Two Vélo Québec …vénements event coordinators met with municipal officials and representatives of the business community in Newcastle March 15.
The non-profit organization wants to bring The Grand Tour Desjardins, a bicycle tour with about 2000 participants, to Newcastle Aug. 8-9, 2013.
During an hour-long presentation, the Vélo representatives talked about the potential economic impact of the tour, as well as the logistics of bringing 2000 people to Newcastle for a two-day stay.
Grand Tour participants are usually middle-aged professionals, with an average age of about 50 and an average salary of about $100,000 per year, Event Coordinator Maxime St-Laurent said.
“It’s a crowd that spends a lot of money,” St-Laurent said.
The organization would directly create a number of temporary jobs. “We’re going to hire around 60 local people only for working on the village site,” St-Laurent said.
The organization would hire custodial, maintenance and security workers, as well as a host of local contractors, including caterers, electricians and equipment rental services.
“It’s a big challenge for a caterer,” St-Laurent said.
“We have high standards for food,” he said. Grand Tour materials describe the dining experience as “epicurean” and the organization emphasizes the importance of eating local.
“We want the caterer to get his foods local as much as possible,” St-Laurent said. “We don’t want to eat strawberries from California.”
The caterer(s) – Vélo often hires more than one – would also operate a bar.
St-Laurent described his employer as an ecologically and socially responsible organization, and this commitment extends to dining.
Vélo asks caterers, wherever possible, to use compostable dishes. “The less waste we create, the better it is,” St-Laurent said.
Vélo donates any excess food to local food banks.
Vélo typically recruits a local sports team to carry luggage for participants. The players charge $2 per bag, and teams often raise $3000 or more, St-Laurent said.
Vélo also invites local merchants to set up booths on the village’s “main street.”
The economic impact of The Grand Tour extends beyond the two-day stay. “Almost 80 percent of our participants come back in the next two years by themselves,” St-Laurent said, many bringing family and friends.
The 2000 visitors consist of about 1800 participants and 200-plus employees and volunteers. The organization estimates about 300 will choose to stay in hotels, while the vast majority camp in the Grand Tour village.
The organization’s plan to stay in Newcastle hinges, at least in part, on Lincoln Academy’s willingness to host the village.
Vélo needs a space equivalent to two football fields, as well as access to buildings and related infrastructure. The organization typically stays at a school and asks host schools to donate the use of the property.
A tent village, including two trailers containing about 40 mobile showers, will occupy the fields. The organization needs access to the buildings for dining and kitchen facilities, massage therapy, office space, rainy-day activities and additional showers.
The village hosts a wide array of activities throughout the day, from live music to yoga.
If, for whatever reason, Lincoln Academy doesn’t work out as a host site, Vélo might shift to another Newcastle location or to Damariscotta or Wiscasset, St-Laurent said.
Although the village serves participants’ every need, the bicyclists still like to leave and explore their surroundings. “They’re not prisoners of the village,” St-Laurent said. “You’ll see them in town.”
As for the bicycling itself, motorcycles and other patrol vehicles escort the riders for safety and convenience. The entourage also includes bicycle repair and first aid services.
The massive influx of bicycles will not close roads and bicyclists will travel single-file, not in large packs.
“You’ll never see 2000 cyclists at the same time,” St-Laurent said. “You’ll see a long, long line of cyclists.”
The organization, founded in 1986, has a long history of planning The Grand Tour and other events, including the annual Montreal Bike Fest, which, with about 45,000 participants, dwarfs The Grand Tour.
“We’re going to do things in the way it should be done,” St-Laurent said.
Although some hurdles remain, St-Laurent wrapped up the presentation on an optimistic note. “We’re going to make it happen,” he said. “If you’re willing, guys, I’m sure it’s going to happen.”
Damariscotta and Newcastle municipal officials, as well as representatives of the Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Academy, the Twin Villages Downtown Alliance and local businesses attended the presentation.
