Dude, we are going back to campus!  The Farm Ride headquarters will be located on the campus of UMass -- the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, my alma mater.  (OK, one of my four alma maters, but THAT is another story for another day!) 

There are a variety of places you can stay -- here are some delicious choices, from most expensive to least expensive. (Trivia item -- we do not profit from lodging -- you pay what we pay).

Campus Center Hotel

This is a real hotel located on the University of Massachusetts campus.  It is about the same quality as a three-star roadside Holiday Inn. Free internet access in your room, air-conditioning, free continental breakfast, HBO, private bath, daily maid service... the works.

Price: $134 per night per room.  (So you can take a room for yourself for $134 a night, or you and a friend could share one room for $67.00 each per night). You can add a cot to a Campus Center Hotel room for $10 per night.

NOTE:

1. It is up to you to find your own roommate if you want to share a Campus Center Hotel room -- we do not assign them.

2. The dorms (below) don’t sell out, but the Campus Center Hotel does. If this is where you want to stay, please reserve early.  Our allotment of Campus Center hotel rooms expires on July 23rd.  After that, Campus Center rooms may still be available.  Just call the hotel at

(877) 822-2110, tell them that you are with the Farm Ride -- Room Block BICYCC -- and ask.  Please not that prices may vary after July 23rd, depending on availability.  If you reserve in this manner pay the hotel directly for your housing, and tell us on your Farm Ride registration form tell us that you do NOT want housing (since you will have taken care of this yourself).

Deluxe Dorm Apartments

These are apartments (well, college-style apartment anyway!) Each air-conditioned apartment includes four single bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a shared living room/kitchen area. Each Deluxe Dorm building also has a common area/lounge.  Linens are provided. Soap and shampoo are not. Coin-operated laundry is located in the building.

NOTE: If you want to cook in the kitchen (beyond microwave popcorn) be sure to bring some stuff with you! The kitchen area is nice, but has NO utensils or pots. You get a full-size stove/oven, a microwave, a kitchen sink, and a full-size refrigerator/freezer, but THAT’S IT!

You can put together your own group of four people to share an apartment, or we can match you up with others. We’ve also heard from a few couples with kids that are taking the entire apartment for themselves, and that’s fine.

Note that if you ask us to match you up with others to share an apartment, we will be mixing men and women in the same four-room apartment (since each person has his or her own single room).

This is where I will be staying, and I plan to bring along some really hideous posters of my favorite rock bands (circa 1977) to put on the walls, or maybe a bad print of Van Gough’s “Starry Night.”  Ah, college! 

Price: $60 per person per night, or $240 for the entire apartment per night.

Standard Dorms

Remember your first dorm room?  We guarantee that these rooms are not as bad as prison. (Well, most prisons, anyway!) These are bare-bones, but you can’t beat the price. Each room has two single beds, two desks, two chairs... These rooms are not air conditioned. Bathrooms are in the hallway. Linens and towels are provided. Soap and shampoo are not.

Price: $45 per night if you are taking this as a private single room; $40 per person per night if you are sharing the room.

Check-Out Times

If you are staying in any of the dorms, you have to check out by 7:00 p.m.

If you are staying in the Campus Center Hotel, you have to check out by 11:00 a.m., so we have arranged to have rooms set aside in one of the dorms so you can shower and change before the trip home. We’ll be happy to hold your luggage for you until your departure.

Finding Lodging On Your Own

There are other hotels in Amherst, many of them a short pedal from UMass, and if you would rather stay there, that’s fine. Or if you have friends in the area, of course you can crash with them.

BUT... all of our events start and end at the UMass campus. It is up to you to get there and get home again. We can not provide transportation back and forth to other locations for your bike or you.

• • •

No matter which accommodations you choose, there is free outdoor parking (or paid indoor parking). Your bike stays in your room with you -- nice and safe.

Glen

Your tour director and humble servant

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