Volunteers are an integral
part of our events and we have lots of opportunities
for both you and your friends and family to volunteer!
By volunteering you'll be able to get
involved in our events even more, give back to the
cycling community, and also get some really great
things in return!
Volunteer opportunities also work especially
well if you have friends or family who want to attend
the event
and
support
you along the way but don't want to actually
ride themselves.
- Click
Here to fill out our volunteer interest
form to let us know about any specific volunteer opportunities
you might be interested in! We will then follow up
with you individually to coordinate all specific
volunteer opportunities.
All regularly expected volunteer opportunities will
be based on
the needs of and prearranged before
each specific event. We cannot guarantee that
any specific volunteer opportunity will be available
for any specific event. Volunteer opportunities
may also be available the day of the event but only
in response to unforeseen, unexpected circumstances.
Other volunteer opportunities will be posted as they
come up so please check this page frequently for updates! Volunteer Opportunities
Rest Stop Attendant
Having volunteers help us man our rest stop locations
is the perfect opportunity for your friends or
family who want to support you along the way but
don't want to actually ride. Volunteers will
stay at one of our pre-designated rest stop locations
and make sure that all food and beverage items remain
stocked and also attend to minor participant needs
as necessary. Manning a rest stop is really easy
and
a lot of fun and it's very gratifying to help encourage
riders along the way!
We will provide all of the necessary supplies and
equipment, help the volunteer set up the rest stop,
and train them how to man it – all they have
to do is show up! Ideally, we prefer our volunteer
rest stop attendants to have a car so they can pack
up all of the rest stop supplies and gear and transport
it to the end after all of the participants have passed
through the rest stop. However having a car isn't
mandatory – we can transport volunteers to the
rest stop and transport them and all of the
rest stop supplies and gear to the end if necessary.
Participant Vehicle Usage
Letting us use your vehicle as one of our support vehicles
involves either SAG support on the
road during the event and/or for our transportation
service before the start and/or after the end of
the event. We prefer to use larger cars with a tow
hitch
and
lots of room for both passengers and gear such as
vans, minivans, and SUV's but will consider any vehicle.
If your vehicle has a town hitch we will assume it
is ok for us to tow our trailer with it unless you
specify otherwise. We will of course cover the gas!
Depending on the event, the biggest benefits to letting
us use your vehicle is that you will have your vehicle
waiting for you immediately after the end of the event
and therefore won't have to pay for our transportation
service back to the start. In addition, if our transportation
service occurs the day after the end of the event you
won't have to pay for a hotel room that night,
and you won't have to park your vehicle in the
starting town during the event. If you initially arrive
in the ending town, you won't have to pay for
our transportation service before the start of the
event.
For us, the biggest benefit of letting us use your
vehicle is that we won't have to pay to rent a vehicle
or spend a lot of time or hassle picking it up and
dropping it off.
Depending on the event logistics, we may have a staff
member take a bus or train to meet you to pick up your
vehicle if you do not live in the Chicago area.
Please be aware that your own vehicle insurance
coverage will primarily apply in case of an accident.
Compensation
We have many different possibilities to compensate
you and/or your friends and family members for your
volunteer efforts described below!
We can also be very flexible in terms of your compensation.
We can hold it until the following season if you
want or you can transfer it to one of your friends
or family as well. And if you have another compensation
idea
other than the ones listed please don't hesitate
to let us know - we're totally open to other
ideas!
Please note that we prefer volunteer compensation
to be in the form of Bicycle Illinois services and
merchandise and we can only compensate volunteers monetarily
for actual expenses incurred in the process of volunteering
(such as gas). Also we cannot compensate you with any
bicycle parts (tubes, tires, etc.) in order to maintain
the critical stock levels of these items on the road.
Registration and Transportation Services
If you or one of your friends or family members volunteers
in some way for one event, we can waive your registration
and/or transportation fees for another event. For
example, if you volunteer to man a rest stop for
one of the Tri-State Tour Chicago Century events,
we can waive your registration and return transportation
fees for another
Tri-State Tour Chicago Century event.
Bicycle Illinois Merchandise Items
Another compensation option is through free Bicycle
merchandise. For example, if you or one of your friends
or family members works a rest stop for one of our
events we could give you a free Bicycle Illinois
jersey in return!
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