We are planning on having all future 2021 trips as scheduled.
Latest news
Fully vaccinated people can resume travel. At "low risk." According to the new CDC guidelines released April 2, 2021. CNBC Link to full story or FOX5 News Link to full story
Vaccines
The best news is there are now 3 COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA): Pfizer/BioNTeck, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford and Johnson & Johnson Vaccines are currently being administed.
As of March 31, 2021: 96 million people in the U.S. have been vaccinated with at least one dose; and 53 million people have been fully vaccinated. (CDC COVID Data Tracker)
COVID-19 Safety Vacation Bicycling
Obviously our first consideration is the safety of everyone, including our participants and the people who work at the hotels and restaurants on our trips. With this in mind we have been closely monitoring the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine's Coronavirus Resource Center for county statistics and the COVID Tracking Project websites. These sites show that relatively most of the areas where we are staying, have a very low infection rate with a downward trend in numbers, so we are very hopeful that by the time each trip arrives, the county that we stay and the area that we ride will be in excellent shape.
As of of March 2021 all people that lead and assist on the bicycling trips will have vaccinated with at least one dose.
In addition, we recently returned from our most recent trips since the COVID-19 outbreak. Following are the changes that we made (and are evaluating for future trips) and depending on the situation at the time for each trip and the experiences we gain, we will make these changes for future trips as well to help ensure the safety of everyone. These include:
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Taking everyone's temperature with contactless thermometers at the beginning of each trip and before getting in the vans each day.
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For group meals: Eating all meals outside, if the restaurant has an outside seating areas. If outside seating is not available, then each person can request to have her/his meal to go to eat at her/his hotel room.
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Optional Happy hours are happier than ever as we meet in a safe outdoor area or large open meeting areas.
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We revised routes if possible to allow everyone, if they choose, to drive their personal vehicle to the starting/ending point of the ride; thus avoiding extended van travel.
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We replaced the 5-gallon water cooler/dispensers with cases of bottled water.
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We have hand sanitizers and wipes available in each seat in each vehicle/van.
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We have additional vehicles to allow social distancing within the vans. leaving the center seat open in each row through April 31, 2021 (The same as Delta Airlines)
As we will be staying at Hilton and IHG properties on most tours, Hilton and IHG have implemented many COVID-19 policies including:
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All guests, associates, staff and visitors are asked to wear masks at all Hilton and IHG properties
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Hilton CleanStay Room Seal to indicate that guest rooms haven’t been accessed since they were cleaned
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Extra disinfection of top 10 high touch areas in guest rooms including light switches and door handles
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Increased cleaning frequency of public areas
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Guest-accessible disinfecting wipes at entrances and high traffic areas
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Enhanced cleaning for fitness centers
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Reduced paper amenities (like pads and guest directories) in rooms
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Enhanced cleaning & other changes to buffets, in-room dining and meeting spaces
Also, here are links to websites that we have referenced and monitoring.
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Johns Hopkins University & Medicine: https://coronavirus.
jhu.edu/us-map -
The COVID Tracking Project: https://
covidtracking.com/data -
Hilton Covid 19 new policies: https://www.hilton.
com/en/corporate/coronavirus/
In addition, most states now require everyone to wear a mask in all indoor buildings. Also, Walmart, Kroger (including all King Sooper, City Market, Smiths and Ralphs divisions) now require masks at all stores and many other national retailers require masks while shopping. In addition, masks are now federally required on all airlines.
As we know the situation is very fluid, but is improving greatly in 2021, so we are continuing to monitor the information and make changes for all future trips.
If you have any other questions, please let us know.
Take care,
Joe