BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR 2023
EVENT DETAILS ABOUT THE BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR
ROUTE MARKING
DATE: Saturday March 11, 2023
TIME: Approximately 0900 EDT.
ROUTE SIGNAGE
DATE: Friday March 17, 2023.
TIME: Approximately 0900 EDT.
MAIN EVENT – BIKE TOUR ITSELF
WHEN: Saturday March 18, 2023 – Sunday March 19, 2023.
WHERE: Begin and end at the Omni Hotel – Champions Gate, FL. – Just inside of Osceola County. Over 95 percent of the ride is in eastern Polk County.
FREQUENCIES:
Primary Operations Net – WC4PEM Repeater System – 444.625 MHz – PL 127.3 Hz (north end of route) or 444.950 Mhz. – PL 127.3 Hz (south end of route). For more information on the WC4PEM Repeater System please go to http://www.polkares.org.
APRS Trackers – 144.390 MHz. WC4PEM APRS Digipeaters.
RESOURCES:
REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION: http://www.citrustour.org.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT
THE BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR
HOW DID THE ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION COME TO SPONSOR COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR?
For the past thirty years an informal group of dedicated volunteers had provided communications for the Bike MS Citrus Tour and the MS 150 that had preceded it. However in the last few years the number of volunteers had been falling off and reached a bare minimum. Starting in 2018, the ARRL West Central Florida Section per agreement with the logistics coordinator of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, agreed to become the sponsor of the amateur radio communications in order to facilitate recruitment of new volunteers to improve the communications service being provided and to have an umbrella organization under which the group of communicators can be organized. The ARRL West Central Florida Section Cabinet and or the Section Manager are not out to re-invent, re-make, or otherwise “take over” amateur radio communications for the Bike MS Citrus Tour, but to simply be a “sponsor” to provide a structure under which volunteers can be recruited, volunteers can be retained, and to help with resources.
See WCF SECTION PRESS RELEASE #18-2 for the initial announcement with some details concerning this.
WILL THERE BE ANY CHANGES IN AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR IN BEING SPONSORED BY THE ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION?
No. All previous volunteers will continue in their respective volunteer positions and will continue to perform their responsibilities as they always have done. The staff and leadership have done an outstanding job in providing leadership in amateur radio communications for the Bike MS Citrus Tour. To quote the phrase: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
WHO IS THE AMATEUR RADIO COORDINATOR FOR THE BIKE MS CITRUS TOUR?
Dana Rodakis K4LK is the Bike MS Citrus Tour Amateur Radio Coordinator. Dana succeeded Mike Bresse W2YS as the amateur radio coordinator following the conclusion of the 2020 Bike MS Citrus Tour. Bresse had been appointed as an Assistant Section Manager for the Special Project – Bike MS Citrus Tour since 2018, succeeding Jason Triolo KD4ACG. Jason stepped down as the amateur radio coordinator following the Bike MS Citrus Tour in 2017 and had been coordinator for a number of years.