Tulip Tour General Info
Photo by Jim Eickmeier |
I'm Don Hollingshead, tour organizer. Join me for the EVCC's 26th annual tour in the Gulf/ San Juan/ Olympic Peninsula area. |
If you fly, here are the West Jet and Air Canada flights between Calgary and Victoria. We arrive back at Sidney from San Juan Island about 12 noon. After clearing customs and immigration I have a tour planned around the north end of Saanich Peninsula and through a rhododendron garden en route to the Victoria Airport. We will be at the airport by 3 PM at the latest.
West Jet
April 4 From Calgary 8 AM WS235 (arrives 8:30 AM) (Don booked on this flight)
April 13 From Victoria 5:45 PM WS502 (arrives 8:15 PM) or
April 13 From Victoria 8:00 PM WS508 (arrives 10:30 PM) (Don booked on this flight)
Air Canada
No flight the morning of April 4 but you can fly on Friday April 3 and stay over
April 13 3:35 PM From Victoria AC8556 (arrives 6 PM) (this flight departs too early for our tour schedule)
April 13 7:35 PM From Victoria AC8558 (Arrives 10 PM)
Note: Bicycles carried as baggage are subject to an additional fee ($35 last time I checked on West Jet) which is sometimes (infrequently) overlooked by the airlines. The airlines do provide bags to passengers and West Jet will generally help you bag your bike. See How to Bag a Bike
Please fill out the Tulip Tour Registration Form and submit it with your deposit and posted dated final trip payment. If you can't make it to the pre-tour event below, mail the registration form and cheques to:
Don Hollingshead
1234 18 St NW
Calgary AB
T2N 2G7
March 14 at 7 PM at Don's residence (1234 18 ST NW (click for map)). This is a pre-trip information session and a chance to meet the other participants that will be on the tour. Please bring a snack and what ever you like to drink. Slides from previous tours will be shown later in the evening.
Packing bikes and travelling with them session
March 14 5 PM at Don's residence (1234 18 ST NW (not 18A St!)). Racks, panniers, what to take and how to pack for the Tulip Tour. How to disassemble and prepare a bicycle for air travel. Please RSVP by March 12.
See: How to Bag a Bike
$850 buys you:
A trip deposit of $250 CA will reserve your spot on the tour. The deposit is refundable in full till March 1. After that date deposit is refundable based on finding a replacement participant.
March 14
Arise each day early enough to:
so that you can join us for the morning meeting at 8:45 near the accommodation lobby and depart soon after.
Each days ride which will involve ferry rides on several days, will have a few regrouping points and a lunch stop mid-day. The rides will typically finish mid- to late-afternoon leaving participants time to see the town, shop for next day's snacks/lunch, shower etc., before meeting to go for dinner at the motel lobby.
When you get to the motel each day, your room is pre-assigned. Ask at the front desk about bicycle storage when you check in.
I meet with the entire group at 8:30 each morning at or near the motel/hotel office. At this meeting, I will pass out the day's route map and point out any special challenges, and collect the baggage for the shuttle (if available/appropriate). I'll also do a radio check with those that have FRS radios (see Communications below).
This is your chance to bring me up to speed on your status if you need to and ask any questions about the days ride or other issues.
If you are having mechanical difficulties with your bike, please let myself or any of the other handy members of the group know ASAP and we will do our best to straighten them out and or plan a side trip to the nearest bike shop..
8:30 AM Westjet flight WS 235 from Calgary. We'll spend some time unpacking and setting up bikes at the airport.
Victoria Airport Authority and the City of Victoria have installed a bicycle setup facility for air travelers needing to reassemble their bicycles.
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If you are driving, leaving your car in Tsawassen and taking the ferry, there is a pleasant 8 km ride to the airport. Ferries leave every hour starting at 9 AM for the 1.5 hr voyage to Swartz Bay. Plan to arrive at the airport at 11 AM.
Ferry information for the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay ferry can be found at this link:
If you bring your car to the start, you can park it for the week for free at Ocean Ave and 5th St in Sidney near the US ferry dock. It is a pleasant 5 km ride to the Victoria Airport passenger terminal where the tour starts and ends. See this link for route.
It is imperative that all participants be members of the EVCC for the 2009 season before embarking on the Tulip Tour. Please ensure that your membership has been renewed by logging on to the EVCC website and navigate to Account | Renew Membership tab.
A van will be used to move our gear each day to the next accommodation.
While I have provided a suggested packing list and a link to an excellent overview of packing, there is a need to arrange our baggage to take advantage of the shuttles.
Day trip gear would include
This gear would need to be carried with you each day, preferably in a pannier, but as a last resort, in a day pack on your back.
The best bike to bring on this tour is a touring bike with 700C x 28 tires. The first 3 days include well packed trail and pavement as we follow the optional rail-trails between Sidney BC and Port Townsend WA.
