Holiday Cheers from WomanTours

My neighbor and avid bicyclist, Dave, erected this tribute to cycling Santa in his yard this year.

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas or believe in Santa Claus, you have to be struck by the amount of planning and work that went into creating this impressive lawn art.

It makes us think a lot about the work we put into our tours and why we do it. Like Dave, if we can get a few smiles, some cheers, or an arm pumping at the top of a hill, it makes our day.

It also makes me think about the planning and training many women undertake when they come on a tour with us, especially for their first time. It’s wonderful to be part of someone’s first 50-mile day, or first time breaking 35 mph down a hill, or first experience traveling on her own.

Thank you for another wonderful year at WomanTours. We hope that whatever your goals are for 2014, you’ll reach them with a lot of hard work and determination because those are the best goals worth achieving. We hope to be celebrating with you with both arms raised high.

Have a great holiday season and happy new year!

2014 Guide Schedule Set

You ask us every year to publish our guide schedule, so here it is. You can follow your favorite tour leader or get to know someone new. Either way, I know you won't be disappointed. Hope to see you in 2014!

Patty Jackson (left in Death Valley)
Moab Arches and Canyonlands - May and October
Grand Canyon, Bryce & Capitol Reef - May
Northwest Loop - August
Santa Barbara & San Ynez Valley - September
Death Valley National Park - November

Denise Purdue (right in Death Valley)
Florida Gulf Coast - February
St George Red Rock Canyons - May and October
Grand Canyon, Bryce & Capitol Reef - May
Northwest Loop - August
New Mexico: Land of Enchantment - September
Death Valley National Park - November

Michelle Slusher
Florida Gulf Coast - February and November
Louisiana Biking the Bayou - April

Natchez Trace Parkway - April

Moab Arches and Canyonlands - May

St George Red Rock Canyons - May

Yellowstone & Grand Tetons - June

Around Lake Erie - July

Finger Lakes Wine Country - August

Niagara Falls Pathways - August

New Mexico: Land of Enchantment - September

Santa Barbara & San Ynez Valley - September

Carol Wilder
Southern Tier Cross-Country - March
Ireland: Connemara - July

Laurie Collins
Shenandoah National Park - June
Teton Tune-Up - July
Glacier National Park - July
Idaho Greenways - July
Finger Lakes Wine Country - August
Niagara Falls Pathways - August
Yellowstone and Grand Tetons -September
Cape May - September
Maryland Eastern Shore - September
Acadia National Park - October
Bermuda Blues - November
Florida Gulf Coast -November

Kimberly Masters 
Death Valley National Park - February
Bermuda Blues - March
White Mountains of New Hampshire - July
Alaska and Yukon: Golden Circle - August
Blue Ridge Rambler - September

Jen Thompson 
White Mountains of New Hampshire - July
Acadia National Park - July
Italy: Puglia - September

Sid Moffat (front and center in New Hampshire)
Death Valley National Park - February

Louisiana Biking the Bayou - April

Natchez Trace Parkway - April
Washington DC Bikeways - May
Cape May - May and September
Alaska: the Inside Passage - June
Glacier National Park - July
Idaho Greenways - July
Blue Ridge Rambler - September
Maryland Eastern Shore - September
Bhutan - October

Cy Pugh (right on Lake Ontario)
Washington DC Bikeways - May
Cape May - May
Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard - June
Niagara Falls Pathways - June
Around Lake Ontario - July
Acadia National Park - July
Vermont Champlain Valley - August
Island Hopper: Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard - September
Moab Arches and Canyonlands - October
St George Red Rock Canyons - October

Linda Gryczan (left in Yellowstone)
Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard - June
Yellowstone and Grand Tetons - June
Teton Tune-Up - July

Jackie Marchand (right in Yellowstone)
New Zealand: Southern Alps - January

Kelly Attridge 
Bermuda Blues - March and November
Shenandoah National Park - June
Niagara Falls Pathways - June
Vermont Champlain Valley - August
Island Hopper: Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard - September

Sue Lincoln
Around Lake Ontario - July
Yellowstone and Grand Tetons - June and September

Get Your Free Pair of Cycling Socks!

