GAWA Race Rules

The rules of this race are set in place to protect each other as riders and to protect the spirit of self-supported cycling. These rules are an aggregation of rules from well known bike packing and self-supported races as well as from my own experience as a racer.

1. Ride the race start to finish completely self-supported: All riders must be on a human powered bike (this excludes e-bikes and velobikes), and must start and finish the race on the same bike. If a rider needs a repair to their bike they can get a ride, leave the route, and use a commercially available service, or walk their bike to a shop for repairs. All riders that leave the course must start back at the exact point where they left the course.

2. Riders must ride every part of the course: All riders that are to be recognized as finishers need to complete every section of the course as mapped out via Ride with GPS. If a section of the course is closed or is unsafe the race director must be notified that the rider will be going off-route and notified when the rider is back on route.

3. Riders must be self supported: All riders participating in the race will abide by the “Spirit of the Race” and use only commercially available resources to complete the race. Lodging and accommodations cannot be scheduled before the start of the race and any support given to riders by individuals wanting to help should be available to all riders. Riders are expected to self-police this rule and notify the race director if they feel they have broken the rule.

4. Evidence of rides must be maintained: Riders are required to upload their rides to Strava or Ride with GPS at the end of each day or maintain evidence of their rides that can be viewed by the race director upon completion. A Strava group will be started for riders to join prior to the race in support of this rule.

5. Inactivity for 3 or more days results in a scratch/DNF: Taking a rest day or days may be necessary for a rider to recoup, get repairs, or work through an issue before continuing on. If a rider is inactive for 3 or more days with no contact to the race director they will be considered a DNF and scratch from the race. The race director will attempt to contact a rider before scratching them from the race.

6. Drafting, other than pairs, is prohibited: Drafting is an advantage that is not available to all riders and is therefore prohibited unless riding in a pair. Riders are allowed to ride side-by-side for a time but in the Spirit of the Race we would encourage all riders to either pass or fall behind a fellow rider and race your own race.

7. Accommodations must be commercially available to all riders: Any accommodation/lodging utilized by a rider must be commercially available to all riders. Warm showers are not available to all riders and is therefore not a commercially available option. Riders must self police this rule and will be expected to alert the race director if they utilize accommodations not commercially available to all riders. Accepting lodging, food, or water from a family, friend, or local by-stander can present the rider with an unfair advantage over other riders and can result in a penalty our scratch/DNF from the race.

8. Insurance, helmet, and lights are required: All riders must have insurance. a helmet, two front, and two rear lights to ensure a safe journey. A reflective vest is also required at all times for safety during the race. Riders will participate in a pre-race bike check and any infractions must be corrected before the race start. Any racer found not to be following this rule can expect to be penalized or disqualified from the race.

All rules must be followed for the rider to be recognized as a finisher of the event and any rider found not to be following the rules will be contacted by the race director and will either be penalized or disqualified from the race. If penalized the rider and race director will come to an agreement on a proper time penalty to be placed on the rider at the time of finish with an asterisk next to their finishing time.

— GAWA