You MUST wear a helmet whenever you are on your bike. This includes in the parking lot at the starts and finishes. We suggest that whenever you are touching your bike you have your helmet on your head.

Any rider or volunteer who is found to be using illegal drugs at any time during the tour, or who is found to be abusing alcohol during the tour, will be dismissed from the tour and sent home immediately. Also, firearms are not permitted on the ride, except for active law enforcement officers/agents.

This is a TOUR, not a race. You should ride at a comfortable pace. No awards will be given for speed. And you’ll miss some of the fine scenery along the route and the camaraderie of your fellow riders. Carry your personal ID, Emergency Contact Information, Insurance Card and

Important Health Diagnoses at all times. Road ID bracelets strongly suggested. (RoadID.com)

Obey all traffic rules and regulations. Ride on the right-hand side of the roadway. Obey all road signs, stop signs and traffic signals. Use proper hand signals when slowing, stopping and turning.

Ride within voice contact of your buddy/ride group.

Each rider must be at the Ride Start Meeting each morning 15 minutes before Group Start. Safety, route updates/changes and other features of the days ride will be covered. Please organize your morning activities to allow us to start on time each morning.

Organize your morning activities to allow us to start on time each morning. Please respect the communities we ride through. Use rest stop or public restrooms, not the roadside or someones yard. Otherwise, be discreet! Put any trash in trash bags or bins. This includes flatted inner tubes, energy bar wrappers and plastic bottles. Leave the roadside as clean as you found it (if not cleaner).

Ride no more than two abreast when there is traffic around. On roads without a safe shoulder to ride on, ride single file. Do not impede vehicles unless safe bike operation necessitates it.

Pace lines are a good way to share the riding load. Just be careful, especially if new riders join your line.

Keep paceline groups to 14 riders or less. Communication in larger groups becomes difficult.

When two pacelines meet, the overtaking group should pass promptly. The slower group should NOT speed up. Each group should communicate their status clearly during the entire paDo not use aero bars when riding close to other riders, especially in a pace lines. You are free to stop anywhere along the route. Just keep your average speed above 15 mph.

Riders are expected to average at least 15 mph over the day’s distance. If a rider cannot maintain this pace and falls behind, he/she will be sagged up to the next rest stop that puts them in contact with other Tour riders. We cannot safely support riders spread over 30 or more miles.

We will ride only during daylight hours. If we are delayed and darkness falls, riders will be asked to stop riding and wait to be sagged to the days finish.

In the event of hazardous weather (such as lightning or tornados), the Ride Management will require riders to seek shelter. All riders must stop riding immediately and seek shelter. An “All Clear” will be issued when the danger has passed. Do not ride until the All Clear is given. If the weather is deemed severe enough for an extended period of time, the Ride Management may SAG all riders to a safe location up to and including the finish location for that day.

All participants and volunteers MUST sign the official Tour Waiver 30 days before participating in the ride.

By signing the Waiver, you acknowledge that cycling across States and the U.S. is inherently dangerous and comes with risk of injury or death. You agree to hold harmless Mission Possible Relief International and its officers, board members, volunteers, ride directors, drivers, sponsors, USA Cycling and all other riders from any claims resulting in loss, injury or death.

We recommend that you have your bicycle inspected by a reputable bike shop mechanic for safety and possible mechanical problems a month before the tour. If you have bike lights, make sure they have fresh batteries in them. Multiple taillights are recommended. Bring chargers for lights!

Maintain your personal space as you ride.

Protect your front wheel at all times.

Look back whenever you are going to move left or right. Know what is going on
behind you at all times.

Communicate your intentions before you execute them.

• Turning right/left, stopping, slowing, etc.
•  Let other riders know where you are: passing left, on your wheel.
•  Call out and point at road hazards for the riders behind you: pothole left, glass right, wet pavement, etc.

Be courteous to all other vehicles. Your actions affect drivers; attitudes towards all cyclists.

It’s a good idea to carry some cash and a debit or credit card with you. There will be stores along the route. Sag stops to top off bottles and snacks will be 30-40 miles out each day.

Although temperatures may be cooler (or not) be sure to hydrate. A bottle every 20 miles is a good place to start. Make certain that you are replacing electrolytes either in fluids such as Powerade or Gatorade, or through supplements on the ride.

You will be on the bike a lot more than usual burning a lot of calories. You will need to eat more than you usually do. The tour will have some scales. We suggest you use them. If you are losing weight, you will lose endurance. Eat more. If you get lost or way off route, stop and call for help.

Bring clothing for hot and cold and wet and dry conditions. Weather in late April and May can change quickly if a rainstorm or cold front passes through. Be prepared.

When doing the Mount Everest of Cycling, having the right gear is critical to your safety and comfort. The tour will be providing each rider with a standard gear/duffel bag. Tour volunteers will be loading/ unloading and transporting each rider’s gear bag every day, so please limit your personal items to fit within this one bag. Maximum weight of your gear bag is 40 lbs. Typically temperatures are 60s at the start to 80s at the finish. However, we have experienced temperatures in the 40s (following a cold front) and 90s during a heat wave. We suggest you bring layers to cover the full range of temperatures.

Plan on washing your cycling clothes each day, probably in the motel sink and airdrying. Bring an extra 2 days of ride clothes in case they don’t completely dry overnight. There may be some laundry machines at the motels, but don’t count on it. Same applies for your non-riding clothes. IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to mark your name on all your clothing items. These can easily get mixed together in the SAG vehicle, rest stops, drop bags, etc.

