  FREQUENTLY ASKED (or at least Good) QUESTIONS  September - Registration Open December 1st - First Deadline for deposits December 10 - Cut Off for 2008 Donations March 1 - Balance Due - No Refunds April 29 & 30 - Drop Off Bikes in Irvine May 1st - Shuttle North from OC May 2 - after 9am Find Start & get Bike & GO! May 9 - Last day: Lompoc to Goleta: Tour Over Unload stuff & get Shuttles reloaded with bikes to drive home Saturday night Where do we meet? Irvine - Drop Off Bikes : (secure undisclosed location) Irvine - Load & Shuttle: We'll pick you up! San Francisco - Tour: meet up at Fort Mason Park just West of Fisherman's Wharf at the Park Headquarters at the intersection of MacArthur Ave & Franklin St. Details Where do we stay May 1st? The tour starts May 2nd; If you are on a shuttle or showing up May 1st you need to secure your own lodging for the night. Most of the shuttle 'hitchers' & crew are staying at the Hostel Details Can I bring my Spouse as a "Volunteer?" We are already pretty well staffed, and the goal is to make as much on this tour as we can for our charity, so sorry - no volunteers... Strong riders should sign up & enjoy the coast & then explore plenty of extra miles inland every day if they wish. Less strong riders are encouraged to enjoy the tour & wave down a SAG on any hills they hate or after they have had enough, to join us in a van on down the scenic route - handing out snacks & encouragement & enjoying the same great scenery... My Spouse won't ride - Can I get a discount? Again, the goal is to make as much on this tour as we can for our charity, so we would rather 'sell' a space to a full priced rider, BUT... If really NOT a biker, & it will get you to sign up, we will give a discount; $150 is a fixed donation to the Light The Way Foundation; $400 is what we need to charge for folks who want a room to them selves (single occupancy - not be assigned a room mate) and $75 would be a fair share to join the group dinner & morning & snacks & SAG for the week; $625 would be a $170 discount for a non-rider... What is the age range of the participants? As of the first 32 reg forms received we range from 35 to 75 & average about 59 What time do we start riding in the morning? Trying to decide what riding clothing I need. Usually folks get going pretty early but it depends on the individuals - no group start is planned but most will probably be checked out & on the road off by 8am; Along the coast it can get cool & moist, so plan on at least a light shell & maybe light long sleeved layer to start with & strip down when you warm up... H ow do we wash clothes on the tour? On Motel Tours you can usually get away with hand washing shorts each night & hanging up to drip dry - They may be a bit moist in the morning but an quick toast over a heater or 10 seconds in a microwave knocks off the chill & in a few minutes of warm-up riding they will either be dryer, or moister from morning dew or perspiration. As soon as you get to your room at the end of the day, jump in the shower in your kit & hand wash everything, wring it out & hang it up before going to dinner & by morning it will be fine. Might bring along some Woolite or detergent if you don't want to use the motel soap... Where do we eat at night? Most folks will scout out a meal when they get to the end of the day - then jump in a shower & walk over - or might grab a bite before returning to the room. Not many places can handle 50 of us - so we will naturally disperse in time & appetites.... The night in Pismo Beach we do have a group dinner planned that is included in the tour, otherwise budget your own from markets, deli, fast food to fancy dining... Other than Big Sur there will be many choices near the lodging! At Breakfast everyone should brag about what they found for dinner the night before... Yes - Some grab an extra banana, hard cooked egg & bagel at breakfast, some pack their favorite PowerBars or CliffBars & take a few each day, Some stop at every good bakery or ice cream shop on the route; There will be plenty of options most days - We'll probably want to pack some sandwiches for Big Sur to San Simeon, as options are limited on that long day. We'll probably hit the grocery store in Carmel to stock up the day before on the way to Big Sur... Details Are we limited in our duffel size? Please pack light and limit your luggage to an airline size carry-on or small duffel.. Remember, every day for a week, you will have to dig it out of the luggage van among everyone else's, lug it up & down stairs, and in & out of your room. You're among friends so no one will notice if you wear the same jersey every day as long as you wash it out! If you are shuttling with us you WILL need to pack light & keep it to an airline size carry-on duffel or we will not all fit! Do you have the route with elevation gain? The best resource for route info on the Pacific Coast is "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Vicki Spring & Tom