Ride Guide- August 2024: Pre-ride details

Roots & Routes of New England

Ride Guide: August 2024

This monthly newsletter will contain information and tidbits to help you prepare for the 2024 Tour des Trees. For more information, visit www.treefund.org.

It's time for the Roots and Routes of New England!

We are very excited to see you all at this year's Tour des Trees. There are a final few things we want to remind everyone about as we approach ride time, so please see below and be ready for another epic week of riding.

For all ride information, be sure to check the Participant Resources page on the website. https://treefund.org/tourdestrees/participant-resources

Travel:

If you waited until the last minute to look into your travel plans, the Travel Logistics document and the current itinerary are where you'll want to look. The itinerary will have all of our events, aid stations, and timelines for the week, so plan ahead. All addresses can also be found on the itinerary.

Travel Logistics: https://treefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Travel-Logistics.pdf

Current Itinerary: Itinerary as of 9/10/24

Note: We are finalizing the route after needing to reroute Day 1 due to storms and road closures. We will email out the final route and itinerary details soon. You are currently able to download Days 2-5 to your bike computers. See the Final Notes section in Paul Wood's note below.

Bike Shipping and Assembly:

If you are shipping your bike to the start, time your bike to arrive at the Stamford Marrott, 243 Tresser Blvd, Stamford, CT 06901 between September 18 and 20. Be sure to mark your shipping label with your name and "ATTN Tour des Trees."

For anyone that shipped their bikes or have them broken down, we have mechanics and equipment in the Bike Room to help you get that assembled and ready to go. We will also be separating any boxes that need to go into the truck for those that will need their bike boxes to Providence, so please be sure to help remind us of your plans and make sure your stuff is in the right place for later.

If you are shipping your bike home, be sure to have a packing slip made up before you arrive so it can be placed on your bike box when we depart. You can ship your bike back from either the Providence or Stamford Marriotts.

20 Year Riders:

We are bringing back our coveted "20 Year Rider" recognition awards. While we believe we were able to get all the right names, our databases have changed over the years and information may not always be accurate. If you have not yet received your "20 Year Rider" award, have ridden 20 years, and would like one, notify Jonathan immediately at jcain@treefund.org.

Pre and post-ride hotel:

Tour des Trees is covering your hotel nights from the evening of Sunday, September 22 to Friday, September 27, with our departure day of Saturday, September 28. If you plan on arriving beforehand, we have a block of rooms available at the Stamford Marriott.

Pre-ride and post-ride lodging (Stamford):

We will kick off the Tour from the Stamford Marriott Hotel.

•Our group rate is $189+ taxes & fees per night.

•You may reserve pre-Tour rooms by:

•Using the link TourdesTrees

•Call Julianne Juergens (203) 977-1289 or email Dipika Behera (dbehera@stamfordmarriott.com). Please make sure to reference the Tour des Trees room block when making your reservations to ensure you receive our group rate.

•Please note this courtesy block is only valid through September the 14th.

Post Tour Lodging (Providence)

The Tour will end in Providence at the Providence Downtown Marriott.

• The rate they are offering for Saturday night is $319+ taxes & fees per night.

• You may reserve post-Tour Saturday night rooms by using the link PMDTTourdesTrees

• Please note this courtesy block is only valid through September the 16th.

Route:

The routes will be on RideWithGPS and will be downloadable to your bike computers. See Paul Wood's note below. You can also receive directions via the app on your phone, just make sure you have a charger with you. All route directions will be given via the RideWithGPS app.

Communication:

We will once again be using Remind101 as a communication tool during the week to send messages to riders and staff while they are on the roads or apart from each other. To receive text alerts text @2024tourd to 81010. Be sure to use the @ symbol in your text. This is a new year, so you'll need to resign up for these alerts, even if you got them last year.

Events:

We love to see our riders attend as many of our outreach event as they can and have tried to schedule them for maximum availability for our riders during the day. There are a few that may require some extra planning on your part, if you would like to attend.

