Should I Sign up?

To ride or not to ride?
So you may be wondering—what’s a 100 mile bike ride really like? Well, first of all—keep in mind that it’s called a “ride” - not a “race” - so you don’t have to worry about keeping a certain pace going throughout the day. We ride about 50 miles each day, and we have riders that range from casual (slower paced—“Sunday drive” speed), to some faster paced “racer-types,” and everything in between.

There are rest stops along the route about every 14 miles - each stop is fully stocked with oranges, bananas, energy bars, trail mix, energy drinks, water, prunes, and other goodies to keep you going. Lunch is served each day - the first day it is usually sponsored by “Wahoo’s” and it is one of the best meals ever! Our Disney VoluntEARS will staff the first water stop on day #1---it’s the best water stop on the route - because the VoluntEARS come out in force and there are so many people out there along the road with pom-poms and noise makers, cheering and rooting you on! If you know anyone in your area that might like to VoluntEAR for the water stop, have them mark their calendar now for Saturday, October 13 and have them sign up through VoluntEARS Online (through The Hub!). Our goal is to get at least 75 VoluntEARS at the water stop cheering on all of the riders!

The Course
The course follows along the Pacific Coast Highway for the most part. Sometimes you are riding alongside the road, sometimes you are on beach-access paths. For about 10 miles of the first day we ride through Camp Pendleton. There are hills, but mostly shorter ones, in residential areas. There are a couple of longer ones, but if it seems like it’s too much, all you have to do is hop off your bike and walk it up. The route is marked by bright, orange arrows so everyone stays on track and in the morning when you depart the starting line, they give everyone a pocket map so you can make sure you stay on track! The MS Society has tremendous ride support throughout the ride, as well. Bike Technicians, motorcycle and truck crews riding back and forth on the route, nurses, massage therapists--we're never more than a few minutes away from any support we might need while we're riding.

Fundraising:
There are many ways to raise the minimum $400 required for each rider and even more! Keep in mind, our Team Disneyland fundraising goal is $150,000 this year - so the more we raise, the more support we provide those with multiple sclerosis! You can refer this site to your friends and family, use the MS on-line donations site, call people on the phone, have a garage sale, sell candy bars—whatever works best for you! If you are in need of ideas or assistance on how to raise funds, check out the "Fundraising" section on this site. The ride is in October, but don't wait until the last minute--get a jump on your fundraising so you can maximize your positive impact on others lives!

Equipment:
Some of the obvious things you HAVE to have:

A good bike
Helmet

Some things that will make the ride just that much more enjoyable:

Padded bike gloves
Toe “cages” (they are little straps that help your foot stay on the pedal—gives you more power on each pedal stroke-especially for going up hills)
Padded bike shorts
Water bottle holder attached to your bike
Sunglasses
Bike pouch or bag to hold your essential stuff (drivers license, money, sunscreen, etc.)

Visit the "Equipment" section this site for more resources and information including a bike buying guide and an accessory buying guide!

Transportation:
If you plan on driving down to starting location on Saturday morning, you can pre-purchase your parking or pay that day - better to get beforehand, though. They will send you “luggage tags” in your packet after you sign up so you can attach that to your overnight bag, and upon arriving at the start, you can load your bag onto a truck, and when you arrive in Carlsbad at the end of day 1, your bag will be waiting there for you at the finish line. The next morning, you will load your bag back on the truck, and then when you get to San Diego, there will be large shuttle/coaches there waiting to take you back up to day 1 start location. They will load your bike on a truck, and you, your bike, and overnight bag will all meet up at the day 1 start location on Sunday afternoon!

If you have a family member that wants to come along and cheer you on at the rest stops, they are more than welcome, and if they will be transporting you back on Sunday, disregard the above information.

Accommodations:
We are currently make arrangements with hotels in the Carlsbad area to host our Team Disney riders. Once information becomes available it will be posted on the 'Lodging' section of this site.

Packet Pick-Up:
Packet Pick-up, which includes your ride number for your bike and jersey, luggage tags, event t-shirt, etc will be distributed the week before the ride-sometime during the first 2 weeks of October. All team riders will be notified of the date and time of Packet-Pick Up which will most likely be held on property, as one of our Disneyland Resort Hotels. Stay tuned. . . information will be sent out as well as posted on the 'Team Updates' page

Did we answer all of your questions? Still not sure if you should ride? Contact a Team Coach by visiting the "Contact Us" section of this site and we'd be more than happy to answer your questions