Our 2014 catalog is in the mail. If you haven't received yours by the end of October, let us know and we'll mail you a copy. If you can name anyone in a photo inside the catalog, we will send you a free pair of cycling socks. Email us her name and page number by November 15 and you'll have your socks by the end of the month. Click on the cover above for a pdf version of the catalog. Only one guess per person please. Good luck!

Congratulations to Free Tour Raffle Winner

Eileen Crue was the lucky winner of the raffle prize at the Wild Goose Chase ride last weekend. She won a free WomanTours trip. Congratulations Eileen! She and a friend, Aleta, have decided to use her certificate to go on the Finger Lakes Wine Country tour next summer.

Eileen wrote us, "This is my first year of cycling. I bought a used hybrid in the spring and have ridden routes up to 40 miles.  I learned how to ride with clip-in shoes and am finally getting the hang of them with only a few tip-overs this season! I am planning to buy a road bike next year and Aleta is going to help me train in preparation for the hills I am expecting in the Finger Lakes region. Thank you for this very generous prize!" 

We'll be sure to post when we're sponsoring another women's ride with a free tour....

Women's bicycle pioneer and event organizer Georgena Terry with Eileen Crue holding her free tour certificate.

Luggage Tag Tutorial

Many women have wondered how to attach those luggage tags we send you when you sign up for our tours. One of our guides, Cy Pugh, demonstrates it beautifully here. The tags are so simple that they can seem complicated! See you on your next tour!

Bike Tour Chef Position Available

We're in need of a Tour Chef to join our fantastic team of bike tour leaders. Below is a job description. If you know of anyone available to work our Southern Tier cross-country bicycle tour, March 6 - May 2, 2014, please send them our way!

Summary: The Tour Chef will efficiently prepare and cook healthy daily dinners and some breakfasts for 30 women using a trailer kitchen.

Duties and Responsibilities:

·      Prepare daily menus.

·      Prepare or supplement hotel breakfasts when necessary.

·      Purchase all food within budgetary constraints.

·      Maintain a customer focus while performing duties.

·      Prepare a variety of meats, seafood, poultry, vegetables and other food items for cooking on two propane burners in a trailer kitchen and with Dutch ovens and charcoal.

·      Take into account all dietary constraints such as food allergies and preferences when designing menus.

·      Maintain proper food storage, using two large ice coolers and trailer cupboards.

·      Serve meals promptly at an agreed upon time.

·      Prepare food for serving buffet-style.

·      Manage a sous-chef or other volunteers in food preparation.

·      Maintain a clean, safe and sanitary work area.

·      Coordinate and supervise the washing of dishes after meals.

·      Drive a 15-passenger van pulling a trailer.

·      Perform other duties assisting the cyclists and the Tour Guide as needed.

Qualifications:

·      Have experience developing menus, preparing food, and cooking for small groups.

·      Possess a positive attitude and work well with other team members.

·      Be able to adjust cooking style as needed to accommodate client needs.

·      Be customer service focused.

·      Be able to read our cue sheets.

·      Be able to reach, bend, stoop and lift up to 40 pounds.

·      Be able to work outside in diverse weather and cramped conditions.

·      Be certified in First Aid and CPR.

·      Have a clean driving record.

·      Be organized, adaptable, resourceful, self-motivated, flexible, and have a sense of humor.

·      Be excited about helping women accomplish more than they thought capable of.

 

Publicity about WomanTours

WomanTours has been lucky to receive some lovely press lately. Roberta Schlicher wrote a great piece about us for the women in business website WomensSourcebook. She liked what she learned in the interviews so much that when all was said and done, she signed up to join us in Nantucket this fall!

You can also read about us in the July issue of Prevention: Joy Ride by Selene Yeager. Selene writes about the joy that only cycling seems able to bring some of us. If you're reading this, you probably already know that! Go ahead and her article to keep you motivated and then go enjoy the ride!

Outer Banks for Mothers Day Winners Chosen

After reading through almost 50 applicants for our Mother's DayOuter Banks Tour, we found ourselves wanting to offer this tour to everyone who applied. There were so many compelling stories of brave women rising above adversity and losses in their lives. It was a difficult task to narrow it down to just one pair of women!