Kirkendell (The Mountaineer Books, Seattle, WA), - it has the detail you seek & covers almost every road we will use. If you like online stuff, check out Map My Ride.com Search for "San Francisco" "20-50 miles" & there are 752 routes available... "Half Moon Bay" gives up 56 routes including "HWY1 Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz" & Half Moon Bay to Olema (North of San Francisco) The system gives great mapping detail and generates a profile of elevation. There will be hills and scenery & flat stretches... most important is plenty of saddle time for riding consecutive days... You will get stronger as the tour goes along! Route Details Payable to Escalle Marketing LLC ~ Mail with Reg Form(s) to: GCFR c/o Bill Sellin, 405 E Wilson Ave, Orange CA 92867 Where does the ride end in Santa Barbara and how far is that from the train station? Will there be a place to take a shower? We will unload at a long term parking lot near the Santa Barbara airport in Goleta: at James Fowler and Fairview. It is about 1.8 miles to the Goleta train station; 25 South La Patera Lane Goleta, MAP AmTrak runs at 1:45, 4:16 & 6:45 $7 to Santa Barbara - buy ticket on the train... We may be able to shuttle a few times as folks roll in... Santa Barbara Station is 10.5 miles South at 209 State Street MAP and unless you know some one who gets a room, there are not going to be any showers... Where should I Stay in Santa Barbara on the 9th? The tour ends Saturday afternoon; so we do not have any reservations for Santa Barbara planned. If you want to stay a night you are on your own, but please share what you find & we can add it here! If any of the Santa Barbara area participants have a suggestion let us know! Email Us! We can accommodate folks at the Best Western Pepper Tree Inn for Saturday May 9th Unlike last year in Utah, we are not doing a loop and so we do not have any leverage to facilitate parking at a motel in Goleta or Santa Barbara. If renting a one way car from the Airport, there is long term parking there at James Fowler and Fairview That is where we plan to unload so a perfect pace to park! If staying at a motel after the tour on May 9th, you may have some leverage about parking there for a week... but we do not have any plans for you. Yes, we will have a few handy each day & in the sag vans Should we plan to bring extra tires? Tubes over and above what we can carry in our saddle packs? A fresh pair of tires should do - If we have an issue or need to buy more tubes there are bike shops along much of the route; or bring one extra tire your size & we can keep it in the van - (Bill usually carries a spare folding tire even on local club rides, but he was a Boy Scout) Will there be WiFi at the hotels, and should I bring my laptop? Will a laptop be safe in the support truck when we take off until the hotel that afternoon? Not sure if any or all will have WiFi, but there should be Coffee Houses near by if you need to stay connected. If you want to contact each & see, let us know! Motel6 San Simeon has WiFi in some rooms for $3 per day. Your laptop should be safe within your luggage - as long as it's not in a fancy laptop bag that says HP or has a big Apple logo visible - I would trust mine in my bag & will probably have it along... Others in the group who get in before you will have to dig around your bags to find theirs when they arrive; everyone on the tour will know the combo lock on the truck, so as long as the truck is not left open for some one to grab stuff it should be pretty secure... (Bill)  If it's a decision to have you come along or not, no they are just Highly Recommended; It really helps the SAG drivers find & identify you on the road, and can really help you stand out on the narrow stretches of Highway 1... so please get one if you can! Drop off Bikes address in Irvine? We emailed each person who signed up for bike transport the undisclosed location & instructions; It is in Irvine, but with anyone being able to search the internet, we don't want anyone to show up & take a truck load of bikes after we load them Thursday night! Email Us! What lubricants do you recommend I bring for the chain and gears? I added some Pedro's Road Rage to my tool cart after using it in Utah last year; Great lube but filthy high maintenance clean-it-after-every-ride kind of care & black fingers when you fix a flat. I use White Ligthtning - Works fine until you get into rain and then a few squeeks start up. I carry a small sample bottle of Purple Extreme in my tool bag & refilled another one with White Lightning.(Bill) Do you favor a particular sunscreen? I wear lip balm, a helmet visor & Solumbra shirt; other than that some sweat proof 30+ SPF over the counter for my calves & thighs helps until my tan base is darker... (Bill) How do I add MY Question here? Email Us! We will reply and add good answers to common questions here for others to see April 25th 
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