Frank,         A menu, broken down by individual meals, will be sent out 6-8(?) weeks before the ride.  At this time, you can pick individual meals that you would like, or the entire meal package.  If I remember correnctly, dinners range between 5 and 8 dollars depending on what is offered.  In the past, I have purchased meals from the list when I knew it would be the most convinient.  Our group likes to try local restaurants also.

                I have not seen anything about parking in Wilmington yet.  In 2000, we ended at the battleship memorial.  They had parking south of town for the week.  There was a shuttle bus running at the end so you could pick up you car and bring it to the battleship.

bAD dOG, Team Pok-A-Dot

Frank,

CNC is soooo well organized and supported, and folks are so friendly and helpful, you have no need to worry about being a lone rider!

Like Bad Dog said, once you register and a little closer to the ride date, the CNC crew will send you all sorts of details in the regstration packet, like where to park in Wilmington and like the meal plan sign up.

-Sara

This will be the first organized ride I've taken.  I'll be driving up from central Florida to Wilmington and take the bus.  How will my trike be transported to Asheville?  Thanks in advance.

I've done all six CNC rides. The one mistake I made on food, at least for me, was not ordering breakfasts the first year.  I want a big breakfast to start the day and finding one was nearly impossible.  (We didn't pass one Mac's in 800 miles that first two-week year.)  Since then I order all breakfasts. For dinners, there are always shuttle options to town and, usually, with a number of food location choices.  I order dinner in camp if it looks particularly good on the menu, is sponsored by some good organization as a fund raiser, or otherwise attracts me but dinners are not a concern.  (If you don't need/want a big breakfast, the "muffin and coffee detail" option can be a good one.)  I definitely skip the lunch order. Waiting in line for lunch in mid-day is a trerrible downer not to mention that there are enough snacks at rest stops to get you to camp after a good breakfast. (There is even free PB&J at the lunch rest stop if you get there before the day's supply runs out.)

Regarding parking, I don't yet know for this year but in past years there has been arranged parking at both ends of the route--sometimes in the back of a shopping center, or at other times on a grassy field. There is no particular protection--like a fenced area--but police usually promise extra patrols in an effort to avoid problems and I'm not aware of anyone having any.