Thanks for the kind words, Indyfabz.
I've led 4 ACA TransAms and completed 3 of them. Trip 3 I had to leave in Kansas due to a medical emergency. I've also staffed several Cycle MT and Cycle VT supported tours. I rode the last 2 weeks of Indyfabz's '99 Northern Tier as a replacement leader.
The job has many rewards. A paid 3 month vacation on the TransAm (well, $50/day and all you can eat!) You will make travel friends in your groups that you will keep in touch with for years to come. The comraderie is overwhelming when you finish the tour together.
There is also a chance that you will have to compromise your own style of solo travel. On my own I never plan too far down the road. I often don't plan a definite stop for the day until I get close to the end. Leading the ACA tours you always have to be several weeks ahead to be on top of things. A group camping reservation in West Yellowstone may need to be made months in advance. On the last tour I led in 2009 I lost my temper at a group member who wanted me to nail down our exact arrival date in Eugene OR (apologies again Tom if you're in the BF audience). We were almost a month away relaxing at our layover at Yellowstone.
Another source of tension for me was breakfast/starting time in the mornings. Back in the '90s the groups were younger and liked to sleep in a bit and relax and enjoy a cup of coffee at camp. I'd be the early guy up at 7. My more recent tour in 2009 was an older group, several of whom were taking their tents down at 5AM in the dark in to order beat the heat, wind or whatever. The morning start time somehow has to be defined as everybody shares the same cooking equipment, yet each person has a different morning routine.
Another source of disappointment is when someone finds it neccesary to leave the trip early and go home. As leader you always wonder if you were at fault.
Originally Posted by
indyfabz
I don't balance my own checkbook. Having to do something like that during a tour doesn't sound to appealing to me.
Yep! I remember trying to balance my account book at a windy KOA at Royal Gorge CO to see how much spare cash we had for our upcoming layover in Breckenridge. I sought shelter on the porch of a Kamping Kabin but the wind kept blowing my piles of cash away! Another time I ran short of group funds before the mother ship in Missoula had time to wire me more. I had to transfer cash from my personal account to carry us over.
Originally Posted by
treebound
I imagine how well it works out depends to a great extent upon the people who are participants,
Mike, that's so true but the perfect groups do happen. Pictured is our '99 TransAm group. 6 women, 7 men, ages 18-70, one married couple, one on the road romance within the group, and nobody dropped out of the tour. I'm the second head from the left. I've been followng on line journals of recent ACA tours. Sounds like there have been a lot of winners since!
photo by Greg Siple-
