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Q: How far do you bike each day?A: The mileage will vary depending on booking availability, but will hopefully be right around 40 miles most days. This may seem like a daunting amount, but it's actually not that far to go. Each person is supported by the whole group and you never feel like you're doing it by yourself. By the end of tour you will have biked around 300 miles.
Q: What kind of music do you sing and play?A: The music falls into the "Contemporary Christian" genre. Recent tours have done music by groups like Jars of Clay, Caedmon's Call, and Audio Adrenaline. We also use appropriate secular music that gets radio play to reach out to the groups we meet on the road. All music is designed to be song with a soloist and a choir. And the music is challenging, but isn't so hard that we can't learn it within the four days of training. Our participants are required to practice the music before they come too. The goal is to have the band completely consist of participants (Age 15-20).
Q: What if I'm not a great cyclist and/or musician?A: That's ok. It's not so much about being a biker stud or a rock star as it is about being part of an amazingly tight Christian community that works together to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. Everyone has different gifts and we want them on tour! You may think that because you struggle with biking and can't sing or play anything, you don't belong on tour, but that isn't true. We need encouragers and people who can be relational. That's what Spoke Folk is all about. The music just gets them there and the biking gets us there!
Q: Do I have to carry all my stuff on my bike?A: No -- each tour will have support vehicles to help transport your luggage, instruments, etc. One travels in the back for anyone who needs to get off their bike and rest or if a bike breaks down (it happens). The other van moves from the back of the group to the front as much as possible to give water and food to the Spoke Folkers and to encourage them along the way.
Q: How much does it cost?A: The cost is $375, in addition to travel costs to get to and from the training site. Counselor registration is $50. Although these are the minimum amounts we ask for registration, the amount we ask that you try to raise is $500. Your support helps defray the costs for food, gas for the support vehicles, programmatic materials and support staff for the ministry of Spoke Folk. The best way to get the money together is through our sponsorship program. This is also a great way for you to include family members, friends, co-workers, congregation members etc. in this unique ministry. If you do not raise this money, you will not be penalized in your attendance on tour. But participants are required to pay $375 in total.
Q: What should I expect to gain from this experience?A: It's hard to express the answer to this in a short paragraph. You'll gain friends from all over the U.S. who will always be there for you if you need them. Just look at our forum and you'll see that. Your faith will grow in ways that you would never expect either. God will work on your heart and stretch you through the relationships you make on tour. Spoke Folk is also great for helping people remember the excitement that they should have for the ministry God has given them. You'll also get in better shape physically pretty quickly. Biking all the time for a week will do that! And you'll have fun! You will laugh a whole bunch and get more hugs than anywhere else in your life.
Q: How can anyone possibly stay on a bicycle that long?A: The miles fly by when you're biking with a group of 30-40 other people. You stop for food and water breaks from when the van comes around and we stop in the middle to eat lunch too. So, it doesn't really feel like you're biking all that long.
Q: Can I still go on Spoke Folk if I have special needs like a food allergy or a condition like diabetes?A: Anyone can do Spoke Folk. We've had just about every possible issue with us on tour. There's always someone with a knee problem, but we've also had people with food allergies, diabetes, arthritis and vegetarians. The only thing we always ask is that people make sure to know how they're going to handle things while biking. If you need special treatment while on tour the National Director needs to know that.
Any other questions can be posted on the forums and you'll probably have a response within a day or two. To request more information, click here.
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Spoke Folk FAQ
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