(Link for downloadable PDF)

THE 25 RAC | What to Bring and What to Leave at Home 

What to bring?  As little as possible  

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Your bikes. 

  • Make arrangements to transfer your bikes to the start of the RAC.

  • The luggage truck will not carry your bike. 

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What to carry on your bike every day 

  • ID, Medical insurance information 

  • Helmet, gloves, vest

  • Water 

    • adults: 

      • two bottles (if you have room on the bike) 

      • or hydration pack and one bottle 

    • kids : 

      • hydration pack for water 

      • bottle for Gatorade 

  • Two tubes per bike per rider

  • Sunglasses

  • Small container of sunscreen

  • ChapStick with SPF 15. 

    • Apply often to prevent sunburnt lips 

  • Small bag of toilet paper and zip lock bag. Leave no paper behind. 

  • Small package of baby wipes and zip lock bag. Leave no wipe behind 

  • Small hand sanitizer. 

  • Small emergency snack (to get you to the nearest snack or lunch)

  • Optional:  eye drops or nasal spray. The desert is dry 

  • Optional: bandana for windy days 

  • Optional: bike tools (or find Bob) 

  • Optional: small bike pump (or find Bob)

    •  The nearest chase car will have a large foot pump.

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Luggage | This list does not apply to chase families 

  • One box or duffle bag per person

  • Costco black boxes with a yellow lid. 27 gallons.  

    • The size we will show you at the meeting.

    • Not the ones from Home Depot. 

  • or standard-size duffle bags 

  • you pick the combination of containers you want to bring 

    • these containers will carry your clothes, your pillow, your toiletries, chargers,  etc 

    • maximum weight limit is 40 pounds per box/duffle bag

  • one camping chair (in a sleeve) per person, as seen at the meeting 

  • one sleeping bag per person, ideally packed in the box/duffle if it fits 

  • one rolled sleeping matt per person 

  • or one sleeping cot, the foldable kind that fits in a sleeve, max 15 lbs, as seen at the meeting 

  • your tent 

  • The more you can fit in your box/duffle bag (and still stay under 40 lbs), the better. 

  • Chair, matt, and sleeping bag can be outside of box/bag. Label everything. 

Please remember that 

  • you and your child carry your luggage from the truck to the camping site.

    • camping sites might be 100+ feet away from the luggage truck 

    • practice at home 

  • If you bring items to the luggage truck that we find inappropriate or too heavy, we will ask you to return home and repack. 

    • We packed the luggage truck on Saturday, April 12. You have time to go home. 

  • it is our teenage Youth Support that loads and unloads the truck 

    • They stack and unstack 40-pound boxes up to four boxes high 

    • Every day, after they ride with your kids all day. 

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Camping Equipment 

We will camp every night (unless you have reserved a hotel near Julian).  Please bring the following. 

  • Tent (incl rain cover and tent spikes) 

    • optional mallet. Or borrow one from the camper next to you 

  • Sleeping mat 

    • or folding camping cots that come in a travel bag. 

  • Sleeping bag

  • Pillow

  • Ground Cover (plastic tarp) 

  • Flashlight /phone 

  • Folding camping chair with bag. 

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Clothing 

  • Pack light and bring layers. 

    • The temperature varies significantly during the week

    • Shed layers as the day warms up. 

  • Bring as little as possible of everything else. 

  • No laundry facilities along the way. 

  • Yellow vest with name 

  • Socks 

  • Shoes for biking 

  • Shoes for not biking 

  • Underwear 

  • T-shirts 

  • Long pants 

  • Bike shorts 

  • Thin sweatshirt (which must be neon yellow or fit under the vest) 

    • Leave them in chase cars as the day heats up.

    • Label them. It makes retrieval from chase cars easier. 

  • Thin windbreaker (that fits under your vest) 

  • Sun hat 

  • Gloves for riding 

  • Gloves for cold Julian mornings. (Thick socks will do) 

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Personal & Toiletries 

  • Medication 

  • Chamois Butt’r to prevent saddle sores 

  • Soap or Shampoo 

  • Extra sunscreen in small containers

  • Extra chapsticks with SPF 15 

  • Quarters for the showers in Vallecito

  • Toothbrush, floss, and paste

  • Hand towels or disposable wash clothes 

  • Baby wipes 

  • Deodorant 

  • Lotion 

  • Comb or brush

  • Optional but appreciated: 

    • Febreeze 

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Electronics 

  • Phone (you will have coverage along the route) 

    • Charging cable 

    • External battery packs or solar charger 

      • Electrical outlets are few and far between 

  • Optional: A simple odometer for mileage counting. 

    • cheap, fun, lithium battery-powered, kids love them

    • or a bike computer for yourself. (But that is one more thing you need to charge) 

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  • We will help you and we will share with you if you forget something*.  

    • *Exception: no sharing of underwear or toothbrushes. We have standards 

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What to leave at home|

  • A huge tent | a three-person tent for two people is enough 

  • Duffle bags with wheels 

  • Golf bag-style luggage 

  • Personal coolers with personal drinks 

  • Fancy suitcases 

  • Flimsy boxes 

  • Boxes with wheels 

  • Boxes that were not approved during the meeting 

  • Folding chairs with tables attached 

  • Folding chairs that don’t fold into a sleeve 

  • Folding lounge chairs 

  • Homework 

  • Kiddie wagons for transporting your luggage from truck to campsite  

  • Lots of bike tools (find Bob instead)

  • Foot pumps (every chase car will have one) 

  • Bike locks 

  • Bike lights 

  • The dog 

  • Heavy rain gear. 

    • We don’t ride in heavy rain. 

  • Seven complete non-riding outfits 

  • Those cute shoes

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For chase drivers 

  • Every morning, Sabine will send you out to your assigned spot with a cooler of water and a cooler of Gatorade. She will help you refill your coolers during the day as needed. 

  • You must stay at your assigned spot until the last rider passes by.

  • You may not leave your assigned spot to attend to your own child (unless it’s an emergency) 

    • Sabine and Bob drive the route all day and will care for anyone who needs help. 

  • If you provide anything extra during your chase shift (ice, cookies), you must provide it for all riders or at least all children. 

    • Please do not offer anything ‘special’ to your child that others see but don’t get. 

    • You are not expected to provide anything but water and Gatorade.

    • Many chase parents bring signs and or/write on their cars. 

      • We appreciate your motivation. 

    • We encourage you to write messages that support all children (and not just your own).  

    • We love:

      • You trained. You can do this.  

      • RAC kids rock 

      • I trained very hard to hold up this sign 

      • River to Riptide 

      • This is a motivational sign 

      • Have a great ride 

      • You are stronger than you think you are 

      • Hills don’t scare us 

      • This is the best day ever

      • Today builds character. You’ll thank me later. 

      • My arms are killing me 

      • Ride like the wind

      • Dennis is our hero 

      • and the ever-popular sign at mile 1: 

        • you are almost there.  

  • When kids stop at your chase spot, please refrain from well-meaning but unhelpful comments like 

    • “You only have …. miles left.”

      • At the end of a long day, even one mile is a long way. 

    • “You have one mile to go” when you are guessing. 

      • Kids get very discouraged when that one promised mile becomes two. 

  • Thank you for reading. 

  • We are all looking forward to an awesome week. 

  • Please let us know if you have any questions. 

  • This will be fun 

The End