TOUR GUIDE

Hello and Welcome to 3 Day Bike About.

First off, a HUGE shout out to everyone who participated in our first 3 Day Bike About event in June 2021. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

As the saying goes, “Build it and they will come.” We did and so did you. The weather was great (as in no rain) and you helped us raise over $4,000 for The Arc of Greater Williamsburg.

We had so much fun hosting you in Williamsburg we plan to do it again next year, just a little earlier…like April. We are already working on the details and taking your comments and suggestions into account. We sincerely hope to see you in 2022.

SAVE THE DATES:

April 29, 30 & May 1, 2022 - 3 Day Bike About the Historic Triangle - Williamsburg, VA

Benefitting The Arc of Greater Williamsburg

June 10, 11 & 12, 2022 - 3 Day Bike About the Shenandoah Valley - Strasburg, VA

Benefitting the Shenandoah Rail Trail

October Tour Guide

You Spoke, We Listened.

This latest Tour Guide must start with a Thank You to everyone who had enough faith in us to register for our first 3 Day Bike About in Williamsburg, VA. You gave us such courage to “carry on” along with the joy of making new friends.

We will admit not everything went off as planned and there were a few “hiccups” over the weekend. Most of those we noticed, and you very nicely pointed out a few more. With that in mind, we’ve made some changes we hope will make the 2022 tours even better.

1. Cue sheets – We are doing our best to produce a “as green as possible” tour so did not and will not be printing cue sheets for everyone. Most of you used Ride with GPS navigation, but a few asked for paper cue sheets.

* Individual route cue sheets will be printed upon request at our 2022 tours. If you would like one, please go to Hospitality when it is open (check the schedule as they will only be there in the morning and evening, not all day) and ask the volunteer for the specific cue sheet you want. A copy will be printed for you on the spot.

* We only ask that you please consider donating $1.00 per route cue sheet to The Arc of Greater Williamsburg or the Shenandoah Rail Trail. A donation jar will be on hand at Hospitality.

2. “Never saw a SAG vehicle.” Here again we are trying to “be green” so our SAG vehicles do not cruise the routes. They are positioned at key points in the area which provides them with access to all the routes and riders within a reasonable time after receiving a call. The SAG Chief’s number is on your wristband.

3. “No info on camping Thursday night” before the tour begins Friday morning. We did not have permission from the campground to allow campers in the Group Camping area on Thursday.

* Anyone who inquired about Thursday evening camping this year was informed the Group Camping site was not available but individual camp sites at Chickahominy Riverfront Park were and we provided the contact information to make those arrangements.

* We may or may not be able to remedy this in 2022, so if you are interested in camping Thursday night, please reach out to us info@3daybikeabout.com

4. No breakfast. – Unfortunately, for several reasons, we were unable to secure a vendor who would provide breakfast onsite for the limited number of riders we had this year.

* We are working on resolving this for 2022.

"Bring Your Own Mug" coffee, tea and hot water will be available at both events.

5. Too expensive – We admit this was/is a no-frills tour. We are hoping to add amenities as our registrations increase. Just putting on a tour in early 2021 was a challenge.

* Both 2022 tours will have a catered Saturday night dinner as well as a boxed lunch on Sunday.

6. Lack of water on Saturday Gold Route…Unfortunately there are only so many roads and even fewer places to get water in Surry County. Water is always available at the start and we listed as many places along the route as were available. Please carry more water than you think you will need especially if it is going to be a warm/hot day.

p.s. We are working to improve our Hydration Station to produce colder water.

7. Why include the Virginia Capital Trail? “I can ride it without being part of an event.”

The VCT is the pride and joy of the local cycling community, and we like to showcase it as much as possible. The vast majority of our attendees were from outside the immediate area – coming from Oregon, Alabama, Florida, North & South Carolina.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT US

3 DBA Team Leader - Deana Sun

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

That’s me. I’m the writer, bookkeeper, list maker, idea person, “no, Cynthia, there is no need to panic,” and road cyclist. I was raised in Virginia but spent the middle half of my life in Southern California. I have two adult sons, only one of which shares my passion for cycling. (Very likely you will also meet them at 3 Day Bike About as I “encourage” them to volunteer a lot.) I met Cynthia in 2015 when I first started volunteering at Bike Virginia. It was clear to me she could use some help, so I pitched in and never looked back.

In my former life: Worked for “the man.” Yes, I was a bona fide Special Agent with the U. S. Secret Service, among other agencies in the U. S. government. I’d tell you all about it, but well, you know what happens then……After that illustrious career, I raised my sons and became a Professional Volunteer – long list there. And now I’m here…..with Cynthia and friends.

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

3 DBA Team Partner - Cynthia Bashton

WHO ARE WE AND WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

3 DBA Team Partner - Cynthia Bashton

Cynthia is a diehard mountain biker and self-supported bike camping enthusiast. And where she goes, oftentimes you will find her immediate family, consisting of her husband of 49 years, two adult daughters and their respective husbands as well. They love traveling, camping, and biking together. They also like karaoke. I speak from personal experience when I say they are a blast to be around. You will meet the entire Bashton clan at 3 Day Bike About. (I told you they travel together. 😊 )

She is also the designer of the website, the jerseys, social media, and anything else that is beyond my comprehension and ability.

In her former life: That list is pretty long and diverse so let’s just say she’s originally from Texas and spent 7 years with Bike Virginia as the Health and Safety Coordinator until last year (you know, 2020, when everything got canceled).