Dear Prospective Firefly:

Thank you for your interest in joining the 2024 Fireflies tour. Having ridden four tours, I can tell you that participating in this tour will change your life. It has been one of the most meaningful, worthwhile and fulfilling endeavors in which I have invested my time. I hope you will feel the same way after experiencing it.

This multi-day cycling tour is a challenging group activity and by signing up, you are pledging to bring:

  • A healthy respect for the challenge that lies ahead

  • A willingness to learn the rules, skills and etiquette that will keep you and your fellow tour riders safe

  • A commitment to consistently train to obtain the level of fitness required to enjoy and finish each day's ride

You must eagerly show up with the right attitude; respect the tour volunteers and tour veterans who you’ll meet and ride with, and we will teach you what you need to know between now and the ride.

If you are one of the lucky few to be chosen, your primary objective will be to raise money to help find a cure for cancer. You will also have the opportunity, through challenging yourself, to show the ones you're riding for that you stand with them through the suffering they must endure. That symbolism helped me support my mom while she battled cancer during the last years of her life, and it helped me get through that time as well. It is why I ride and why I am grateful to be able to give back to the Fireflies now.

Sign up, you'll see what I mean.

For those who suffer.

Will

William Chang
Director Sportif <— see below if this title confuses you
2024 Fireflies West XVI

 
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2024 ROUTE PREVIEW

We have an amazing new route in store for you – both gorgeous and challenging. This year's route will take seven days to complete rather than the typical six. An extra day doing the thing you love! We’re going to be riding through verdant valleys, past rushing rivers, through hushed Redwood forests, over mountains and alongside dramatic, rocky coastline, from Willamette Valley in Oregon to Russian River Valley in California. Oh, and we just might be riding by a few vineyards along the way. It is going to be epic.

Will it be spicy? It will.

But this multi-day tour will also be entirely doable as long as you take it seriously, properly train for it and ride with your fellow Fireflies in groups. You will be riding 630+ miles and climbing 35,000+ feet over those 7 days.

TIMING details:

9/26/24 - Fly into Eugene, OR (or neighboring airport, e.g. Portland)
We need all riders to be at a 2pm check in for a safety/security briefing

9/27/24 - Depart Eugene, OR

10/3/24 - Arrive Healdsburg, CA

10/4/24 - Fly out of Santa Rosa, CA (or neighboring airport, e.g. SFO or Oakland)

If you are one of the lucky few to be chosen for a saddle, you will be committing to:

  • Raising at least $4,000 for City of Hope cancer research

  • Paying the approx. $2,000 rider fee*, which covers lodging, a jersey, shared meals and tour support costs

  • Devoting the required amount of time from now until the tour to train and to learn proper etiquette, especially how to ride in a group

  • Showing up with the right attitude, respecting the tour volunteers and tour veterans who you’ll meet and ride with over the next 8 months

* We have a small number of grants available for riders who are selected for saddles but need help paying the fee.

 
 
 
 
 

FIREFLIESWEST 2024
RIDER APPLICATION

27th SEPTEMBER - 3rd OCTOBER
630+ MILES and 35,000+ ft OVER 7 DAYS
WILLAMETTE VALLEY TO NAPA VALLEY

Director Sportif – William Chang
Producers – John Solomon, Molly Griffin & Jeff O’Keefe
& Ali Brown (SPONSORSHIP)

This ’Core Four’ above have a combined 33 Tours of experience between them so you will be in great hands.

Creative Director – Jason Stinsmuehlen
Kit Producer – Tara DeMarco
Crew Producer – Bryan Diel

If you are interested in riding with the Fireflies and can fulfill Will’s pledge from his letter above, please fill in the form below:

How do we choose Riders?

It's kind of complicated. We aim to create a mixed group of riders who center on the advertising industries. Below are some of the questions we have heard and some of the answers we give:

  • We try and aim for a 50% returning veterans to 50% new riders ratio. The veterans help with guiding the virgins on the road and throughout the long days and the virgins keep the veterans in line and help spread the Fireflies spirit.

  • The Fireflies are a global family so we try to include a handful of European or international Fireflies as they like to include some West Coast veterans on their tours. And now with the amazing Patagonia being so established we love to have a few of our Southern American sisters and brother join us in California too.

  • While we are mostly centered on our industry of advertising and the supporting marketing disciplines but we also like to include some riders from the 'outside world'. It keeps the conversation interesting

  • On average we have about 10-15 female riders every year but we would love more. Ideally we would have an equal split of genders but we don't get as many applications from women - please let your female friends and colleagues know about us as they have a great chance of being selected.

 
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'YES DS'

THE CORRECT ANSWER TO ANY QUESTION.

A pack of cyclists is a highly ordered society. You only have to look at a peleton in the Tour de France to be astounded by how close they race and how few crashes there are. There are many unwritten rules and codes of conduct to maintain this society and uphold the multi tiered etiquette which a rider ignores at his or her peril.

A Director Sportif in a race is the Race Director and will be engaged in that event from beginning to end making all key decisions on teams, route, traffic, escorts and press.

In non race conditions - The Fireflies appoint a Director Sportif every year to keep order, direct the support team, make crucial decisions during the day, and cut through the noise of 50-60 alpha riders all of whom have strong opinions. 

Day to day this is important for good progress:- daily briefings on the route, the potential hazards in the weather,  the road and traffic conditions and looking out for one another and the slower riders. The DS role becomes crucial should there be any serious issues:closed roads, extreme temperatures or weather conditions when it might be necessary to re-route or pull all the riders off the road. Worse still - an accident or injury when swift decisions and a single voice of leadership can make all the difference.

It’s a great honor to serve as the Director Sportif.

Candidates not only have to be accomplished and respected riders, but they also need to have good leadership and and decision making skills plus a good level of diplomacy given the unruly group they will be asked the lead down a stretch of the west coast, across highways and byways over 600 miles and seven days.

DS Role of Honor

2023: LALI KOHLER

2022: ALLISON AMON

2021: LUKE RICCI

2020: TOUR SUSPENDED

2019: MICHAEL RAIMONDI

2018: BRUCE HOROWITZ 

2017: ALASTAIR GREEN

2016: RICK LAWLEY

2015: TARA DE MARCO

2014: ERIC TRAGESER

2013: ERIK PRESS

2012: BEN HAMPSHIRE

2011: BRYAN FARHY

2010: BRYAN FARHY

2009: BRYAN FARHY

2008: UNASSIGNED - There were only 5 riders.

 

 
 
 
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