CONSIDER BRINGING:

• Bike Clothing
• 1 ANSI/SNELL-approved HELMET (required)
• 3 pair cycling shorts /bibs
• 3 jerseys (We’ll wear the official tour jersey on the start of each of 3 legs and on the finish day)
• Rain jacket
• Arm warmers and leg warmers
• Long sleeve jersey
• Cycling pants/bibs
• Cycling thermal layers
• Cycling jacket and vest
• Bandanas or sweatbands
• 3 pr cycling gloves including short-fingered and long-fingere
• 3 pair cycling socks
• Cycling shoes
• Spare cleats
• Sunglasses and regular glasses (prescription if you wear them)
• Ziplock storage bags to protect cell phone and other items if raining while on the bike.
• Plastic bags for wet clothing

(The tour will have a large mesh bag on SAG vehicle to drop your excess clothing during the ride day. Please retrieve items you drop off during the day at the motel at the end of the day.)

• 1-2 pair shorts
• 1-2 sport shirts or T-shirts
• 1 pr jeans or long pants
• 1 long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt
• Underwear
• Socks
• 1 pair walking shoes/tennis shoes
• Bathing suit
• Small Towel
• Chamois cream (highly recommend Chamois Butt’r as a way to prevent friction that causes saddle sores)

Personal Items: 

• Bring your own personal consumables such as shampoo, toothpaste, Chap Stick, sunscreen, razors, shaving cream, medications, camera, etc.
• Chargers for your phone and devices
• Extension cords and/or power strip (also for recharging lights for bike)
• Laundry pods or soap.
• Water Bottles or hydration pack (Camelback, etc.).
• 2-3 spare spokes that fit your wheel–especially if you have custom or uncommon spokes.
• Cycling mirror—helmet, handlebar or glasses mounted.
• Chain Lube – bring your own if you are particular about brand.
• SAG wagon will have some common bike tools. Bring your own if you have a specialized or custom tool for a particular part on your bike.
• You will keep your bike in your motel room overnight.
• Start the ride with a clean, lubed bike with new tubes and tires.
• Replace any significantly worn parts. Remember, you will be riding over 500 miles in 6 days.
• Carry with you on the bike cash, debit/credit card, identification/driver’s license and medical insurance cards.
• Cell phone. Emergency numbers will be on cue sheets. External cellphone battery can extend cell life when in the road for lengthy periods.
• If you have any special nutritional food or supplements, be sure to pack this with you. Gatorade, Powerade, candy bars, cookies, sandwiches provided. Let the ride director know if you need special handling for food/nutritional products.
• Seat bag (on the bike) for standard tire repair including tire levers, at least 1 spare tube, patch kit, CO2 inflator and CO2, or frame pump) We suggest that you bring spare foldable tires, multiple tubes and multiple CO2 cartridges to go the distance.
• Hand pump on bike if you aren’t a fan of CO2 cartridges. Distance saddles can dramatically reduce the chance of getting saddle sores.

Selle Anatomica makes some great leather distance saddles that break in comfortably after only 100 miles. And they last forever. Former 40+ year owner of Richardson Bike Mart tells us that the Selle Anatomica saddle was the difference maker for he and his wife in multiple cross-country treks and tours vs race saddles. Make sure to break these in several months before the ride!

We discourage riders from having their own follow/support vehicles. We strongly recommend that riders make arrangements to have friends and family (F&F) meet you at the motel for each days ride, and not along the daily route. For special circumstances, with prior approval of the Ride Director, F&F may accompany the rider.

If you do have F&F following you, we ask that they follow these guidelines for everyones safety:

• Follow all applicable traffic laws at all times.

• If there is an accident in the tour, please stay out of the way.

• Do not impede the normal flow of traffic. That is, do not drive behind the rider as he/she rides. While you may want to protect your loved one as he/she rides, it’s not a good idea. Slow moving vehicles blocking the roadway actually increase the accident potential. Other drivers get frustrated at the slow pace and take unnecessary risks to pass. Cars approaching from the rear may not see the rider. After passing they may cut back into the lane quickly, hitting or forcing the rider off the road.

• If you stop to wait for your rider, pull completely off the rideable road surface. If you just park on the paved shoulder, you force the riders to merge into the traffic lanes. This increases their exposure to an accident.

• Before the ride each day, setup meeting places for the car to park and wait for the rider. A safe place is a location where both the rider and vehicle can pull completely out of traffic, off the road. Parking lots, service stations, convenience stores and side streets are good examples.

• Some rest stops will have adequate room for visitors but not all. Please check with the rest stop personnel before parking. We also ask that you keep the road leading to the rest stop entrance and exit clear.

• F&F will have to arrange for their own lodging and meals. Also, rest stop food and drink are for the riders. You’ll need to provide your own snacks and drinks.

• Plan on leaving the hotel no earlier than 30 minutes after the riders start. This will give the riders time to spread out and establish their position.

• When passing riders, give them at least 3 feet of safety space as you pass, 5 feet is better.

• If you pick up a rider for any reason, either the rider or you should contact a ride official, so we know where that rider(s) is and not spend time searching. Also notify a Ride Official when the rider resumes riding.

• Cheer the riders as you drive past them, and they ride past you. Both of you will feel good.