About Teen Treks 2. Our Groups 3. A Day in the Life 4. Where We Stay 6. Where Do We Eat 7. Getting to Your Trip 8. Pre-Night 9

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2 Table of Contents About Teen Treks 2 Our Groups 3 A Day in the Life 4 Where We Stay 6 Where Do We Eat 7 Getting to Your Trip 8 Pre-Night 9 Shipping Your Bicycle 10 Frequently Asked Questions 12 1

3 About Teen Treks At Teen Treks we love to travel! Travel provides an opportunity for people to expand their worldview, develop their awareness of new possibilities, and examine their values, attitudes and actions. Teens who have never otherwise met, join together for an adventure. Away from home, family, daily routine, and the usual conveniences, Trekkers often experience themselves, each other, and the environment with a fresh perspective. By its very nature travel promotes interaction, diversity, and inclusion. Paired with biking, travel provides a wonderful means of sightseeing and sense of personal accomplishment for all ages. 2

4 Our Groups Our groups are small, cooperative, and fun! Each trip usually has 8-12 trippers and 2 Trip Leaders. We plan our trips to be coed, though occasional imbalances occur because of sign-up patterns. Our Leaders are not tour guides or riding tape recorders of facts. Rather, they are capable adults who are just as excited as you are about the trips. We consider a sense of fun and discovery much more valuable to a trip than past knowledge of an area. Often a Leader is exploring a place for the first time too, and everyone finds the sharing of adventure more complete. Group decisions are encouraged whenever possible, with a Leader assuming a guiding rather than authoritative role. 3

5 A Day in the Life Depending on circumstances, you'll crawl out of your sleeping bag or bed between 7:00 and 9:00 A.M. You'll help get breakfast and clean up the hostel, campsite, or hotel room, and pack your bike. The group will go over the route and arrange meeting places along the way for swimming, lunch, whatever. Each person cycles at his or her own speed, with a Leader bringing up the rear. Frequent stops are made for ice-cream, swimming, resting at the tops of hills, talking with local sheep, etc. The group regroups at or near the final destination to arrange for grocery shopping and dinner. The evening's activities can be planned ahead, or left open to the spontaneity of the moment. Your overnights will be spent in hotels, hostels which are cooperative dormitory style accommodations, or state parks and local campgrounds; some trips are either all hostelling or all camping while many offer a mixture of both. A few trips will spend the night in college dorms, country inns, or farmhouses. 4

The wind in your face, the sun on your back, the sense of accomplishment at the end of a long day--these are all part of the special feeling you have when riding.

6 The wind in your face, the sun on your back, the sense of accomplishment at the end of a long day--these are all part of the special feeling you have when riding. Cycling is much more than physical exercise. You'll become close friends with your bicycle as the two of you get to know a region the way no motorist can. People are pleased to see you taking the time and energy to explore the landscape and culture of their particular region. Cycling also means traveling under your own steam, pollutionfree, carrying your essentials with you every pedal of the way. Of course there will be days when the weather is less than perfect or times when bike repairs slow you down, but the experiences you ll have along the way make it all worthwhile. If this sounds enticing but you're not an Olympic champion, don't worry. We are a summer camp biking program offering a variety of trips for all ranges of cycling ability. 5

Where We Stay A Teen Treks adventure takes you from populated urban centers to solitary wilderness. As you can expect where we stay depends a lot on where you are in the world.

7 Where We Stay A Teen Treks adventure takes you from populated urban centers to solitary wilderness. As you can expect where we stay depends a lot on where you are in the world. Our favorite places to stay are youth hostels. These unique accommodations have a great tradition of hosting bike enthusiasts and are at the heart of what a bike adventure is all about. Hostels have dormitory style rooms with common areas such as kitchens and bathrooms. Meeting fellow travelers and sharing stories of past adventures are absolute gems that make travel exciting. Unfortunately, over the years fewer hostels are remaining and where we can t find a good hostel we will stay in hotels. While the type of hotel we stay in varies greatly, generally we look for hotels with features such as pools because we know that trekkers love them. 6

Over the course of many years we ve learned where all the best campsites are, even a few that aren t on any map!

