We continue to build the number of participants for this year's STIHL Tour des Trees. Currently we are at 31 riders, representing 17 states, 2 Canadian Provinces and the British Isles. Nine of our riders have never participated in the Tour des Trees before so it looks like we may continue the trend started last year of having a higher percentage of new riders than we have had historically!
Mary DiCarlo sent this note for me to forward along "The 2010 Tour appears on this month's Active.com extended calendar of Chicagoland events - Active Extended Calendar. The STIHL Tour des Trees link on that calendar listing takes you to the info page for the Tour and will offer an opportunity to post a review." I would like encourage you to post a review in hopes that it may entice someone who doesn't know how cool we are and just how much fun we have on this special event!
There are lots of things going on behind the scenes to make this year's STIHL Tour des Trees another resounding success.
Once again Rose Epperson and the West Coast Arborists have stepped up to sponsor our massage therapists, Katie and Kenny Askew!
We are working to finalize the plan for rider arrival and it will be similar to last year's series of planes, trains and automobiles. We are recommending that you make plans to fly into Chicago's O'Hare airport, and in a latter newsletter I will specify the train and auto details.
Our host hotel in Chicago on Saturday July the 17th will be the Magnificent Mile Doubletree. I should have a direct link soon w/ the group rate for those who would like to arrive early and enjoy this beautiful downtown location!
There are exciting plans in the works to make our traditional kick-off dinner a truly spectacular event this year! Stay tuned for more news in the near future...
If you didn't already know it we are hosting a ride open to the public on Saturday July the 24th, the "Ride for Research". The day riders will accompany us on our final day as we cycle through the Fermilab grounds and into the ISA Field Day site at the Morton Arboretum. We are hoping to have 100+ riders join us as we celebrate the conclusion of another Tour des Trees!
TRAVELING WITH YOUR BIKE
For those who will be flying into Chicago I would strongly recommend that you ship your bike ahead of time. Not only will it save a considerable amount of hassle but it will also save you some serious money depending on who your airline of choice is. Thom Kraak has graciously extended an offer to be the point person in managing this process, ship your bikes to:
The Care of Trees
Attn: Thom Kraak
2371 South Foster Ave.
Wheeling, IL 60090
Please ship your bike so that it is guaranteed to arrive NLT Wednesday July the 14th.
Thom will bring the bike boxes to the Doubletree on Friday afternoon.
Once all the bikes are assembled he will coordinate transportation of the bike boxes back to the Wheeling office for storage during the tour.
The bike boxes will be delivered to the field day site at the Morton Arboretum so that you can repack your bike to either be shipped back to you or for you to carry with you on our flight home.
After the tour for those shipping your bikes Thom will gather the bikes and take them to the COT office in Wheeling to be shipped on Monday. You can choose from either FedEx (my strong favorite) or UPS for the return shipment.
If you are going to ship your bike after the tour it is IMPERATIVE that you coordinate the return shipment with your carrier of choice and that you have a prepaid sticker to affix to the case.
