Traditionally, there are 2 rides per season. One in June and one in August or September. The tour is called the Flat 4 Tour because it covers the four states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. This is a two day tour held over a Saturday and Sunday. This is a great tour for both experianced riders and those wanting to get into sport-touring. This is an open invitation ride. Everyone rides the same route (which includes lunch stops and gas stops). I like to think of it as a rolling social event. Riders are encouraged to form their own groups, join an existing group, ride it solo or just show up at the start point and find a group to ride with. Requests for information can be sent to F4T@comcast.net Hope to see some of you out there, Justin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: August 16-17 2008 Start Point: BP in Starks, IL on 47/72 and 20 between 7:30 AM and 8:30 AM. Destination: Winona, MN Return Departure: 9 AM on Sunday the 17th. Accommodations: Quality Inn Winona 956 Mankato Avenue Winona , MN 55987-4869 Telephone: (800) 562-4544 Fax: (507) 452-2187 Email: winquinn@luminet.net Web Site: Hotels, Rooms, Reservations, Hotel Lodging, Motels - Choice Hotels 20 rooms are blocked off under Flat 4 Tour (5 smoking / 15 non-smoking). The block will expire at 4 PM on Saturday August 9th. Room price is $80.99 for a standard room with two queen beds. Call and make your own reservation. If you guarantee your reservation, you must call and cancel by 4 PM on Friday August 15th or your credit card will be billed. Route: PM me for the route (include your e-mail address). Or send me an e-mail at F4T@comcast.net The route is available in PDF format (text), Delorme's Street Atlas USA and GPS format (Garmin Mapsource). The route includes the start point, all gas stops, two lunch stops and the destination hotel. Estimate round trip mileage is 800. There is also a bonus run available if we can get to the hotel and get organized in time. This run is approximately 2 hours in length. Group Dinner: Saturday night the 16th at 8 PM at the Green Mill located across the highway from the Quality Inn. I will need a head count for a reservation, so please PM me or send an e-mail if you plan to attend. Green Mill 1025 Highway 61 E Winona , MN 55987-4904 (507) 452-5400 Web Site: Green Mill Restaurants - Pizza Restaurant Franchises - Home Alternative hotels: http://www.visitwinona.com/stock/fun...NavClicked=189 Alternative restaurants: http://www.visitwinona.com/stock/fun...NavClicked=147 ****Disclaimer**** FTR, the Flat4Tour does not advocate nor encouage reckless riding or illegal riding. This is not a race. There is no trophy for being the fastest. The way to win is to ride far, have fun and get home with no damage to you or your bike. These groups are set up as fast/medium/slow or advanced/intermediate/novice in order to put like riders together in order to maximize the fun and minimize the danger. We had a crash free ride in June, so let's have another one this August. So, keep 'er between the ditches! And once you are in a group, if you decide the pace is not right for you and you break off, please let someone in the group know. You don't want the group leader to think you had a crash or a mechanical and waste their time coming back to find you. It is also a good idea to have an emergency contact list in your wallet and to give someone (it could be me) your cellphone number.