This is the west coast so unless you are a mountain goat, you should have hill climbing gears on your bike. Most of the hills are well graded but there are a few steep ones along the way. This route is not as hilly as the Cowichan Valley Gulf Islands tour.
Bike lights are highly recommended. You never know when you might be delayed at a restaurant etc. and end up riding back to the motel after dark. White LED head light and a blinky red LED tail light are fairly inexpensive and seem to last forever on a set of batteries. Also, make sure you have clothing or bags with retro-reflective stripes.
The purchase of personal travel/medical insurance for the tour is mandatory. The EVCC's sport accident insurance has a $500 deductible, provides minimal coverage and is a last resort. Blue Cross and AMA are popular sources of travel coverage. There is a space on the registration form for you to write the policy number of your travel insurance. Be sure to pack the policy manual with you.
The EVCC carries $2,000,000 of general liability insurance. It protects the club executive and members from personal loss should a member or the public or a participant bring suit against the EVCC and/or another member.
If you have questions about insurance for this tour, please phone me: 402-289-7061.
April weather can be beautiful and it can be windy and rainy. We've seen it all during that past 28 years. Temperatures range between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius. Hope for sun, expect at least some rain.
When it does rain, it has been known to rain on and off all day long. Some parts of the route are more prone to rain than others. The most likely dry spot is the San Juan Islands where we will spend the last 3 days of the tour. We've had entire Tulip tours that were sunny and dry, others that had a few rain days, but none where it rained for more than half the tour. Expect on average one day of rain.
Take windproof and brightly coloured jackets. If you can afford it, take gortex clothing. Otherwise, bring a separate rainproof jacket or poncho (also brightly coloured). If you can't find what you want in Calgary, wait and look in bike shops in Victoria for rain gear (Fairfield Cycle shop near our hotel in Victoria is good). Synthetic 'polar' fleece garments beneath the rainwear should keep you warm.
There are three pieces of clothing that protect you where you contact the bicycle.
Cycling shoes are a very practical investment. Unlike running shoes, cycling shoes provide a solid platform on which to push down on the pedal. You will definitely notice a difference in pedaling efficiency and foot comfort between the two types of shoe when riding. Cycling shoes can be worn without installing the optional cleat that holds the shoe to the pedal. Those who learn to disengage the cleats from the pedals before stopping agree that the cleats also assist pedaling efficiency.
If you are new to cleated cycling shoes (Shimano SPD system is most common), start with a slack adjustment on the pedal-cleat mechanism so that you will come out easily. As you gain confidence, slowly tighten the pedal-cleat tension (hex key) adjustment until you no longer have to work at keeping the shoes clipped in to the pedals.
Cycling shorts are a very cycling specific and special clothing item. Buy the best ones that you can afford. Cycling shorts are worn next to the skin with nothing between. A product known as "chamois butter" can be applied to the skin to increase the comfort level. Because of the skin contact and the addition of skin lubricants to the synthetic chamois liner, shorts should be laundered frequently. Frequent laundering protects the stretchy component of Lycra from degradation caused by body oil. Best to have 2 pairs so the freshly laundered shorts have time to dry between uses. Bring a clothes line in your baggage so you can hang up wet shorts over night (or mount on a hanger and attach to blades of ceiling fan).
Cycling gloves are another important clothing item that cushion the contact point between you and your handlebars. Cycling gloves prevent damage to the ulna nerves in your hands, and provide important protection to your hands in case of a fall. A gloved hand can be held against the front wheel while riding to brush off broken glass and can be wadded and left in the applied brake levers to prevent a bicycle from rolling while parked. Even cheap cycling gloves work well.
Days can be sunny and sometimes cool at this time of year so bring synthetic long sleeve tops and full length bottoms. For rain riding, wear bright colours, and protect your extremities from wind. Some just pull bags over their shoes, others buy special water proof shoe covers with an opening for cleats on the soles. Wind mitts or better, lobster claw wind mittens, can be worn over cycling gloves and protect hands from rain and wind. If you have it in your budget, buy gortex clothing--it seems to work well on long rain rides.
See packing list for more clothing items.
Most of the motels will let us take our bikes into our rooms at night. Please keep some plastic to place under your bike if it is wet. The first night at the Queen Victoria Inn, a lock up in the basement of the hotel has been organized. Bring a cable lock for those motels where we will have to park our bikes outside under cover (Oak Harbor).
I will pay for group tickets on each ferry. Please arrive ahead of ferry departure at least 20 minutes.
Look for me when you arrive at the ferry terminal. We will often line up with the pedestrians to await boarding. We will need to WALK our bikes down the ramp and to where ever the ferry personnel indicate that we should park our bikes. This is usually at the front or back of the ferry along the edge where we can lean our bikes up. Often there are lengths of light rope with which to secure our bikes and we will usually need to stack them 2 deep. Remove what you will need during the ferry trip and enjoy the ride. The larger ferries have canteens and the smaller ones vending machines. All have washrooms.
