Weekend Trip Guidelines

Weekend Trip Definition

A weekend trip is a CRW event of more than one day's duration (weekend or longer) that in addition to the rides involves lodging and meals. This document has been prepared to serve as a guide for the Charles River Wheelmen Trip Leaders

Pre-Trip Preparation

Where will the trip take place?
When will the trip occur?
Get a co-leader
What are the accommodations for each night (biker and bikes)
- Camping
- Hostels
- Inns
- Combination
Total estimated cost for trip:
- Lodging
- Meals
- Happy Hour
- Insurance(see "Insurance")
- Other transportation (ferries, rental van, etc.)
How much deposit is needed and is it refundable, if so, last date for refund? Deposits should be made payable to the Charles River Wheelmen.
How are trip expenses to be handled?
Shared responsibility between trip leader and co-leader or just the leader?
How many people can go on the trip?
What are the arrangements for meals for each day?
(make sure ample food is available. This will need to be stressed to hotels and restaurants. We are not normal eaters!!!!)
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Where does the group first meet: instructions to get there
Will the trip have a sag wagon?
Plan routes
How many rides are going to be offered each day? Know the mileage and difficulty of the rides
Make maps
Include written directions. Are any arrangements made in case people get totally lost?
Obtain release forms for participants to sign (see "Insurance")
Group equipment
- First aid kit include dime and quarter for emergency phone call
- Spare inner tubes
- Pump
- Tools
- Axle

Trip Participants

When they call make sure they are aware of the difficulty of the trip. Explain the type of terrain that can be expected, the number of miles a day and if applicable the miles per hour they should be capable of doing. Make sure that they have done enough riding to be comfortable on your trip. Generally it is a good idea to describe the possible worst case scenario.
The trip leader can at their discretion refuse to allow a person on the trip for cause, such as that they would be disruptive, are inadequately prepared for the trip, etc.
Are there any special health problems that we need to be aware of if someone were hurt or unconscious that would be life threatening or would affect their care (allergies, diabetes etc?). If so, you may want the participant to note it on their release forms.
Do they have proper equipment (see "Suggested Equipment Lists")
To send to trip participants
- Have a poop sheet available for the trip covering the trip details(accommodations, directions to meeting place)
- It can be helpful to send out a sheet of all the people who have signed up for the trip with their phone numbers and addresses so people can car pool
- Have a suggested clothing/equipment list

The Trip

The Night Before (if possible)

Have participants sign release forms
Shake down ride
Try to get all minor repairs and adjustments done the night before the ride

Pre-Ride Meeting

(night before or morning of ride(s) )

Trip leaders and co leaders meet with the group. Pass out maps and review the rides and the agenda for the day.

Any specific or unusual safety hazards?
- Bridges
- Sand on roads
- Congested roads etc.
What is the final destination for the day
Are there any good places to re-group
Any good lunch stops
Any sights worth exploring
Ask if anyone is familiar with the area and if they have any suggestions for enhancing the trip.
What time is happy hour
What time and where is dinner
Ask for questions
Make sure everyone has the emergency contact phone number

Trip leader discusses safety, rules of the road

Explain how to ride as a group
Explain the format for the ride
- Will there be a sweep for the ride
- Are you to ride in a pack or is each rider responsible for their own navigation and therefore free to travel at their own pace.
What to do in case of a break down
What to do if get separated from the group and lost
Have an emergency contact point. It can be the phone number of where you are spending the night, a local police station. Just make sure everyone is aware of it and has the phone number.

The Ride

Does everyone have water?
Are all bikes ready to roll?
Does everyone still have their maps?
Does everyone have their helmet?
If someone is sweeping the ride does everyone know who it is?
Final safety pre-ride speech:
- Suggest people wear helmets (*)
- Never ride alone
- Obey rules of the road as an automobile must
- Ride in single file at the edge of the road
- Be alert on the steep downhill runs
- If you have problems call the emergency contact point
Try to be aware of anyone having unusual difficulties
- Will food help
- Will water help
- Should the person stop and wait to be picked up (if they continue to ride are they in danger of hurting themselves?)
At appropriate times during the trip you should check that no one is lost or has encountered a disabling mechanical failure.
In the case of a lost person call the emergency phone number and allow the rest of the group to proceed to the day's destination. If there is enough daylight left, retrace some of the route. If the person has not called or shown up by dark call the police and seek instructions.
In the case of a disabled bike scrounge up a part, get someone to ride back and get a car.
In case of bad weather: If it is warm(above 60 degrees) and riders have rain gear encourage them to continue. If some riders cannot continue see if they can wait for one of the riders to reach a car and come and pick them up. If all else fails, wave down a motorist, but not if you are alone.
in case of injury: render first aid, if you've had training in proper first aid technique. it is probably best not to atempt first aid if you don't know what you're doing. generally, try to stop bleeding, and don't move the injured party unnecessarily. Wave down a motorist to send for help if help has not appeared or send a rider to get help(police and/or an ambulance). Stay with the injured party.
If you have access to a cellular phone, it might be useful to bring it along for emergencies.

