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BICYCLE
ILLINOIS
Updates
Major Updates
for the 2010 Season
7/28/10
- The route for the following ride segments has
changed. All route data and elevation and gross
climb profiles for both the individual ride segments
and the entire day have been updated.
- Day 1: Giant City to Carbondale Main
Lodging
- Day 1: Carbondale Main Lodging
to Carbondale Hotel
- Day 2: Carbondale Hotel to Royalton
- Day 3: Salem to Forbes Park
- Day 4: Mattoon to
Arcola
- Day 5: Champaign Hotel to Rantoul
- Day 5: Champaign Main Lodging to Rantoul
- Day 5: Rantoul to Loda
6/17/10
- Some of the considerations for the Chicago
long term parking have changed because the company
managing the garage changed. Click
Here for more information.
- The parking garage will now open at 6:00
am, not 5:00 am, so you will need to wait
until then to enter the garage. We still
need everyone to meet us at the long term
parking garage at 5:00 am though to load
your bikes and bags onto the moving truck
due to the time constraints of ensuring our
moving truck arrives in Carbondale before
the train.
- You must bring a personal check or cashier’s
check with you on Saturday morning for the
full amount of the long term parking (do
not bring cash – they cannot accept
it). This is because the automatic ticket
machine can only dispense tickets for the
current day, not the entire week. The parking
company will have a representative there
at 6:00 am to issue parking passes for the
week for Bicycle Illinois participants.
6/15/10
- Dinner in Cairo will be catered by Mitchell's
Barbeque out
of Tamms, IL. Click
Here for more information.
6/2/10
- Unfortunately there is a swim meet at the Carbondale
pool all day and it will not be available. All in-town
information has been updated.
5/22/10
- All in town maps have changed with updated information
for every stopping town and an updated base map
format.
5/18/10
- The Effingham dinner has changed. The new dinner
location only added on 0.1 miles onto the dinner
route. Click
Here for more information.
5/3/10
- The Metra Van Buren station has been added to
the list of Chicago facilities and services. Click
Here for more information.
4/26/10
- The hours for after hours support for the Champaign
bike shop have changed. Click
Here for more information.
- The Effingham bike shop is now open until 6:00
pm. Click
Here for more information.
4/5/10
- Due to booking conflicts, the supported
hotel in Cairo has changed from the Days Inn in
Cairo to the Econolodge
in
Charleston, MO. All
associated information has been updated. Click
Here for more information.
- Because the supported hotel is not located
within a reasonable cycling distance from the
main lodging site, we will run a shuttle service
between the supported hotel and the Cairo main
lodging site for participants and their baggage
(but not their bicycles). Click
Here for more information.
- In order to accomodate the additional time
necessary for the Cairo hotel shuttle on Sunday
morning, the group departure will be delayed
for that day only by 30 minutes from 6:30 am
to 7:00 am. Accordingly, the serving times
for
breakfast
at the Cairo main lodging site 30 minutes will
be delayed for that day only by 30 minutes
from 5:30 am
- 6:30 am to 6:00 am
- 7:00 am.
1/9/10
- The Carbondale supported hotel has changed from
the Quality Inn to the Ramada Limted. All associated
information has been updated. Click
Here for more information.
11/28/09
- Some of the special
deals from Events Bike Ride Services
for the participants
of Bicycle Illinois have changed. Click
Here for more information.
8/5/09
- Supported hotel information for 2010 updated
for Centralia, Effingham, Champaign, and Kankakee.
7/23/09
- The route from Giant City State Park to the Carbondale
main lodging site has been restored to the original
through Giant City State Park.
- The Anna rest stop has been moved to a shelter
closer to the bathroom house.
- The registraton fee for the full tour has increased
by $25.00 to $625.00 from $599.00 and the registraton
fee for each day of a partial day tour has increased
by $5.00 per day to $120.00 per day from $115.00
per day. The fee for all other services and merchandise
has remained the same.
- Site maps for all main lodging sites updated.