We will often pull off and let the traffic pass if we are first off.
At the inner harbour ferry terminal in Victoria, you will pass through US immagration before boarding and US customs when exiting at Port Angeles.
There are automated banking machines in each town along this tour. Most restaurants accept debit and credit cards. It is recommended that you have a $100 US and $50 CA cash with you at start of tour. Travelers cheques are an unnecessary complication in this part of the world and have been largely replaced by automated banking machines.
U.S. authorities currently do have a legal requirement that Canadians carry a passport now. Be sure that yours is current. If you need to renew, you will find that the electronic forms on the Canadian Government web pages will speed you through the queue at the Harry Hayes building passport office.In past years, we've used the Airport Shuttle company to pick us up in Calgary and take us to the airport. However, they hae gone defunct and your only present options are private auto, taxi or cycling to the airport. If you take taxi, book a week in advance and make sure that they know that you are bringing a bicycle. Delta Cabs is one of the newer companies and I've been happy with their service.
You will be able to bag your bike at the airport. I will be near the check in until all participants who are flying Westjet 235 have arrived and checked in.
See Good Ideas--Some Thoughts on Cycling. I recommend that you go to Bikesense website and read this fine online manual. It was developed in Victoria and deals with BC cycling law (but is also pretty much universally applicable in North America). If you feel uneasy about any aspect of cycle touring or just have questions, please ask. I am a National Examiner for the CAN-BIKE program.
If our navigation system fails, you may find yourself on your bike out of touch visually with the group.
It is not a bad idea to bring the best FRS radio that you can afford with you on this tour. Even with good radios, ability to reach someone else in hilly country is limited to kilometer or 2. If you bring one of these, you will need to charge it each night, so be sure that you have the charger.
Cell phones are the obvious option these days. Using them away from home can be pricey, especially since you will be calling long distance each time in a foreign network. You can extend your phone plan for North America coverage for a $20 or so for a month at time. The other problem with cell phones is coverage. You may find that one carrier (say Telus) has better coverage in the countryside than another (say Rogers). You can always use a pay phone with your calling card or credit card as a last resort to call the tour coordinator's cell.
Unless you start the day in the wrong direction, it is pretty hard to get lost on this tour. The route complexity some days is an attempt to keep the tour on back roads. If you get separated or disoriented and can't make sense of maps, you can always ride the highway shoulder. We will do this anyway briefly on some days since their are no alternatives.
That said, we have gotten separated in towns at lunch stops where there were several exit options to our destination. This is where the audible alert feature on FRS radios is useful for alerting the group that we are 10 minutes away from departure etc.
If we get spread out, the best strategy is to wait for the rider behind you at a corner and hopefully they will do the same for those behind them.
Because this area is hilly, the group will get spread out. I'll provide reasonable maps. If you would like to ride ahead and do some exploring or just get to the day's destination, the maps will enable this. If you would like to explore off route, stop at a gas station and buy a supplemental map of the area.
The route has been chosen to reduce the time spent on major roads as much as possible. This means that the maps will need to be referenced often to stay on route. If you would like to extend the route and do more distance, that's great. Try to let me know this in the morning so that we can exclude you from head counts later in the day.
If you haven't guessed yet, I tend to ride near the back in a group to take care of mechanicals and chit chat, take photos etc. unless we are catching a ferry.
Each individual has a particular speed that they are comfortable maintaining at any given time. Many factors impact this speed including terrain, wind, what one just consumed for lunch, temperature and generally what mood they are in. It is a compromise for cyclists to ride at each other's pace--although on any given day, you may find yourself riding at someone else's speed, especially in a group of a dozen or more.
So it is not expected that the participants will ride in one large group during the tour. Everyone will have a map of the route. If you feel strong and want to ride fast, be a good map reader. If you are feeling sluggish and or want to take some photos, be a good map reader. The coordinator, Don, will be somewhere in the middle, probably towards the rear, taking photos and lollygagging with the "relaxed pace" cyclists in the group, unless we have a ferry to catch.
While some of the accommodations will have refrigerators and/or microwave ovens, many like to find their meals at restaurants. Most of our accommodations will be quite close to restaurants and well stocked grocery stores. It would be wise to bring some sturdy plastic cutlery and a plastic plate or bowl, salt & pepper etc. in case you do want to picnic or dine in your room.
Although we may eat at the same restaurant, it is usually best to be seated in small groups and get faster service. The front desk at our accommodation is often a good place to start a search for restaurants or groceries.
Try to keep some snack type food in your bags in case we don't happen on a restaurant when you feel like refueling--cheese, nuts, fruit, chocolate etc. There are some magnificent picnic stops on this route where a such a snack would be a sure hit. Frequent snacks are better than lengthy lunch stops when cycling.
We will be close to bikes shops in most towns along the route. A few of the participants are proficient bike mechanics but may not be where you are when you need help. If your problem is major and you need a hand with it, contact Don (see Communicatons)
