PALM 2010 Application

I marked up the 2009 application with some changes for 2010 and have taken it to the printer. They will typeset it and send me a proof to review. (Typeset is an anachronism here. There is no type involved. In fact the guy who does it for them lives in the UP and does it all by computer.) So we are on our way.

We plan to mail out the applications in the middle of January, a week earlier than last year. Our next PALM meeting is January 24. This is the chance for staff to pick up applications that they can distribute to friends, bike shops, bike clubs in their area. This will be a week after the applications are mailed out. Last year we mailed out the applications around January 25 and we were filled by Feb 5. There is a good chance that the ride will almost be filled by the time we have the PALM meeting. If you are waiting for the application to show up at your bike shop so that you can sign up for PALM, your odds are not so good. We put the application on the website about a week after the applications are mailed. (A lot of our riders are not friends of the web and we want to give them first crack.) If you are waiting to download the application from our website, you could be way behind. If you think you may want to do PALM, please, please, please get on our mailing list by January 1. (Email your mailing address to palmbiketour@yahoo.com or email it to me at palmwebguy@ameritech.net) We mail out the applications by 1st class mail so that everyone will get the application at the same time (well, close to the same time) and have an equal chance of getting on PALM. If last year is any indication, the ride could be filled by the end of January.

The middle of January is when everyone gets their credit card statements that cover Christmas shopping. Michigan's economy is bad: 15% unemployment and a huge turmoil in the auto industry. (In the last year, I had to find a new job twice. ) When you get the PALM application, you may be low on funds. You don't have to pay for everything at once. To get on PALM you only need to pay the registration ($110 for 18 and over, $65 for 11 - 17 year olds, $55 for people less than 11) when you mail in your appplication. You have up until May 15 to add any meals or bus rides you may need. January is pretty early to commit to a week off in June. If you have to cancel, it will only cost you $15 for an individual, $20 for an application. Keep your eye on the mail and mail in your registration payment soon.

Just because you have to mail in your application quickly doesn't mean you don't have to fill it out completely. We got an unbelievable amount of incorrect, incomplete applications last year. We had people who left their names off the applications. The biggest problems were missing emergency contact information, incorrect dollar amounts, and missing/misplaced signatures. For these errors we (actually Vickie) has to contact you and you have to mail us corrections. This takes time (especially if you break your writing hand, like Vickie did last year). 77 applications did not include a self addressed stamped envelope. So how do we mail you a confirmation to let you know you are on the ride? Not only does it cost us money, but we have to fill out the address (with our nonbroken hand). It took us (well, me actually) forever to finish the registration last year. We hope that by starting a little earlier and getting your help, we can do a much better job.