[Cross-USA Ride] Participant Email May 15

We hope you’re getting excited to start your cross-country journe! We are busy with our final month of preparations including finalizing menus and overnight locations, booking evening activities and educational events, ordering our camping and kitchen supplies, and much more.

In order to be prepared yourselves, it is imperative that you read through our complete Ride Guide that was mailed to you, and also explore the information for riders on our website and in previous participant emails.In this email you will find more details about our route, packing, and logistics.We look forwarding to seeing you on the Road!
Hazon’s Cross-USA Ride Staff

This is the eighth email for Cross-USA Ride participants. If you’ve just registered, previous emails can be viewed here.

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Staff on the Cross-USA Ride

We are hiring three staff people who will accompany you throughout the summer; get to know two of them below. In addition, Wendy Levine, David Rendsburg, and Nigel Savage will join for certain weeks.

Adrienne Winton joins Hazon as our Senior Program Associate and will serve as the lead staff on the road for the Cross-USA Ride. Originally from New York, she recently moved from sunny Florida where she worked at the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. Adrienne has a Master’s degree in Outdoor Education from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Adrienne’s love for the outdoors began with her summers at Camp Ramah, where she found her passion for inspiring and teaching Judaism in all aspects of the natural world.

Garth Silberstein is an alum of the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies and the Adamah Fellowship, Garth recently spent five weeks studying Pochinko clown technique with master teacher Sue Morrison. Garth recently attended the Hazon Food Conference and the New York Ride. He looks forward to integrating his experience in education, non-profit management, and event planning with his passion for sustainability, outdoor adventure and Jewish community.

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Logistics Form (VERY IMPORTANT!)

We are in the process of finalizing many of the details of the ride and need some more information about you to help us craft an event that meets your needs. We are asking for your flight information, your Jewish observance preferences, any food allergies you may have, medication you may be taking, and things that are unique to each rider.

Please take five minutes to fill out the logistics form by Thursday, May 17th.

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Rider Conference Call
for those Starting in Seattle

Feel like you have some unanswered questions? Want to hear about some of the specific overnights and the communities we are riding through? Concerned about the size of your suitcase and what to bring? We will be addressing these topics amongst some other helping topics to prepare you for the ride! Join us!

Tuesday, May 22nd
8:00 PM Eastern time, 5:00 PM Pacific time
Phone: 213-416-6650, Access code: 716549#

If you cannot attend this call, not to worry, we can give you a call after to review what was discussed.

Please RSVP to Wendy by Monday May 21st if you plan on calling inwendy.levine@hazon.org

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Important Details for Living on the Road

Mail Drops

Need something mailed to you along the way? We have a number of mail drop locations for riders to receive packages, letters or anything you need. Just be aware of the amount items weigh, once something is mailed to you, it still needs to fit into your luggage. Learn more.

Internet and laptops

Some of our campsites have internet, and we understand that you may want to bring your laptop. As long as the laptop fits into your suitcase, and is part of your total the weight limit of 70 pounds then you can bring your laptop. Your bag may shift (or not be treated super delicately while packed in a truck) so do bring it at your own risk. Hazon staff will have laptops that will be made available only when staff does not need to use them.

Laundry

Many of the campsites have laundry facilities, and when we are in people’s homes you can ask to use their laundry. We recommend that you do laundry in groups of three people or more, cutting down the amount of loads that need to be done. We will provide you with detergent, and will have buckets for you to wash your jerseys out when there is no proper facilities.

Packing List

Review your packing list! Don’t forget anything (like a towel or a smaller bag to put into your tent to avoid lugging all of your stuff every night) remember, we are providing the following things:

• Bike Jersey (2 for those riding 5 or 10 weeks)
• Cue sheet holder
• Communal tent
• Sun Screen
• Aloe
• Toilet Paper
• Laundry detergent
• Full bicycle mechanic toolkit

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Route Maps Online

Last month, Wendy and David test-drove the route from Seattle to Minneapolis. We covered about 80% of the cycling roads and have updating our maps online with our final routes for those weeks.

On our Route and Itinerary page, you can read a bit about what you will see each week and also visit the online map of each day. From that online map page, you can also download specific GPS files for Garmin bike-mounted units. We will have more information about downloading route maps shortly.

We will also provide you with a turn sheet and route map for each day.

Bike Trails and Unpaved Roads

We are utilizing a wide variety of trails throughout the country, including the Iron Horse Trail, Coeur d’Alene Trail, Central Lakes Trail, Great Allegheny Passage, and the C&O Canal. Many of these trails are unpaved — some are crushed gravel, others are less well maintained. In addition, at times out west in order to avoid cycling on the highway we have to take unpaved roads at times. It is key that your bike can handle cycling for long distances on these trails.