Sunday afternoon (Day 0): There will be activities during the day at the Bartlett Arboretum for our riders to attend, if they please. It is a six-mile ride to get there from the hotel, which is a great shake-out ride, if you want to get something in that day. Activities will go from Noon to 4pm. Tours of the grounds will be given at 12:30 and 2:30. Professor Pricklethorn will give a presentation at 1:30.

Sunday evening (Day 0): The bus/caravan from the hotel to the Bartlett Arboretum for dinner will depart at 4:30pm. All riders and staff must be a part of caravan to get to the arboretum for dinner. Meet in the hotel lobby to board the busses and vans.

Monday morning (Day 1): We will ride as a group over to St. John's Park for a memorial tree planting for Dick Maloney. When we arrive at the park, we will do a group photo.

Monday afternoon (Day 1): Educational Event: Panel Discussion on Utility Forestry. This event will have speakers talk about current topics and the future of utility forestry and communicating to the public. Riders interested in attending will need to be driven from the lunch stop, as the location is not on our route and is not in a safe cycling area. Rides to this event will be at 12:30 with the event starting at 2pm. Pre-registration is required and .75 CEU credits from ISA are available for attendees.

Monday evening (Day 1): After dinner, in the basement of the hotel, there is a room that will be perfectly quiet for Dr. Hallie Dozier's Meditation Session. A peaceful end to the first day. 7:45pm.

Tuesday afternoon (Day 2): The best opportunity to see Professor Pricklethorn during the week will be at the final aid station location on Tuesday, at the Greenville Public Library. Presentation is at 4:30 and hotels are roughly five miles from the library.

Wednesday evening (Day 3): This is our traditional "on your own" dinner night. There are several restaurants in Falmouth near the hotel that you can check out but, since some people like to make reservations, below are a couple that have been recommended by Paul Sellers and Jeff Hamilton.

Friday afternoon (Day 5): Our final tree planting will be at Roger Williams Memorial Park at 4:30. A far as timing, some of our riders should be finished with the ride by then but some may still just be arriving. Please keep note of the time of day as you are finishing your ride so you can make the choice to continue to the hotel or stop at the park for our final event. For those walking to the park from the hotel- roughly 1/4 mile- we will depart from the hotel lobby shortly after 4pm.

Goodie Pick-up:

All the apparel you ordered from Voler as well as your teeshirt, cap, waterbottles, helmet, and other goodies will be available for pick up in the bike room on Sunday, Sept 22 between 10:30am and 3:30pm.

Fundraising Reminder:

For those of you that are "paying your own way" for your fundraising efforts, be sure to either add your fundraising money to your personal donation page at http://www.tourdestrees.org or send in a check before you arrive on Sept 22, so we don't have to worry about it later. For everyone else, remember, fundraising minimums are due by October 1. We are currently just above $190,000 raised of our $410,000 goal, but you all are doing awesome and we know we'll be able to hit it. Keep up the good work!

Part Time Riders:

For those that are not joining us for the full Tour and are not starting with us on Sunday night, be sure to see Jonathan in the bike room the evening or morning you arrive so that he can give you your ride goodies. If any of your plans are changing, alert him at jcain@treefund.org as soon as you can.

"On Your Own" Dinner Night Suggestions!

Wednesday night will be our traditional "On Your Own" night for dinner, so you can go out and enjoy all the nightlife and food offerings the City of Falmouth has to offer. Jeff Hamilton offered us a couple of suggestions for restaurants that are walking distance from the hotel, if you would like to decide on where to go ahead of time or make reservations.

