Approved tours:   Cross Canada Cycle Tour Society

Tours are researched, organized and led by experienced and committed volunteers, which enables the Society to provide them at cost.

To participate in a tour you must:

• Be a CCCTS member, sign a waiver and agree to the financial rules;
• Be at fitness level  (see Tour Rating System ) to complete each day's ride in a timely manner;
• Have a well tuned and mechanically sound bicycle of the appropriate style for the tour conditions; and
• Wear an approved (CSA, Snell, ASTM or CPSA) helmet.

There are four tour ratings.  Some tours, often "Hub & Spokes" will be classified "Leisurely" for novice or casual cyclists with modest bicycles;  and others will be "Intermediate" with some experience recommended.   "Advanced" or "Strenuous" tours require experienced and more physically fit riders equipped with more specialized bicycles.  Doubts regarding fitness level or bicycle suitability can be discussed with the Tours Manager or the Tour Co-ordinator.  

Tour participants should offer assistance to tour leaders when required, share in the work, and maintain harmony.  Our tours are a social experience. 

CCCTS Tour Participant Selection Policy and Procedure

Tours and Hub and Spokes participants are chosen on a first-come-first-served basis.   Exceptions are approved by the Board of Directors when the tour is submitted for approval. Procedures/ conditions are as follows:

1. Date of registration will be delayed a minimum of 10 days from the date of publication of the tour in the Newsbrief. New tours will not be posted on the CCCTS Website until the month following publication in the Newsbrief.
2. Members who wish to share accommodation should register at the same time, on the same online registration form, and indicate "share with" in the "Notes" section. By doing so the chances of touring together will be enhanced. This notwithstanding, where justified, consideration can be given by the Tour Organizer to pairs due to accommodation based on double occupancy.
3. In consultation with the Tours Manager, the Tour Organizer may give priority to a member(s) with special skills, or who take on special tour responsibilities. He/she will also be permitted to query the participation of a tour applicant for health or safety reasons. Disqualification will only be done in consultation with the Tours Manager.
4. Successful tour applicants, chosen as outlined above, will pay the tour deposit. Unsuccessful applicants, based on tour fullness, can, at their choosing, be placed on a wait list. The wait list will be treated, if space occurs, on a first-come-first-served basis. If a vacancy occurs the next applicant(s) in line will be notified, and given 72 hours to register using the online system.
5. If a tour is split in two, participants will be given an opportunity to express choices regarding whom they would prefer to accompany. Here, the Tour Organizer will do his/her best to meet the desires of the tour participants, but the final decision will rest with the Tour Organizer.

To register for tours: — Go to http://tinyurl.com/m9dw6g, tick 'Sign-Up'on the tour, then 'Sign Up Now' on the next screen. If you have a Login Name and Password, enter these now, or create new ones in the 'I am new to Karelo.com' section, or select the 'box' 'I prefer not to create a login for Karelo.com'. The last two options will require completion of the 'contact info' section at bottom of page. Register on next page, using the 'Add Person' button at bottom of page if you want to share accommodation with that person or persons. You will need their Member Number to do this. When your payment details have been entered and processed on the next page, you will see a 'Registration Confirmation Page' which will also be sent to you by email. Contact the CCCTS Office if further details are required.

For specific tour information, beyond that published in the Newsbrief, or for information on how to organize a tour, please contact either the Society's Tours Manager or the CCCTS office to obtain a copy of the "Tour Co-ordinators Information Guidelines", or go to www.cccts.org/TourLeaderGuidelines.pdf".

Contact information:

• cccts office, cccts@shaw.ca or 604-313-0850
• Tours Manager, Lynne Stewart, lynne.stewart@gmail.com or 604-948-9459
• Hub and Spoke Manager, Agnes Bokenfohr, abokenfohr@gmail.com or 604 266 6100

2012 SLATE of approved  CCCTS tours

(Yellow background = tours;  blue background = hub and spokes; completed tours in grey)

Modified Feb. 1, 2012                

New Zealand East
Jan.15 (Sun.) – Feb. 11 (Sat.), 2012 — Sign up at https://www.karelo.com/restdetail.php?&BT=10&BID=390 

Rating: Intermediate/Advanced

Leader: Eric O’Higgins  (250) 557-4774   email: ohiggins@qcislands.net.

Participants:  Maximum 12 because of accommodation constraints.

Cost:  Total tour fee is Cdn $1,800. No deposit until Aug. 4, 2011.

Description: This is a van-supported tour featuring the East Cape highway considered "one of the finest coastal cycling routes in the world." We will begin in Auckland with a visit to the old New Zealand at one of the world's most remarkable reclamation projects where invasive species have been eliminated, replaced with 300,000 native trees and home to 15 endangered bird species and two reptiles.

Riding stages of about 90km will be interspersed with day rides, hikes and other attractions. Two days of hub-and-spoke rides are planned in Gisborne and and again in Rotorua. The route avoids mountain ranges but is an intermediate/ advanced skill level tour with repeated 200-metre climbs. We will circle the Coromandel Peninsula before returning to Auckland via Waiheke Island, landing at the waterfront a few blocks from where our luggage is stored.

Nuts and Bolts: The van will transport bicycles to the starting city of Gisborne which we will reach by coach. The van will carry limited amounts of personal gear. Bike boxes and suitcases will be stored in downtown Auckland during the tour. Pack lightly and be prepared to carry any excess in panniers. Double occupancy accommodations (for the most part) will be at New Zealand’s excellent backpackers hostels. Group meals will be prepared by two person cook teams each day. Each participant will be expected to take his/her daily turn purchasing groceries and cooking. Tour fee covers accommodation, support vehicle, bus and ferry charges, all group meals, registration system fees and leader’s costs of 5%. Participants will pay for incidental costs including entrance fees and return airfare to New Zealand.

Questions are being recorded as they occur and the answers are available as an email FAQs file. Please contact leader for a copy.

Registration: Signup which must be done online through our on-line registration system at http://tinyurl.com/m9dw6g, commencing at 9 am, PDT on June 10. Participants will be selected, first come - first served, according to club policy on Aug. 1, 2011, taking into account rooming arrangements where no roommate preference has been stated. Unattached participants will be matched with same-sex roommates.

Accepted applicants will make their first deposit of $900 by Aug. 4, 2011, after they are notified. The balance of $900 is due by Sept. 15, 2011, also payable online.

If you are accepted as a participant and subsequently drop out, even for valid medical reasons, and no replacement is found, some of your deposit will be non-refundable for unrecoverable costs incurred on your behalf. If a replacement is found, you will be charged the registration fee.

Itinerary: