Main FCT web site
http://sites.google.com/site/familycyclingtour/
What follows is Oliver's summary of the ride in general (base on three years experience), including a bit of "insider", non-official info about this year's ride in particular. See above web link for official information, please!
Overview
Parent volunteers organize the overnight arrangements and meals. This year's will be through a retreat center in Corning, NY. As with every year, it's during the Labor Day weekend.
Accomodations
Cabins at the Corning retreat center have 4 rooms, each with 5 beds per room. Each cabin has a shared kitchenette/ dining room and bathrooms (2?).
Meals and other food
Dinners and breakfasts are shared together as a large group, often cafeteria-style. Typically, parents have the opportunity to construct lunches in the morning after breakfast, and they are subsequently trasported to the lunch stop site via coolers. Other times, a catered lunch has been arranged around mid-way in our day's ride. Non-meat options are available for all meals.
Costs
Everything is more or less "at cost", most going towards the low cost accomodations. Maybe about $20 or so per adult extra to pay for families' snacks and gas for the sag drivers.
Rider support
Partners who don't want to ride do often volunteer to "sag", which means being an automobile driver supporting the ride. Often includes sweeping the route, helping out with riders who might need it. Facilitated by cell phone access. Drivers might bring lunch to the ride's lunch spot, for example.
Route
Rides are about 40 miles for a full day, with shorter routes (example, via a "remote start") and longer routes (example, adding extra loops) taken by some riders. Families with younger children employ everything from trailers, child seats, third-wheel rear attachments, tandems, or combinations. Our children are 7 and 9 so we'll again use one tandem with the 9 year old, and one recumbent with a Burley Piccolo for the 7 year old.
Habicht's experience
We've had the pleasure of being part of the FCT for three years in a row. It's relaxed, friendly, and outdoors. Kids have a really good time with the other kids. Oh, and the adults seem really easily amused with such things as Saturday's Sparkle Hour. :-) And everyone enjoys the parade in which even the youngest get to self-power themselves.
The event is well organized (low stress). Although there are families there that have been getting together for this ride for ~12 years, we found everyone very welcoming and we felt immediately included, and we also see that dynamic with new families who attend. All very accommodating, and at the end of each weekend, we leave excited to be part of it again the following year. And this year Amelia is one of the main parent volunteers helping to arrange things.
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