2006 Frequently Asked Questions
- Registration
- What
are the fees for the 2006 tour and what do I get?
The tour fee is $555, and includes, most meals
(see Food below), SAG support and route information,
camping sites, a water bottle, and a cycling jersey. Depending on the selections made during registration, there are additional fees that may apply. There is a bus transportation fee of $30 from the Hampton Inn in San Jose to the ride start in Bear Valley on the first day and $15 fee for bus transportation from the ride end in San Francisco back to the Hampton Inn in San Jose. An advanced bus reservations are required. If you
transport your bicycle in a Bike Case (either hard or soft), there is also a $25 fee for storage and handling.
-
When
does registration open?
-
Registration is now open. You can view the list of currently registered riders. We are now accepting for our standby riders list only.
Those tenacious enough to stay on the wait list usually get on the tour,
which runs Saturday, June 17, through Saturday, June 24, 2006.
- How
do I register?
- How
many riders?
- Sierra to the Sea is limited to approximately 130 riders, which with the addition of our
volunteer Staff totals to some 150 bicycling enthusiasts. We all wear
names tags, so by the end of the week you will have swapped cycling
adventures with many new friends.
- Where
and when does the tour start?
- The
Tour starts Saturday, June 17, 2006 at:
Hampton Inn & Suites
55 Old Tully Road
San Jose, CA 95111
(408) 298-7373
For those that reserved a place on the chartered buses, it leave at 8:30 AM for the trip to Bear Valley, CA and the Tour's first overnight campsite. The bus transportation fee is $30 to the ride start and $15 from the ride end.
- What
if I don't want to take the bus from San Jose to Bear Valley or from San
Francisco back to San Jose?
- Guests are welcome to get to Bear Valley on their own, whether driving or
cycling and/or do the same after the ride end.
- When
do we sign-in for Tour?
-
The Tour's Registration Center will be open at the Hampton Inn &
Suites from 6:00 to 8:00 PM on Friday, June 16th, and from 7:00 to
8:00 AM on Saturday, June 17th. If you are joining the Tour in Bear
Valley, the
Registration Center will be open from 7:00 to 8:00 PM on Saturday,
June 17th at the Bear Valley, CA.
- When
do the riders come from?
- This map shows you where those who have registered for the 2006 Tour come from. It was updated as of 1/16/06.
- Food
-
Are
all meals provided?
-
We
provide all dinners except in Calistoga (plenty of restaurants). Dinners
are provided by caterers and regularly receive rave reviews from our
guests. Breakfast
is provided in Bear Valley, Jackson, Ryde, and Lake Solano. A light breakfast
(coffee, juice, muffins, bagels) is provided in Olema.
Lunch is provided only in San Francisco. Our route takes us through
many towns with ample opportunities to buy lunch at restaurants,
delicatessens, and grocery stores (One guest: "Every year, I bring a dozen
PowerBars on tour...and then bring them home.").
- I am
vegetarian. Will meals provide vegetarian options?
- One
of our perennial riders (8 years in a row so far) is vegan, so we keep
checking with her to make sure we are providing appropriate fare. So
far so good. We remind our caterers each year that, as they express
their culinary creativity, they should continue to accommodate our vegan
and vegetarian guests.
- Camping
- How
much baggage can I bring on the tour?
- Two
duffle bags limited to 40 pounds each. No hard suitcase, backpack frames,
coolers, lawn chairs, camp stoves, large radios, or alcoholic beverages are
allowed. Please avoid bringing fragile or breakable items, as we
load and unload about 200 bags every day.
- Are
tents and sleeping bags provided?
- No,
each rider who chooses to use a tent and sleeping bag must provide their
own. Late in the week we spend two nights near the ocean, where
overnight dew makes a tent welcome.
- Is
all my gear transported to the next campsite each day?
- Yes, we transport your two bags between each campsite. We do not
transport bags to hotels with the exception of Calistoga, where we will
designate a short list of supported hotels. Although the tour is
intended as a camping tour, some guests choose to stay in hotels some
nights. Those guests should bring a daypack, which they can load with
their overnight gear each afternoon in camp and then cycle to and from
their hotel. Calistoga is our Wednesday, June 22, stop, where we
will drop off and pick up bags at the three hotels listed for Calistoga on
our hotel list.
- Will you shuttle me to hotels and will you reserve rooms for me?
- Camping is provided every night, but you may wish to spend one or more
nights in a hotel. You are responsible for your own hotel reservations and
payment. See a list of nearby hotels (PDF file). Other hotel accommodations
are not recommended as they may be located far from camping and dinner.
Transportation of an overnight bag will be provided to and from any of the
recommended hotels in Calistoga on Wednesday only. Saturday
in Bear Valley and Monday in Ryde, we camp right by a hotel. For all other
days, each rider is responsible for his/her own transportation between
campsite and hotels, including bicycles and overnight supplies. We
recommend bringing a daypack into which you can stow these supplies at the
campground so you can bicycle to your hotel on these nights and return
them to the campsite in the morning.
- Routes
- How
many rest stops each day?
- Typically two. However there are two routes, so you may see only one rest
stop. There may not be a rest stop on the last day as it is a short ride
to San Francisco with lots of little towns along the route.
- How
many SAG vehicles?
- Two
SAG vans, each of which sets up a rest stop and then sweeps the course.
- What
is the daily mileage and feet climbed?
- The miles and climbing for each day are as follows.
|
Day |
Mileage Options
|
Climbing Options
|
|
Saturday |
None |
None |
|
Sunday |
65 / 85 |
5700' / 8000' |
|
Monday |
64 / 95 |
2000' / 3400' |
|
Tuesday |
59 / 78 |
1200' / 1900' |
|
Wednesday |
59 / 67 |
3000' / 6000' |
|
Thursday |
58 / 68 |
3200' / 4500' |
|
Friday |
48 / 69 |
2300' / 5100 |
|
Saturday |
42 |
4100' |
|
Total |
395 - 504 |
21500' - 33000' |
|
Daily average |
56 - 72 |
3071' - 4714' |
- Are
GPS routes available for the tour?
- No, for 2006 there is no plan to provide GPS files.
- General
- What
kind of bike will I need?
- We
recommend a well-maintained multi-speed road bicycle with triple chainrings.
We strongly recommend two water bottles or hydration pack. You may want to
consider a handlebar bag or other carrier for jacket, sunscreen, camera,
route/cue sheets, etc.
- Is
there a masseuse available on the tour?
- We
will have two massage therapists on tour, who will provide afternoon and evening massages
for $60 / hour. Check with them on tour for availability and to sign
up for a time.
- What will the weather be like?
- The
weather for the most part is clear in June, although showers are possible.
Temperatures during the tour, however, can range from near 100 degrees in
the Sacramento Valley to 35 - 60 degrees in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and along the coast. Bring appropriate
cycling clothes to accommodate these temperature extremes. Early in
the week, most wear shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. In Duncans
Mills and Olema, evening and morning fog prompts many people to layer,
wearing wool caps and gloves (One guest: "My only footwear are cycling
shoes and river sandals; sandals are great in the heat, convenient in the
showers, and with wool socks they are warm when it's cool out.").
For current weather conditions check...
|