Taco Blanco

Paul's Pizza and Seafood

99 Restaurant

DJ's Family Sports Pub

Tiger Raman

Quarterdeck Restaurant

Liam Maguire's Irish Pub

Casa Vallarta

A Note From Our Tour Director, Paul Wood:

I just recently returned from a trip to meet with our hotels as well as their food and beverage teams and get a final look at the route. My goal was to coordinate the final logistics while also taking the opportunity to cycle the proposed route for this year’s Tour. I was joined by Jonathan, Thom, Clem Desjardins, Paul Sellers, and Jeff Hamilton. I flew in on a Sunday in an attempt to replicate the experience as closely as possible.

Day 0 (optional ride to and from the Bartlett Arboretum) 14 miles

That first afternoon, Clem and I rode our bikes over to the Bartlett Arboretum, where we will be hosting our orientation and opening dinner. The short ride through downtown Stamford to the Arboretum and back gave me a chance to test my bike after having been handled by TSA and get a feel for the route. Both passed inspection. This should be a great opportunity for you to do the same.

Day 1 - 90 miles & 6,400 ft of climbing

We were hoping to ride the 90 miles from Stamford to Middletown, CT, but were unsure what we might encounter after the recent devastating flooding in Oxford, CT.

The route out of town was very nice and within a few miles we had escaped the commuting traffic and were cycling through the beautiful surrounding neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we only made it 20 miles before we experienced our first road closure. Luckily on this one, just prior our first aid station in Redding, CT, we were able to reroute without compromising that ride quality too dramatically. But within another 20 miles we ran into the full effects of the damage on Hwy 34 leading to Oxford, so at that point we realized a complete reroute of Day 1 was going to be required. We are currently working with the state DOT to seek guidance and approval of our proposed reroute. We hope to have their approval very soon and will keep everyone posted. Although the status and specific route of this day is still unconfirmed, it is safe to say that this will be our most challenging day of the 2024 Tour des Trees, at over 90 miles and over 6,400 ft of climbing.

Day 2 - 82 miles & 5,500 ft of climbing

Tuesday morning began with our first significant bridge and river crossing. I was a bit concerned about what the experience would be like but was pleasantly surprised to discover a very nice, protected pedestrian path on the Arrigoni Bridge. My second big concern of the day was what would the surface be like on Airline Trail that we would pick up at mile 10 and stay on for 20 miles. I am happy to report that this rail trail was in great shape and will probably end up being a highlight of the ride. It is safe, scenic, forested, and, best of all, free from motorized traffic.

The end of the day will present the other critical segments of the day. You will need to be vigilant navigating through the town of Greenville, where our final aid station (and site of a Professor Prickelthorn event) will be held, as well as when exiting the library and cycling the final stretches to our hotels for the evening. The rolling hills of CT and western RI will once provide a challenge, but Day 2 will be a bit less difficult than the previous day.

Day 3 - 91 miles, 3,700 ft of climbing

On Wednesday, we rode from Smithfield, RI to Falmouth, MA, the route is 91 miles long and although we’ll climb a bit, most of that climbing takes place in the earlier miles of the day. Our first challenge of the day will be coordinating our departure from our two hotels and the short stretch along a busy RI-7. While the roads we used to navigate our way to Shelter Tree (our first Aid Station of the day) are very nice, you’ll need to be mindful of the potential for commuting and commercial traffic. After we leave that aid station, we’ll pretty quickly make our way onto some Clem’s favorite cycling roads on our way to what will most certainly be a highlight of the trip- our second aid station of the morning- a tree planting and tour of the facilities at the Bristol County Ag High School; be prepared to be impressed.

The afternoon is spent on great roads leading through lovely bayside communities as we make our way to Cape Cod and our home for the next two nights. Along the way we’ll stop for lunch at the UMass Cranberry station, a research facility to a very important part of the economy and character of Southeastern Massachusetts, and we’ll also stop for a quick beverage hosted at the home of long time Tour des Trees favorite, Paul Sellers.

