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!