ETR Williamsburg 2018 Detailed Schedule
Friday, June 15
8:00am-7:00pm Registration
Registration is in the Hotel Lobby Friday morning, and in the Hospitality Suite Friday afternoon. The Hospitality Suite is at the end of the hallway to the left of the front desk. Pick up information, cue sheets and jerseys if you ordered them.
Friday Afternoon
The Tandems East store will be set up in the Hospitality Suite, and Mel Kornbluh will have parts and repairs available in the parking lot behind the hotel near the Hospitality Suite.
Friday Rides
Friday is Virginia Capital Trail Day in Charles City County. Four rides are offered, and all rides are remote start from Chickahominy Riverfront Park (1350 John Tyler Highway, Williamsburg, VA) in James City County, an 11-mile 25-minute drive from the Hotel. If you decide to ride before registering, the remote start will be manned by volunteers from 8:30am to 3:30pm. Park in the parking lot beside the swimming pool as you enter the Park. Maps and cue sheets are available at the picnic shelter, and there are rest rooms and a water fountain to fill your water bottles.
Lunch (on your own)
Have your lunch before, during or after the ride. See the restaurant guide in your packet and on the web site. All of the Friday rides have been planned so there are optional lunch stops during the ride at Charles City County restaurants: Blue Heron Restaurant, Cul’s Courthouse Grill, and Indian Fields Tavern – if you plan on having lunch during the ride, plan your ride start time accordingly.
Dinner (on your own)
We suggest walking from the Hotel to one over 20 restaurants in the Historic Area, Merchants Square and adjacent commercial areas. The walk is approximately one mile from the Hotel to Merchants Square. See the restaurant guide in your packet and on the web site. Your walk will take you down the Duke of Gloucester Street, one of the most historic streets in America. Following dinner, join us at the nearby Williamsburg Community Building for our Ice Cream Social.
If you decide to ride your bike to dinner, there are plenty of tandem friendly bike racks throughout Merchants Square and the adjacent commercial areas. There are no bike racks in the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area however. If you decide to drive, there is plenty of parking in the Prince George Parking Garage on North Henry Street ($1/hour) and in Lot P6 at the corner of Francis Street and South Henry Street ($2/hour). There is one hour free parking in the close-in parking lots, but they are frequently full and parking limits are enforced. There is also free parking with no time limit after 5:00 pm adjacent to the Community Building, in the nearby Williamsburg Library lot and around the Library Plaza.
7:00-8:30pm Ice Cream Social
Following dinner, join us at the nearby Williamsburg Community Building (401 North Boundary Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185) for our Ice Cream Social catered by Baskin-Robbins (on the menu are Mint Chocolate Chip, Pralines & Cream, Cookies & Cream, Vanilla and dairy-free Watermelon Splash). There will be a briefing on the Saturday and Sunday rides at 7:45 p.m. And as special treat after the briefing, former tandemer Jim Pastorick will have an illustrated discussion of The Art of Travel Photography. Learn how to improve the quality of your tandem photos while increasing your enjoyment of both photography and tandem cycling. You can view Jim’s photos at his web site. Following the Ice Cream Social, you can walk to nearby Merchants Square and take the free Colonial Williamsburg shuttle bus back to the Hotel – the shuttle bus runs until 10:00 pm. And if you would like some liquid refreshment following the Ice Cream Social, Williamsburg’s newest BrewPub, the Amber Ox, 521 Prince George Street, is a short walk from the Community Building and open until 1am.
Saturday, June 16
Celebrate ETR Williamsburg 2018 by wearing your ETR jersey! This year’s, last year’s or your favorite year’s.
6:30-8:00am Breakfast
A buffet breakfast is served in the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel dining area for guests staying at the hotel. They are opening breakfast a half-hour early advertised only for us.
8:00am Group Photo
A Group Photo will be taken in the plaza in front of the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, a short walk from the Hotel. We are on a tight schedule with an 8:30am Mass Start. The photo will be taken at 8:00 am sharp, so be there a little early if you can so we can get everyone lined up.
8:30am Mass Start for the Saturday Rides
The ride will start in front of the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel. If you are not staying at the hotel please park in the lot behind the hotel. We will have assistance from the Williamsburg Police Department to cross several of the downtown intersections on our way out of town. All rides follow the same route for the first six miles and we will all ride together down historic Duke of Gloucester Street at the start of the ride. Emergency contact information is printed on the back of your name badge.