6/22/09
- Bicycle Illinois 2010 will occur on July 10th
- 17th, 2010 and the Tri-State Tour #1 will occur
on Sat. July 17th, 2010.
Major Updates
for the 2009 Season
- The daily rate for long-term parking in Chicago
increased to $10 per day.
- The Centralia bike shop will be open special
for Bicycle Illinois participants.
- All road
name changes across the entire state have been
incorporated into all maps and cue sheets.
- Mid-route pick ups and drop offs
will occur only at a pre-designated gas station
directly at an
interstate exit off I-57 for each stopping town.
They will no longer occur directly at the Amtrak
train station or at any location other than the
pre-designated locations.
- We now stay the first
night in Cairo instead of Carbondale
- Dinner will be from a local
mom and pop barbeque joint and dinner
will now be catered directly at the main lodging
site
at 6:00 pm! The main check-in will
immediately preceed dinner, and the opening
meeting will
begin approximately 15-20 minutes after dinner
begins.
- We will have a 2-hour historic bus tour
of Cairo at 3:30 pm.
- You will need you arrive at the start
of the event more prepared. Many services
and facilities available in other stopping
towns will either be limited or not available
in Cairo.
- Room blocks will not be available at the
supported hotel, you will need to call
for the best rate.
- We will now be able to depart Cairo
at our normal group departure time
of 6:30 am. We no longer have
a late start out of Cairo.
- You will have significantly
more time to compete the ride
from Cairo to Carbondale
- The possibility that
you will not be able
to complete the ride
from Cairo to Carbondale
is significantly reduced.
- The ride will be safer because
there will be less liklihood
of heat related medical paroblems.
You will be
able
to
depart Cairo much earlier before
it gets hot.
- Lunch will be served at our rest
stop in Giant City, but at a much
earlier relative time in the day.
- You will have much more time
to do whatever you want after you
arrive in Carbondale
- New ride segments have been added
from our new supported hotel and
main lodging site in Cairo to the
southern tip of Illinois and the
confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers.
- Bathrooms will now be available
directly at the start in Cairo
- If you depart from the Cairo
main lodging site the new ride
segment is only 8.5 miles long
and adds on only 4.7 miles
to the route for a new minimum
ride distance is 70.2 miles.
- If you depart from the Cairo
supported hotel the new ride
segment is only 10.3 miles
long and adds on only 6.5 miles
to the route for a minimum
ride distance of 72.0 miles.
- The ride segment from Cairo to
Ullin, one of the longest of the
event, has been decreased by 3.8
miles from 23.1 to 19.3 miles.
- The entire ride from Cairo to
Carbondale has become easier
on the
most "intense" day!
- An additional rest stop
has been added at the Cairo
main lodging site on the
way out of Cairo to accomodate
the new ride segments.
- The average ride segment distance
has decreased
- If you do not do the century
option, the average ride
segment distance from Cairo
to Carbondale has decreased
by 2.5 miles from 16.3 miles
to 13.8 miles.
- If you do the century option,
the average ride segment
distance has decreased by
3.6 miles from 18.0 miles
to 14.4 miles
- The century ride has also
become easier on the most "intense" day!
- The century loop has
been decreased by 8.6
miles from 26.4 to 18.8 miles.
- The minimum length of the
century ride has also been decreased
by
2.9 miles from 102.9 miles to
exactly 100.0 miles!
- Many of our transportation services
have been modified. Click
Here for more information
about transportation services.
- All transportation services
before the start of the event will
now all go all the way to Cairo.
- You will not need to get to
the main lodging site or supported
hotel from the Amtrak train station
in Carbondale.
- We will not have to reload
and unpack bicycles in Carbondale
and Cairo on Saturday night and
Sunday morning.