It is with great pleasure, however, to announce our selection - Janet and Uli from Florida. Janet felt an immediate connection when she first met Uli, as Uli was born with the very same condition her mother had, who died when Janet was only 16 years old. Uli was born in Germany and spent her childhood in an orphanage there. According to Janet, Uli has never let this physical handicap stop her. She volunteers in her community and even cycles regularly in charity rides. According to Janet, it's Uli's "nurturing nature" that makes her feel like her "surrogate mom."

Please join us in celebrating Uli's strength in persevering against the obstacles she has faced in her life, and the special bond these two women have!

They are off to our Outer Banks of North Carolina tour!

Follow our Southern Tier Cross-Country Tour

It was a stormy start to this year's Southern Tier tour, but that didn't stop our 30 women from dipping their tires into the Pacific Ocean at San Diego last Friday. You can follow their 3000-mile trek across the United States to the Atlantic Ocean by reading some of their blogs listed below.
 
Dolly Craft
Gail Devitt
Nancy Innes
Barbara Kautz
Evelyn Kaye
Julie Martin
Judith Rozelle
Pat Rush
Carla Souza
May Toms 

Win a Trip to the Outer Banks for Mother's Day!

WomanTours has an angel who has again made a substantial donation to help us keep "doing what we do."

In celebration of Mother's Day this spring, we have decided to use a portion of this money to offer a trip for two on our Outer Banks of North Carolina Tour May 4 - 10, 2013 for only $100 per person.

We're looking for one Mother/Daughter pair ... or perhaps someone who's been like a mother or daughter to you.  We all know how rewarding our tours can be and with that in mind, we are looking for women who may have suffered a recent loss, or overcome an obstacle in their lives, or who are in desperate need of a respite, and who would not otherwise be able to afford one of our tours.

If this sounds like you or someone you know, email or mail us why you feel you'd qualify in 200 words or less. The deadline for receiving all applicants is March 8, 2013 -  International Women's Day. We'll announce the lucky pair by March 22, 2013.

WomanTours is Moving on Up!

Since I bought WomanTours nearly 9 years ago, we've been running the main office out of my little house. We started upstairs in a spare bedroom and then moved downstairs and took over my living room. Then we started storing rental bicycles at my sister Jen's house, and parking one of the company's vans and trailers in a storage area across town.

During the height of the season, we found ourselves wasting a lot of time and causing a lot of aggravation as we drove across town from my house to Jen's house to the storage area. Meanwhile we were all working out of one room which made it hard when more than one of us was on the phone at the same time.

We proudly hosted many a tour for brunch out of my house as it rolled through town. We heard more than a few surprised comments as, "You mean that this is where it all gets done - in this one room?!"

All that ended this week. We found some beautiful office space with 4 separate rooms in a real office building. It has plenty of storage for all of our rental bikes, a big parking lot in the back for all of our vehicles, and it costs no more than what we were already paying in rent. Best of all, I get my house back!

However, it took a lot to get here! We made the decision to move in November. Kelly and Michelle started looking for space in December. Then we signed the lease in January.

Two weeks later, Kelly found a prototype of a bike rack online and Jen's husband Tom went to work designing and building 3 racks for the 40 rental bicycles on the east coast. (We keep another 40 out west.)

 

We spent all last week packing up my living room. Kelly said it best, "Where did all this s*&t come from?" The move was set for Friday, February 1, 2013.

In typical Rochester winter fashion, moving day was met with a snowstorm. It took us 90 minutes to make the 20 minute drive from Jen's house to the new office. Luckily we only had to do that once.

Two of Kelly's brothers graciously helped us move. With three vehicles, we made 4 trips back and forth from my house to the office. Then we had to decide where to put it all. By the end of Friday, we were too exhausted to think.

But on Monday, we were ready to work!

We'll keep our same mailing address for now, and our 800 number stays the same. Unfortunately, our local and fax numbers have changed to 585-424-2124 and 585-424-5544 respectively. Call or fax us anytime. And if you'd like to stop by, we're at 3495 Winton Place, Bldg E, Suite 245. But you may want to wait until spring!