I didn't think about food in Rambouillet, I suppose you could take a train to San Quentin. If I make it next year, I'm definitely getting a train pass. The pave in rambouillet was bad, especially in town in the rain. Lots of hills too, which is a bad thing when you get lost.
I thought the tracker was purely passive, but I suppose you could break it somehow. It was a pretty big disappointment. I hated the pickup system between the awful noise and the speed bumps you had to get past. I feel like if I wasn't wearing a helmet, my hair would have been standing on end. It would be nice if it told you if it recognized you or not. I also didn't like how big the plate had to be. I don't know where they got that tracker, must have been at an electronics surplus house. The one in 2011 was just a little vial. I have heard of people that had trouble with it, but it registered at every stop for me.