(*) As trip leader you can REQUIRE that all participants wear helmets.

End of Day

Food and cooking chores may need to be organized. Some form of evening entertainment might be planned, such as a slide show, games, etc.

End of Trip

Do any final settlement of the trip finances, send check for any outstanding fees (insurance, maps) that haven't already been taken out of the trip registration to our Treasurer, (781-275-7878).

Insurance

All CRW trips are covered by the same insurance as our regular rides and centuries. Like the centuries, there is an extra charge for these events, a minimum premium of $84 per event. The cost of this insurance should be factored into the cost calculations for the trip.

It helps to plan ahead. Our insurer prefers to know the name and date of your ride in advance. When you submit your trip listing to Wheelpeople, send a copy to our Insurance Coordinator.

To comply with the terms of our insurance policy, it is necessary to have each trip participant sign an insurance release form, especially if some of the trip participants are not CRW members. If an accident occurs on the trip, an accident report must be filled out. These forms can be obtained from the VP of Rides, or our Insurance Coordinator.

Within one week of the completion of a trip, the Ride Leader should inform the Treasurer of the actual number of participants.

Finance Policy

The Charles River Wheelmen policy on trips is that no individual is to profit financially from running a trip. The CRW is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers, the effort you put into organizing and leading a trip is expected to be done on a volunteer basis. However you are not expected to incur out of pocket expenses. Any expenses such as postage, copying, phone calls, etc. are to come out of the cost of the trip. It is also acceptable for a leader and co-leader to include their lodging and food expenses in the overhead for the trip - IF BY DOING THIS IT DOES NOT ADD MORE THAN 10 PERCENT TO THE COST OF THE TRIP.

If there is a case where a leader(s) cost will exceed the 10 percent rule then approval must granted from the VP of finance.

A budget needs to be submitted to the VP of finance prior to the trip announcement in WheelPeople and a final actual vs. budget report will need to be submitted within 30 days after the conclusion of the trip. Trip budgets will be made available to any participant who requests them and kept for future reference to help new and existing ride leaders on future trips.

The ultimate goal of CRW trips is for them to break even financially. Should a trip actually come in under budget then the ride leader should use their best judgement to equally redistribute the excess to all trip participants either during or at the end of the trip. If a trip should generate a nominal loss then an explanation along with the actual vs. budget report will need to be submitted to the VP of Finance within 30 days of the completion of the trip.

All checks for trip registration should be made out to "Charles River Wheelmen". The trip leader sends the checks to the Club Treasurer, :

Don Blake
1 Gleason Road
Bedford, MA 01730

who will remit a CRW check for the total amount back to the trip leader. This is necessary for insurance purposes.

If a trip leader is required to pay a deposit for lodging, for example, the leader can request that the CRW provide a check that will be repaid from the registration proceeds at a later date. Again, contact the Club Treasurer, , if this is required.

Bicycle Equipment Checklist

Tires (front and rear) Inflation Pressure Condition (worn, bulges, cuts) Valve straight	Rims (front and rear) Side wobble Hop Dents and bulges
Spokes (front and rear) Loose or uneven tension Missing or broken	Hubs and fork ends Bearing adjustment Bent axle Fork ends out of parallel
Handlebars and stem Headset loose or tight Stem tight Bars tight in extension Bar bent	Brakes (front and rear) Broken strands or cable Kinked housing Cable or caliper binding Loose parts Proper adjustment Brake blocks (condition, centered on rim, clearance)
Seat Adjusting bolt tight Check height	Crankset Bolts or pins tight Bent crank arm Bearing adjustment Chainwheel tight chainwheel warped Bent axle Teeth worn, bent, chipped
Chain and rear Cluster Teeth worn, bent, chipped Freewheel and ratchet action Wobble or hop Chain condition/lubrication Tight links Stretch and wear	Front and rear shifters Cable condition and freedom Cage alignment (parallel) High/low travel adjustment