8 In between the big cities we love to camp! From established campgrounds that provide laundry, bathrooms, and showers, to camping on the shoreline, to the wild national forest, we love them all. Over the course of many years we ve learned where all the best campsites are, even a few that aren t on any map! Where Do We Eat For most of our teens, thinking about how to shop for food or cook for a large group is a totally foreign concept, but by the end of the trip they will be masters! Throughout the adventure teens will take turns serving on the Food Committee a group of 3 4 teens and a Trip Leader. 7

9 Provided with a cookbook and budget the committee will cook the group s lunch, dinner and next day s breakfast. Trip Leaders provide support to ensure that a tasty, healthy meal that accommodates all of the groups needs is produced. Food is purchased from local grocery stores and wherever possible local farmers markets. The teens quickly learn what it means to budget group funds. If they spend wisely they will have plenty of money to go out to eat in a restaurant about once every four days. Getting to Your Trip Please refrain from purchasing travel tickets until 45 days before the trip departure date. We ask this because in years past some trip dates and trip arrangements were changed due to necessary scheduling issues. If your teen is flying, our Leaders will meet your teen at the baggage claim and help get them and their gear to the start of the trip. Teens arriving by flight need to take advantage of our pre-night option. 8

10 If your teen is taking the train, our Leaders will meet your teen at the station and help get them and their gear to the start of the trip. Teens arriving by train need to take advantage of our pre-night option. If your teen is being dropped off on the morning the trip begins then please arrive at 8 AM. The drop off information will be sent to you a few weeks before the start of your trip. Pre-Night Pre-night is for those teens travelling to the start of the trip alone by plane or train. The Trip Leaders will have the teen s travel itinerary and pick them up at the airport or train station at designated times the evening before the trip begins. The Leaders will have your son/daughter call home to say they arrived safely and then the pre-night group will go out to dinner and then back to the hostel or hotel to assemble bikes. They will get to bed early so that they are ready to meet the rest of the group at 8 AM the next day for the official start of the trip. 9

11 Shipping Your Bicycle (For all trips, with the exception of the European Treks) If you plan on sending your teen by airplane, bus or train you must have their bicycle shipped to the first hostel or hotel. This is a painless task, and far easier (and less costly) then sending the bicycle with your son or daughter. Make sure to ship their bicycle at least one week before the trip departure date. Directions to assure proper shipment: 1. First the Teen Treks office at biketrips@teentreks.com to let us know you are shipping a bicycle for your teen and confirm the mailing address. 2. You will need to find a bicycle box. You can often get used boxes from bicycle shops, especially if you call a few days ahead. For around $60 you can ship anywhere in the US, if you use a box not bigger than 53 x30 x8. (Boxes come in all sizes, find one with these dimensions) 3. Next, you will need to disassemble the bicycle for shipping. Make sure not to disassemble the bike too much so that it will be easy for your teen and their Leader to put it back together for the trip; 1) Deflate the tires halfway for more shock absorbing capability. 2) Remove the seat and post as a unit. 3) Remove the front wheel 10

12 4) Loosen the handlebars by turning the stem bolt two full turns and turn the handlebars sideways, parallel to the frame. 5) Remove the pedals (left pedal has reverse threads) 4. To pack the bicycle in the box, put all small loose pieces into a plastic bag (i.e. pedals, screws, etc.). Tape the plastic bag, the seat and post, and the front wheel to the bicycle frame. Lower the bicycle in to the box. You may use extra pieces of cardboard or newspaper to secure the bicycle in the box. Seal the box with tape. Find your nearest authorized FedEx Ground store here. 11

13 Frequently Asked Questions Who are the Trip Leaders? Teen Treks Leaders are adults who love hanging out with kids and who are knowledgeable about bicycling. Many of our Leaders are teachers, human service professionals, graduate students, college seniors/juniors, and travel/hospitality professionals. The average age of our Leaders is 25, and all trips have two Leaders for the ride. All of our Leaders have completed a CPR & First Aid certification program. Your assigned trip leaders will call you a week before your trip to provide you with trip info and answer any last minute questions. What is included in the price of each trip? Teen Treks adventures trip price includes all meals, snacks, accommodations, activities, admission fees, and use of group camping equipment (tents, stoves, pot sets, etc.) Optional services such as Pre- Trip Night ($125) and FedEx shipping ($30-85) bike home are extra. Can I rent a bicycle? We recommend using your own bicycle in terms of comfort, quality, and cost. It is significantly less expensive to ship a bicycle compared to renting a bicycle, and when you have your own bicycle with you for your trip you will be so much more comfortable. If a rental is needed we do have nice road and hybrid bikes available. 12

14 Can I make flight reservations now? Please refrain from purchasing travel tickets until 45 days before the trip departure date. We do this because in years past we've had to move dates and trip arrangements due to necessary scheduling issues. With the airlines practice of locking in flights, charging high flight change fees, and in some cases not issuing refunds we don't want you to endure these headaches. Where will the Teen Trek depart from? The trip will depart from a youth hostel, airport, city park or major hotel located in the downtown of the specified departure city. Trips begin at 8 a.m. We will send you the exact hostel/hotel address in June. Who will be at the airport to pick up my teenager? Teens participating in pre-night will be picked up by one of their Trip Leaders at the airport in the departure city the night before the trip departure date. How much spending money will my teen need for their trip? The amount of spending money you send with your teen should include $50 for bike repairs and equipment and $20-50 per week for personal expenses. 13

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