at our closing ceremony.
WHAT TO PACK LIST
Here is a detailed list of what to bring / pack for the event. This list is probably more than what most people need, but serves as a great checklist.
The crew will be loading and unloading the gear truck every day of the event. Please do not pack more than 40 pounds per bag. We do not limit the number of bags a person can bring. Crew would rather handle 3 40-lb. bags than 1 120-lb. body bag.
If your bag is too heavy, you may be asked to load and unload it from the gear truck yourself. Also, you will need to bring your bags to the gear truck every morning, so less weight per bag makes it easier on you.
As a final note, please remove batteries from any battery operated device and pack them separately (to avoid vibrating bag syndrome & being teased relentlessly).
What To Pack List
Bike !! (If you are riding)
Helmet
Picture ID (or Passport)
Spare tubes
Bike repair kit
Water bottles
Bikes shorts, jerseys, gloves, socks – enough for 5 days
Shoes / cleats
Windbreaker / lightweight jacket – mornings can be cool
Arm / leg warmers – again, mornings can be cool
Rain jacket – not that we will need this
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Anti-chafing lube of choice
Tent
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad or air mattress
Pillow
Headlamp / flashlight
Camp clothing (T-shirts, shorts, warmer attire if one tends to be chilly)
Sleepwear
Flip-flops / camp shoes / shower shoes
Any personal medication needed
Lip balm
Insect repellent
Washcloth
Toothpaste / toothbrush
Shampoo / body wash
Lotion
Baby powder – to help ease chafing
Deodorant
Hair ties
Razor
Earplugs – for sleeping
Camera
Alarm clock
Zip-lock bags to pack each day’s ride clothing
Quarters – for showers @ Quechee
Clothing for Portland dinner
Packed separately from ride clothes to eliminate “stinkage”