- Our transportation service from
Carbondale to Cairo will now be
on Saturday afternoon. We will
no longer transport any participants
to Cairo from Carbondale on Sunday
morning. We will no
longer need to:
- Load the charter school bus
at the Carbondale main lodging
site
- Load bicycles and participants
at the Carbondale supported
hotel
- Transport all participants
and their bicycles to Cairo
from Carbondale
- Unload all participants and
their bicycles in Cairo
- Get a rest stop set up in
Cairo
- Have you bring your floor
pump with you to the start
in Cairo
- Return your floor pump to
the main lodging
site or supported hotel in Carbondale
- Site maps posted for all main lodging sites under
the individual stopping town pages
- The swimming pool
will now be available directly at the main
lodging site in Champaign.
- Events Bike Ride Services can shuttle you,
your bike, and your baggage within each stopping
town.
This is perfect if you have a change of plans and
decide to stay in our supported hotel after you
arrive or if need help getting to or from the Amtrak
train station if you are doing a partial day trip.
- The
supported cycling routes from both the main lodging
site and supported hotel to all other supported
services and facilities in each stopping town
have been posted on the satellite imagery overlays.
- The in town cue sheet(s) and map for each stopping
town has been posted under the specific stopping
town information.
- The long term parking location in every nightly
stopping town except Chicago has been changed to
be either directly at or very close to the Amtrak
train station because our primary means of transportation
between every stopping town is the Amtrak train.
- There will be a fee of $2.00 per day for long
term parking at the Carbondale Amtrak train station.
You will need to pay for all of the days in advance
while the station is open and post your receipt
in the window of your vehicle so you do not get
ticketed or towed.
- If fewer than 5 participants register for any
specific transportation service they will carry
their bicycle and baggage directly with them on
the Amtrak train and we will not transport them
on a separate moving truck because each Amtrak
train can accommodate up to 4 bicycles. We will
only transport your bicycle and bags on a separate
moving truck if 5 or more participants register
for the transportation service on any specific
date.
- In order to ensure the timely arrival of the
moving truck from Chicago to Carbondale and Cairo
by not having to stop along the way, if you register
for a transportation service mid-route pick up
or drop off we may have you carry your bicycle
and baggage directly on the Amtrak train with you
and we may not transport them on a separate moving
truck because the Amtrak train can accommodate
up to 4 bicycles on each train.
- If fewer than 20 participants register for any
specific transportation service, you will receive
an individual train ticket. If 20 or more participants
register for any specific transportation service,
we will travel as a single group and Amtrak requires
that there be only one ticket for everyone as a
group and you will not receive an individual train
ticket.
- Amtrak has moved the schedule of the "Saluki" Amtrak
train we use for our transportation service one
hour earlier. The train now departs Chicago at
8:15 am and arrives in Carbondale at 1:45 pm. Accordingly,
all times related to our transportation service
have also been moved up one hour. Baggage and bicycle
loading for the Transportation Service to Carbondale
and Cairo Before the Start of the Event will now
begin at 5:00 am, and baggage and bicycle loading
for the Transportation from Chicago After the End
of the Event will now begin at 6:30 am.
- A public beach shower will be available
directly at the ending location in Chicago. However
it is a public,
open air
shower used for rinsing off after going swimming
and not a private, enclosed shower. You will only
be able to rinse yourself off however and not bathe
nude.
- Parking at the ending location in Chicago will
only be allowed while you are immediately loading
your bike and baggage and you will not be able
to park there for any extended amount of time.
- Information about local bus service has been
added to the information about each stopping town
where it is available.
- Registration for non-riding participants has
been added. If you have friends or family who want
to travel with you during the event but will not
actually be riding a bicycle they must still register
for the event. The registration fee for non-riders
will be 50% of the regular registration fee. All
other registration policies, procedures and fees
will be the same for non-riders including late
fees and fees for all extra services and merchandise.
- If you prefer not to eat the box lunches, you
can opt out of them for the entire event and deduct
$6.25 per day from your registration fees.
- Box lunches for the Tri-State Tour #1 will be
available exclusively to participants of Bicycle
Illinois for a 35% discount from the regular price
when you initially register!
- Bicycle Illinois
will no longer occur on the 4th of July holiday.
Major Updates
for the 2008 Season
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