Who participates in Common Circle Education programs?

We get a great diversity of clients on our courses — doctors, activists, lawyers, students, retirees, kids… The common thread is that everyone comes looking to learn about sustainability and seeking community — and an incredible community does form on nearly every course we run, with life-long friendships often resulting.

We openly welcome people of all ages and backgrounds in our programs. We do ask that minors be accompanied by parents or guardians. We fully welcome and embrace participants regardless of their political, religious or social views — that diversity of viewpoints is what helps create the richness of dialogue in each programs. We do not seek to agree but rather to have a diversity of viewpoints that are absolutely necessary to creating a beautiful, thriving, sane world. While a rich philosophical dialogue about our world emerges on nearly every program, our programs strictly have no religious affiliation or components.
 

Are all of your workshops cycling tours and do I need any experience?

We offer two types of courses: cycling tours and non-cycling workshops. It is important to note that we are an educational institution rather than a vacation company, and you’re sure to learn a ton on any program you join. All of our programs are designed for all levels of experience and we specifically cater to beginners. There will almost certainly be someone else in the group with your level of experience and expertise.
 

I’ve never done a cycling tour before. Can I do this?

Most likely. The majority of our clients have never done a tour before, and our programs are designed for beginner and intermediate cyclists (yes, even the cross-country trip). We run educational cycling tours, not races — everyone rides at their own pace. In fact, we are one of the very few companies catering specifically to beginner and intermediate cyclists.

We invest a lot of time and energy to find the lowest-trafficked roads appropriate for beginners. Generally our tours tend to run on back farm roads with relatively little traffic, especially since we cater primarily to beginner and intermediate cyclists. Note that although we regularly get comments about our incredible selection of routes, sometimes there are unavoidable sections of higher-traffic roads. Please know that for our cross-country trip, you will be riding on a wide range of roads as in many areas of the country the cycling infrastructure can be limited, but you will largely be following established bicycle routes.
 

Will a vehicle carry my stuff for the cycling trip?

That depends on the program. Most of our week-long tours are self-contained, so you carry all of your gear on your bicycle (it’s a LOT easier than it sounds and also profoundly empowering); the cross-country tour will have a support vehicle although we do encourage you to learn to carry your gear and will teach you how to do so. For self-contained tours, we often ride in areas where you can generally call a taxi if needed.

For programs with support vehicles, our gear vehicle carries gear, food, equipment, and supplies; it also acts as a support vehicle for clients unable to ride due to medical reasons.
 

What will we be eating during the program?

We provide a menu and divide the group into cooking crews. Each day a different cooking group takes turns preparing and making the meals — which greatly helps build community as people spend time cooking together.

The ingredients we provide are largely organic, vegan, non-processed and wheat+soy-free. Our menu is designed to provide very simple meals that are highly nutritious. Please come expecting to eat a profoundly healthy diet and know that you will likely find yourself challenged by the meals if you are used to eating unhealthy or processed foods. We go to great lengths to source our food as sustainably as possible; know that due to availability and logistics we are only able to source a small portion of our meals directly from the farms and portions of our food comes from cans. The meals you will be eating will be extraordinarily healthy and we regularly get comments from participants who mention how much healthier they feel as a result of the good food on our programs.
 

Where will we be sleeping during the program?

The accommodations included in the price of our programs are usually camping; dorms are also often available for workshops (additional fees apply). We tend to camp at host farms or campgrounds with bathroom facilities. For workshops, we provide tents and you just need your own sleeping pad and sleeping bag. Because of the community-building focus of our programs, we request that all participants plan on lodging on-site with us for the duration of the program. For self-contained bicycle tours, you need to bring your own tent and generally camping showers are available.

If you are concerned about camping for the duration of the program, please contact us as we can advise you and help make your stay a lot more comfortable than you think. A lot of comfort issues boil down to having proper gear and our staff are experienced and can advise you as to what you will need to be most comfortable. If in doubt, you can also usually rent dormitory space.
 

Your courses clearly involve a lot of personal growth work. Are your programs therapy?

We have no trained therapists, psychologists or mental health professionals on our staff and our programs are not therapy. Our programs are designed only for emotionally and physically healthy adults who are able to handle living in close quarters with other people for the length of the program, and able to productively process the emotional challenges that arise as part of this experience.

All of our programs are heavily focused on Regenerative Leadership and Social Permaculture – the science and art of developing healthy communities. In order to build a healthy, thriving beautiful world, we must first begin by truly acknowledging the root causes of the challenges that face us. Our program processes involve philosophical and personal discussions about the state of our world and the impact on us individually and collectively.
 

What is your policy if I sign up and then cannot make a course?

For us to offer a flexible refund policy would require a loss of at least a third of our tuition revenues, and thus require raising your tuition fees by at least fifty or more percent to compensate for the supply and demand economics. That would be completely contrary to our mission of making sustainability accessible to those with limited financial means. Thus in order to provide you with the absolutely lowest tuition rates, we do not allow refunds under any circumstances.

We do however advise several things — please purchase appropriate travel insurance that would cover you and your tuition fees in case of illness or other unforeseen circumstances. We are also sometimes able to allow you to sell your course to someone else or to change to another course (depending on program availability and with additional fees and conditions). Our goal is to take this work as widely as possible – and we absolutely want to work with you to enable you to participate in a program, so please contact us to discuss your options.

Again – we strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance. It is both quite inexpensive and can save you quite a few hassles along the way.
 

What is your drug and alcohol policy?

We have a zero tolerance policy on consumption of alcohol and drugs, including marijuana. There are numerous reasons for this policy and we are very strict about enforcement:
- there aren’t very many places in our society to meet people and build community without intoxicating substances
- intoxicated clients are not constructive to promoting good community
- some of our hosts specifically requested this policy
- our programs are about healthy living and alcohol is a toxin that causes cancer
- alcohol dehydrates, and proper hydration is critical while biking
- we often have under-age clients on our courses
- many of our clients simply do not like to be around drinking or smoking

Please do not come if you intend to drink or use drugs, as you will be sent home without a refund.
 

Please note that due to the nature of this program, all logistics and program details are subject to change without notice and/or refund.