11:30am-1:30pm Lunch at York River State Park
Lunch will be catered by Pierce’s Pitt Bar-B-Que, the Williamsburg area’s award winning Bar-B-Que restaurant. People requesting a vegetarian option will find a ticket behind their name badge. Pierce’s Catering Manager tells us that the pork, chicken, baked beans, potato salad and coleslaw are all dairy free and gluten free. Buns are NOT dairy free or gluten free. Riders on the 36-Mile route will probably arrive at the park before lunch is served, so use this as an opportunity to check out the exhibits at the Park’s Visitor Center and enjoy the views of Taskinas Creek and the York River. If you are planning to ride the 62-Mile route, remember that lunch service stops at 1:30pm.
Saturday Afternoon – Tandems East
The Tandems East store will be setup in the Hospitality Suite on Saturday afternoon and Mel Kornbluh will again have parts and repairs available from the Tandems East truck in the rear parking lot.
3:00pm Swap Meet
The Swap Meet will be held in the parking lot behind the Hotel, near the Tandems East truck.
3:30pm ETR Board Meeting
The ETR Board will meet in the Cedar Room in the Williamsburg Woodlands Conference Center behind the hotel and past the swimming pool. This is the same location for the Sunday Boxed Lunch. The meeting is open to all.
5:30pm Cocktails – REMEMBER YOUR DINNER AND DRINK TICKETS AND YOUR PARKING PASS!!
William and Mary School of Education Matoaka Woods Room (301 Monticello Avenue, Williamsburg, VA). The School of Education is two miles from the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel. You are allowed to park after 5:00 pm in the Faculty/Staff parking lots, so long as it is not a “Reserved at all Times” space, a Service Vehicle space, or an otherwise designated space. Be sure to put your parking pass on the dashboard. Everyone has a drink ticket behind your name badge that entitles you to one glass of wine or domestic or craft beer or a soft drink. Otherwise there is a cash bar.
6:30pm Dinner
William and Mary School of Education Matoaka Woods Room (301 Monticello Avenue). Dinner will be followed by announcements, recognitions and prize drawings. Everyone has a place card behind your name badge marked with your dinner choice. If you noted a dietary need at registration, this is marked on your place card as well. Be sure to call this to your server’s attention. Modified dinners will be matched to individual names in the kitchen.
8:00pm Entertainment
Following dinner we will have entertainment by the noted Williamsburg musician Timothy Seaman. Timothy plays distinctively original music using his own techniques developed for the extended-range hammered dulcimer and other instruments, including flute, bamboo flute, whistle, mountain dulcimer, a capella vocals, and psaltery. A specialist in Virginia themes, nature, parks, cycling and other outdoor recreation, Celtic roots and folk hymns, his recordings include Celebration of Centuries for his home town Williamsburg’s tri-centennial and Sycamore Rapids featuring the hammered dulcimer in “adventures out among the trees of Virginia’s Parks and Forests.”
Sunday, August 6
Wear your club jersey or your hometown favorite. Watch out for the RATS!
6:30-8:00am Breakfast
A buffet breakfast is served in the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel dining area for guests staying at the hotel. They are opening breakfast a half-hour early to accommodate ETR participants.
8:30am Mass Start for the Sunday Rides
The ride will start in front of the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel. If you are not staying at the hotel, please park in the lot behind the hotel. We will have assistance from the Williamsburg Police Department to cross several of the downtown intersections on our way out of town. All rides follow the same route for the first 10 miles. The highlight of the Sunday rides will be the seven miles on the Colonial Parkway between Williamsburg and Jamestown. As a special treat, there will be a store stop at Spoke & Art, a bicycle-themed store and community gathering spot located on the Virginia Capital Trail (they have tandem-themed merchandise too!) – they are opening early on Sunday morning just for us. Emergency contact information is printed on the back of your name badge.
11:30am-1:00pm Lunch
A Boxed Lunch will be available from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the Dogwood Room at the Williamsburg Woodlands Conference Center, located behind the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel just past the swimming pool. Seating is provided if you want to eat in, or you can take your boxed lunch and go.
Please leave your name badges in the box at lunch (or give to a friend to return). This has been an environmental and economic win for our rally from year to year.