Basically the biggest changes in PALM every year are the sites. If you look over the last 5 years of PALM on the website you'll see that while we always go from west to east, every site but one has been different. (South Haven is the only duplicate. Not a bad choice.) If you ride PALM you'll see lots of Michigan.
One of the awkward things about PALM is that it's not a round trip: you finish 200 miles from where you started. We charter buses that take you, your luggage, and your bike to the beginning site on Saturday before the ride starts and other buses that return you to the start site after the ride is over on Friday. We arrange for week long parking at the ending site for the Saturday people and the starting site for the Friday people. Roughly 200 people take the bus on Saturday before the ride starts and about 100 take the bus after the ride is over on Friday.
If instead you are planning to take your car and/or camper from site to site, we've made a few changes that you'll be able to see from the application. If you know that you'll be taking your car and/or camper from site to site, you will need to indicate whether you are taking a vehicle and/or a camper and their approximate length in the fields provided below the city/state line on the application. (We need to know how much parking we will need at each site.) At registration on Saturday you will receive a PALM vehicle pass as part of your registration packet. We ask that it be visible from your vehicle at all times. Basically we rent the sites at which we stay and are responsible for them. We need to know that everybody on site is part of PALM.
We know that you may not know that you will be driving your vehicle site to site until just before PALM starts. You'll be able to sign up for a PALM vehicle pass at registration at the start of the ride. But if you do know you'll be doing this well beforehand, please let us know so that we can plan.
Everyone who is on PALM must register whether they are a rider or not. If someone is going to come with you to drive your vehicle from site to site, they still have to register even if they don't plan to ride. Up until last year we had separate non rider registration fee, but it was rarely used (the most we ever had was 13, generally it was around 6.) so we dropped it this year. Everyone who registers for PALM will get a t-shirt so be sure to indicate your size.
Some other things to know about taking your vehicle and/or camper from site to site. When you are driving to the next site, stay off the bike route. This is a safety issue. There will be 700 bikes on the route contending with existing local traffic and they don't any extra. You'll be provided with an alternate route to the next site. There will be a designated area for you to park. You must park there (or you will be asked to move). The luggage trucks and repair shops need parking too. Don't park or setup tents at the next site until 12:00 noon. Officially the site is not ours until 11:00. Any earlier than noon means that you will beat the site co-ordinator there. (Their first official duty is to police up the previous site before going on to their own site.) Please let the site co-ordinators setup shop before they have to start handling issues. These are rules that we've always had even though some have not followed them.
Some things though stay the same on PALM year to year. It's still Michigan. Midsummer's night will still occur on PALM. And for this year the registration, meal, and bus fees have also stayed the same.
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9 comments:
Have the number of campers/cars/RVs increased in recent years? A couple of years ago, it only seemed like a half dozen or so campers/trailers followed from site to site.
The site people have been having more problems accomodating private vehicles at the sites recently. We really don't know how much the numbers have increased if any. That's one of the reasons we are changing the application: to get real numbers instead of appearances.
Keep in mind that some of these campers/RVs are hungry for electric hook ups. Should they or should they not?
PALM does not provide electrical hookups for private vehicles. We also ask that generators not be used during the quiet hours. If those with campers/RV's need electrical hookups, they should probably find private campgrounds near the sites.
I think it is rediculous that I have to register someone who is not going to be riding on the road, staying at the schools, or using the facilities. We stay at hotels. If I have different people do the site-following, do I have to really register them all?
We have always asked non-riders to register; this isn't new. What is new is requesting that private vehicles display a vehicle tag (as is required on other rides). If a vehicle and its driver never come onto school ground and don't drive on the route, you don't need to register. But if you drive onto the school grounds, you are using at least a piece of the facility and by definition you are a participant and we must register and insure you. We are, of course a bike ride, and we try our best to meet the needs of the riders.
Thanks for this. A quick question, though. If someone plans to have a private SAG, I understand that the driver needs to register. But does "registration" mean "pay the rider fee?" The post seemed to suggest that registration was necessary, but payment was not.
This not a complaint either way - I just want to make sure I understand the process.
Thanks!
Yes, each participant must pay the appropriate fee. For an adult non-rider, this cost is $110. Sorry if this was confusing.
As a long time PALMer (about 12-14 rides starting w/ PALM II) I do think the number of private sags - and the SIZE of them - has increased over the years. People just seem to need a lot of 'stuff' along. I've ridden with a 4-year-old and I've ridden with teens and never felt the need for a private sag. For a family traveling with several small children it probably makes sense, but the rest of us should be able to get by without it.
The PALM staff (all volunteers!) provides excellent facilities, SAG support, truck transport, and buses. The bike shops provide great service. One need not fear being without a car for a week -- it's OK, really.
I believe the staff when they say the new rules are just to control private sags, not to discourage them. However, it would be all right with me if it did discourage a few.
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