Amgen Tour of California

Imagine enjoying the sunshine as you flow down the bike lanes of Palo Alto, past the 5 miles of stopped cars into the largest bicycle parking corral you've ever seen, right in the very front of Amgen Tour of California bicycle races. Imagine an event where bicycle parking was put first and every driver wished they could join one of the packs of bicyclists riding merrily past their own idling vehicle. Imagine watching champion cyclists shoot past you, safely knowing your bicycle was right around the corner being guarded by friendly volunteers of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.

The organizers of the Amgen Tour of California Prologue in Palo Alto have made safe bicycling and bicycle parking their priority, and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is helping make that dream happen.

The Prologue is on Sunday, February 17th 2008.

The Race

In the Prologue races, each rider zooms down the course alone as quick as he can to determine the order in which the racers begin on the first day of the race. Because of this, the races will begin around 1:00 pm and are estimated to continue until 3:30 P.M.

The Corrals

How are you getting to the races? With the support of the City of Palo Alto and Stanford University, we are organizing two of the largest bicycle corrals you've ever seen. With tall chain-link fences and each massive bicycle corral capable of holding 1000 bicycles each, we're serious about securing these bikes and we need a volunteer force just as massive.

The 75 Person Volunteer Force

Wait, you're parking 3000 bikes? That's right, we're looking for 75 volunteers to support us in our bicycle corrals and our mission to promote the bicycle for everyday use. Just imagine how a well-organized bicycle parking corral with enough volunteer support behind it could affect how professional stadiums and concert venues think about bicycle transportation. Every 1000-bike corral takes at least 500 cars off the road, freeing up 500 more parking spots and tons of carbon emissions.

Support us in this effort to change the way Silicon Valley thinks about transportation. Volunteer!

Shift Lengths

Since we are all eager to watch the professional bicyclists zoom by, all shifts are split up to ensure all volunteers can watch at least one hour of the races. Volunteer for one of our 4–5 hour shifts and help us fill in the gaps to ensure everybody gets a chance to watch the races.

Don't want to do it alone? Grab a buddy and sign up together. We'll ensure you're in the same spot.

Volunteer Jobs

Check out this list of jobs below. Though some may sound cheesy, every little bit helps and all are very important in ensuring these corrals are safe and secure.

If you are interested please send an e-mail to [email protected]. One of our coordinators will get back to you and provide specific details about the event.

Volunteer Job Descriptions

Bike Parking Attendant

Guards bikes locked by the bicyclists in a fenced -in area. Guides bicyclists into the corral to ensure a clean corral fill in. May park bicycles for the valet bicycle parking area in the corral. May also shout “Bicycle Parking Here” at various times.

Outreach Hosts

Greets cyclists as they enter and exit the corral. Provides useful bicycling information. Spreads our mission and encourages others to promote the bicycle for everyday use. Must attend mandatory Outreach Training session.

Setup Assistants

Help set up the bike parking corrals, possibly build racks, move racks and set up tables and signs as need be.

On-Call Assistants

On-call and ready to assist set up from 7 A.M.–10 A.M. This position has been created to ensure we have enough manpower to handle any day-of surprises that may appear. On-Call Assistants may be wherever they choose, at home or around the race track, however have a phone on them and ready to go.

On-Call BP Attendants

On-call and ready to assist Bike Parking Corrals from 10 A.M.–5 P.M. This position has been created to ensure we have enough manpower to handle any day-of surprises that may appear. On-Call Attendants may be wherever they choose, though we prefer they are around the race area, however must have a phone on them and ready to help. Please state your hours you will be on call. If called to duty, these shifts will last at most an hour and a half, and we will ensure that you will see the races.

Photographers

Our Photographers will visit all three of our racks and snap some snazzy photos of our volunteers in action and all the bicycles they've helped park and guard.

Snack Bringers

Like to bake? Help support and be apart of our Massive Volunteer Force by bringing down some snacks for our workers. Each corral will be hosting roughly 25 volunteers each, so any drinks or snacks brought over would be mighty helpful.

Want to bring more? Contact Shelly at [email protected].

Tour Recorder

Don't have the means to be there in person? We're looking for a couple volunteers to record the TV's coverage of the whole Prologue. Not too hard, just makes sure the tape (or DVD preferably) doesn't run out before the race does. Contact us if you're interested.

Between Corral Runner

We'll need a runner at each corral, ready to move supplies to another corral if the need arises.

Corral Co-Manager

Interested in how a bike corral is run? We're looking for somebody to learn the ropes hands on with one of our expert Corral Managers, Fred Wiesinger by Co-Managing one of our Corrals.

If you are interested please send an e-mail to [email protected]. One of our coordinators will get back to you and provide specific details about the event.