Just a friendly reminder that Tour dem Parks 2011 is just six weeks away – June 12, 2011! If you have not yet registered, please see our Paypal-driven registration page on our redesigned website:
www.tourdemparks.org (Click the “Registration” tab.)
Here are your four route options for 2011:
· The Family Ride -- a laid-back, kid-friendly 12-mile jaunt highlighting the Gwynn's Falls Trail.
· Le Petite Tour -- a 25-mile ride great for newbies or those recently returned to the joy of cycling, showing off a nice sampling of Baltimore's great parks from large to small.
· Le Grand Tour -- a 36-mile ride through the five largest parks (Gwynn's Falls/Leakin, Druid Hill, Clifton, Patterson, Carroll) and many neighborhood and street parks.
· The Metric Century – our fourth Metric Century ride (64 miles), for experienced riders only, which once again features an all-new route.
Remember -- our Early Bird rate applies only until May 31, 2011. As an Early Bird registrant, you also are assured of having this year’s Tour dem Parks T-shirt with our groovy new artwork in your designated size. Beginning this year, you specify T-shirt size as part of the registration process to make sure you get the size you want, and to eliminate the snafus of the past. (“WHAAAT??! YOU’RE OUT OF MEDIUMS??!”) This is one of the suggestions from our riders that we incorporated when we re-imagined our website and registration process this year – so y’all take a bow!
People, get ready!!! If you’ll be ridin’ with us on June 12th – and we certainly hope you will be – please take some time over the next couple of weeks to have your bike thoroughly checked out, and, if necessary, tuned up. It’s a serious bummer to have a bike tour through the bloom and bliss of parks in springtime cut short by a failure out on the road. Curses, Batman!! The fact is that MOST bike failures can be prevented by planning ahead. If your tires are dry-rotted from winter storage, they are gonna leak and be subject to pinch punctures. If your brakes are out of whack, you’re gonna go when you shoulda stayed. Shift derailleurs out of adjustment? Not fun! Some great bike mechanics are at your service here in B’more – see our Sponsors page for the ones we work with the most.
And, please, please, PLEAZZZZE… make sure you carry an extra inner tube (or, better yet, TWO extra inner tubes) on Ride Day! The whole lot us on the committee spend the Saturday before the ride sweeping every bit of road surface we can get our hands on. We get a lot of it up, but just in case that one piece of glass we miss ends up in your tire, that extra tube can be a lifesaver. If you have the right tube, our army of experienced roving mechanics can you have you back on your way before you can say, “Tour dem Parks, Hon!”
Seeya June 12th at Carroll Park!