Day 4 - 72 miles & a mere 2,900 ft of climbing

I just loved this day! Thursday will probably be the signature day of the Tour and one of the most memorable in its history: a tour of Martha’s Vineyard. We were led by three of the Cape’s longtime residents, Paul S. his daughter Paige, and Jeff H. After cycling to catch the ferry to the Vineyard, we then rode the 60 miles around the perimeter. This will be an incredible day on scenic and gentle rolling, low traveled roads and the perfect day to dial it back and use it as an active recovery day. This is our shortest and least challenging day of the Tour, comes after 3 long days, and it precedes our longest day of the 2024 Tour. The ferry ride back to the Cape leads to some of the most scenic and enjoyable miles of the trip. A perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Day 5 - 102 miles & 3,600 ft of climbing.

Friday was and will be our longest day of the Tour and our only century this year. While it was/will be a long day- 102 miles- the route is mostly along flat to gently rolling, scenic and low traffic roads. This will be the perfect opportunity to bag a century for those who have not had the “pleasure” of doing so. On this day, we’ll have lunch on the Bay and a couple of very special tree plantings along the way to Providence. The final planting is quite an opportunity for the Tour and thanks to New England ISA, we’ll be planting a tree at the Roger Williams National Memorial. Clem has worked especially hard to bring this day to life and to ensure that it is one of the most scenic and well supported centuries we’ve had the opportunity to offer.

All in all, it was a great week. We had the opportunity to cycle most of the route, made necessary edits to enhance the ride and create a safer, more enjoyable experience. I got to meet with and stay at all of our hotels and share it all with good friends along the way!

Final Notes:

The routes for days 2-5 are finalized and can be downloaded to your respective head unit and/or navigational device.
If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up to join the RidewithGPS Tour des Trees event page by clicking on this link.
Make sure you upload the route before you arrive (a couple of unnamed riders who took part in this recon had not done so, but they knew the route; you will not)
Remember, the author (me) isn’t immune to mistakes in making these maps and corresponding notes. There are around 100 navigational lines or alerts listed on each day's route. Although I do my best to not miss anything or to add edits that create more clarity, it is inevitable that I will miss something. Sorry ahead of time.
Note - Day 2 has two versions, one for those staying at the Hampton Inn and one for those staying at the Home 2 Suites. I will send out a list of rooming assignments shortly that will identify which hotel you will be staying at.
Remember the route will be mostly unmarked, so the use of your navigational tools will be critical to staying on course. (The days are long enough, you’ll probably not want to add any additional miles.)
As mentioned above, the Day 1 route is still a work in progress. We hope to be able to announce a finalized route very soon.
First, I want to say that I was pleasantly surprised that most of the ride takes place on beautiful quiet roads that are wonderful for cycling. When I drove the proposed route, my original assessment was that because the area was quite a bit more populated than where our recent Tour’s took place, that there would be considerably more traffic, but when we rode it, it proved to be a safe and pleasurable experience, but...
As with any route of this distance connecting urban centers that you may undertake, there will be:
Some roads that have a bit more traffic than is ideal for cyclists.
Not every motorist is going to appreciate your being on “their” road.
The road surface quality will vary, sometimes drastically, so mounting the widest, most durable tire that your bike frame will accommodate will make your ride more pleasurable.
As mentioned above, we are incorporating a 20 mile stretch of an unpaved rail to trail. When I rode it, it is was in great shape and is easily navigable on your road bike. But again, a wider tire with lower pressure is preferable.
Most of the roadways on this Tour will be beautiful and are ideal for cycling!
As with any large group ride, it is important to:
Find a group that allows you to ride comfortably within your capabilities.
Communicate all road hazards with your respective group.
Look out for each other and remember to enjoy the journey!
This is a Rules of the Road Ride and you are a very visible representative of the Tour des Trees!
The Tour is a shared experience with your existing and new friends, and not a race.
If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to take your bike to the shop and have any worn components replaced and have it tuned so it is running smoothly on what is most probably the longest event you will have undertaken this year.
You will have a very experienced, very dedicated staff of volunteers who will gladly do everything within their power to ensure your success. Be kind and patient to them :)