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Page history last edited by Phil Stripling 15 years, 2 months ago

Information for the Tour de Cure

 

The Silicon Valley Tour de Cure for 2009 is scheduled for Sunday, June 14.

This page updated Monday, January 26, 2009. 

Overview

 

The Silicon Valley Tour de Cure is a fund-raising event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. The Tour is comprised of three bicycle tours, 25K, 50K, and 120K in length. Each rider is sponsored, and many are in company-sponsored teams. While the ADA provides a large community of scientists and health-care providers for the treatment of diabetes, its goal is the cure and prevention of the disease. The Tour de Cure takes place in over 200 locations in the United States, contributing millions of dollars to treatment and research.

 

This is a demanding event for radio operators. The 120K route goes through Portola Valley and the hills of the ocean side of the Peninsula. Coverage in the valleys and canyons is difficult. Volunteer operators should be prepared for cold, wet weather and hot, sunny weather. NOTE: Because operators will be out for up to eight hours, they should have plenty of battery power, food, and water, along with whatever other supplies they will need during the day. In some locations, we recommend mobile radios with 25 watts of power.

 

Event Information

 

Talk-in on the morning of the event will be on 147.480 (simplex, no tone). Please make sure you have printed out all the pages you will need (frequency plan, location, and so on) before you head out for your assigned location. SAG wagons and motorcycles should report to Net Control at 3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, ready to go at their assigned times (see the link below for the operator roster which has the assigned times). The plan is to have box lunches delivered to operators in the field. We do not control when the lunches are delivered to us, and you should expect a late lunch. Be prepared with your own food.

 

The event headquarters will be at 3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto. Please use your favorite mapping program to get directions before you leave home. (For the location using MapsOnUs.com, use this link.) Print out the Start/Finish map (link below) to find Net Control at the event.

 

The three courses start at staggered times:

 

    * 120K course: 0630

    * 75K course: 0730

    * 50K course: 0830

    * 25K course: 0930

 

Each course has a half-hour start; for example, the 120K course starts at 6:30 am, but competitors can continue to start the course until 7:00 am. No entrants will be allowed to leave after the hour for any event. Each rider is supposed to wear a numbered bib issued by the Tour de Cure, along with a wristband. However, they often pin them to a jacket which they remove when hot. C'est la vie.

 

Radio operators at rest stops should shadow the rest stop captain, if possible. Operators should be alert when crossing the road, and be careful of noise interfering with your transmissions. Mobile dual-band radios with 25 watts are preferred at rest stops. Be familiar with the Frequency Plan and be able to switch among the radio relays as necessary. Volunteers should have their Thomas Guides with them and be passingly familiar with the pages covering the event.

 

The event is scheduled to end at 4:00 pm. At that time, all riders still on the course are to remove their event bibs. If they wish to continue they may do so on their own. Although the official end is scheduled, it never works out that way. To allow for communications concerning the end of the event, removal of rest stop tables, chairs, and such, transport of gear and people to the start/finish, and so on, our goal is to have all radio operators relieved of their duties by 5:30.

 

NOTE: We have some sites staffed with more than one operator to provide relief during the longer shifts. It may be necessary to move one of the operators to another location, so please be prepared to move to another location with little notice. Locations can be quickly referenced with Thomas Guide map numbers and grids, so please bring one with you. Some operators also have GPS, so we may have lat/lon as well.

 

Volunteers

 

NOTE: Count on revisions as time goes by. See the Rest Stop Locations page for times to be on the air at each stop.

 

We have volunteers! Thanks for signing up. We still need positions staffed, though, so drop by our Roster, decide on a location, then volunteer using the link below. (NOTE: the roster is locked, and you cannot sign up or register there. Please use our email link. My apologies for the inconvenience.)

 

    * Instructions -- For all volunteers; please print and bring with you (revised June 3, 2008)

    * Motorcycle Information -- For our motorcycle units

    * SAG Wagon Information -- For our SAG wagoneers

    * Tour de Cure SAG Guidelines -- To provide a safe event for the riders

    * Rest Stop Locations (Updated arrival times - June 3, 2008)

    * Frequency Plan

    * Radio Operator Roster (Read the roster for locations; please volunteer using the link near the bottom of this page.)

    * Route Mapping

          o 120K Route

               1. 120K Route map (Not yet available)

               2. 120K tagged map - shows all turns and rest stops

               3. Fly the route with Google earth - open all folders and click play (Google Earth required. 55.8KB .kmz file) 

          o 75K Route

               1. 75K route (Not yet available)

          o 50K Route

               1. 50K Route map (Not yet available)

               2. 50K tagged map - shows all turns and rest stops

               3. Fly the route with Google earth - open all folders and click play (Google Earth required. 12.8KB .kmz file) 

          o 25K Route

               1. 25K Route map (Not yet available)

               2. 25K tagged map - shows all turns and rest stops

               3. Fly the route with Google earth - open all folders and click play (Google Earth required. 9.9KB .kmz file) 

          o Start/Finish map (May 16, 2006. 186KB .pdf file; Net Control is labeled REST STOPS COMMUNICATIONS, and it's at the bottom of the page; you cannot enter from Page Mill Road, only from Hanover St.) 

 

      Box lunches are scheduled to be delivered to Start/Finish at 10:00 am on Sunday. They will then be loaded on a SAG wagon for distribution to Relay and Rest Stop operators. It is rumored that the contents may be a sandwich, chips, a cookie, a piece of fruit, and a bottle of water. Bring enough of your own supplies in case things fall apart. Food is provided free by a donating company. Delivery to the Start/Finish is provided free by volunteers. Delivery to your remote location is provided free by other volunteers. Expect delays; be prepared to feed yourself. If food is actually delivered to the Start/Finish, we will get it out to volunteers, but we cannot control actual delivery, nor can we control the time of delivery.

 

      Mobile units will communicate on simplex frequencies to Relay as noted on the Frequency Plan; please program your radios today. Mobile units and Rest Stop communications staff should have Thomas Map guides so they can give police, ambulances, and Net Control grid locations of any incidents, accidents, and the like.

 

      To volunteer, drop us a line.

 

      Phil & Louise.

 

 

Follow the links to any of the pages. To discuss any of the information, post queries, and so on, log in and go to "Comments."  

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