Thanks to members volunteering to be tour leaders the club is able to run several tours per year.

Hub tours – a centre based/campervan based tour with day rides. Supported tours – a van carries the tour food & your bag. Unsupported tours – No van – you carry your own food, bags & sometimes a tent. Or any combination that suits.

General expectations:

Tours require much organisation & preparation in advance. Pre-tour it is generally only the leader & one or two individuals who take on these time-consuming tasks.

Tour costs are estimated costs & unexpected extras can arise. Participants join ACTA tours on the explicit understanding additional costs with be shared by everyone in on the tour.

All participants are expected to pitch in and help. You have not paid for a package holiday!

Tour leaders

The tour leader(s) develop the routes & itinerary and may, very much depending on the nature of the tour, identify & allocate key support roles. These roles could include:

  • managing money and making required payments

  • organising & shopping for food supplies

  • accommodation arrangements

  • sourcing & booking evening meal options

  • ride leading and tail-end duties

  • daily loading and unloading of the vehicle

Organising an Auckland Pre-tour meeting can be valuable for suggestions & discussing details & tasks. It’s not essential but useful for some types of tour.

Participant experience:

It is preferable that tour participants have completed several rides with the club including long Sunday rides & are confident on a variety of surfaces. It is up to the tour leader to make the decision as to whether a rider’s experience is suitable for any particular tour.

Participants :

Numbers are affected by accommodation availability, vehicle space, etc. The number of participants will be decided by the tour leader. A deposit (based on the estimated total cost) is required to secure your place on tour. Preference will be given to those members who will be completing the full tour.

All riders must complete & sign the ride register, prior to every ride, acknowledging their safety responsibilities and having read the club Safety Guidelines.

Accommodation:

Accommodation can either be booked by the leader for the group or participants are asked to book their own. When participants are asked to book their own a list of suggested options are supplied by the leader. Group accommodation can include a variety of cabins, holiday houses and basic motels. Bedrooms & bathrooms are often shared. A fair room allocation is always the aim & it is expected that all participants will accept the leader’s decisions with good grace. Please get used to sleeping with earplugs.

Support tour vehicles:

This is a vehicle organised by the leader that carries the tour food, other essentials and tour participants’ luggage which is usually limited to one medium size bag. The vehicle is also available in the unlikely event of an injury or illness. Not liking hills or gravel is not a valid reason for jumping in the van. The costs are shared by all.

Supported tour Drivers

Some tours may have a dedicated driver. If not, the driving will be shared amongst tour participants with the proviso that drivers are willing, confident and competent to drive what is usually a van or ute with or without a trailer. Pre-tour the leader must be notified by email if sharing driving does suit your skills or experience & the ways you can otherwise contribute.

The use of private vehicles:

The club greatly appreciates club members making their vehicles available for use as it reduces the cost for everyone. Vehicles and trailers offered for use need to have:

  • a current registration and warrant of fitness.

  • a comprehensive insurance policy with an excess of ideally no more than $1000

In the event of an accident where the supplied vehicle/trailer/bike rack is damaged all tour participants agree to sharing any cost excess incurred during the insurance claim and vehicle/trailer/bike rack repair process.

Cost reimbursement for vehicle use:

All tour participants equally share the vehicle costs. Unless otherwise agreed in advance, the vehicle owner is to be reimbursed by those on the tour for the following:

  • fuel used

  • any road user charges

  • An amount of 36 cents per kilometre to cover fair wear and tear and the other running costs of the vehicle.

To enable the required calculations to be made, the vehicle owner is required to fill up with fuel and record the odometer reading at both the start and end of the tour.

Club Tour Cancellation policy:

If you have paid a deposit & had a place confirmed but need to withdraw before a tour commences your deposit may, but not necessarily, be refunded if:

  1. There is another member willing to take the canceler’s place & cover all deposits. or:

  2. Two months’ notice is given in writing,or:

  1. After completion of the tour when all payments made there is enough surplus to allow a full or partial refund. Any refund will be at the discretion of the ACTA committee.

In the event of cancellation please email the president & tour leader ASAP so your circumstances can be taken into consideration.

Cycle touring is brilliant, even more so with other enthusiastic ACTA members – you get to explore amazing places, have the knowledge of fellow members in case you have a bike problem & get to know each other better all while having fun along the way!