TRASH BAG CENTURY 2024

Event information

Come join us for the inaugural GIVE UP Trash Bag Century!  We will be meeting up around 6:00am at the start point (the intersection of Westhall St. in the North Side and the North Shore Trail)

We will assign you numbers and give you pin-on bibs at the start.  We will start the ride at approximately 7:00am.  PLEASE GET HERE EARLY TO SETUP, GET YOUR BIBS, AND PREPARE FOR THE RIDE.  Please try to be at the start by 6:30.  Everybody needs to be on the route by 7:15 at the latest, and we have to give out numbered bibs and do pre-ride safety briefings and have everybody on the course by 7:15.  The rest stops will have hard open/close times, and it will be really hard to manage that if people are starting late.

Please register using the registration link.  This is a free event but we are trying to plan rest stop supplies.  If you do not register, you will not get a bib, and you will not get snacks or drinks at the rest stops.  Please consider donating too, if you appreciate snacks.  (Donation info at bottom of this page / or just venmo @bingosherlock a few bucks)

Rest stop information and more will be added here as we get closer to the event!

We will be ending the ride at the East End Brewing Popup on the North Side to make sure we finish this event right.  Bring beer money.

What to Bring / How to Prepare

You're wondering what to bring on the day of the event.  You're going to be on your bike for a long time and wondering how to plan:

• A bike that is in good shape and appropriate

  • Make sure your tires are properly inflated before coming

  • Please make sure your brakes are working before riding

  • Consider you will be on gravelly off-road surfaces and skinny road tires are likely not the best choice)

• A helmet (helmets are required)

• Lights (front and back, in case you end up at the finish line later than anticipated)

• A fully charged phone

• Two full water bottles (you'll have opportunities to fill them along the way, but start with two full ones and refill as often as you can)

• Snacks (You need to keep gas in the tank!  We'll have snacks at rest stops, but it's always best to bring some of your own)

• Spare tube that fits your wheels or a patch kit.

• Electrolytes (Thick Bikes carries this product (SaltStick FastChews) which I personally prefer, they're really great late in the day when you're feeling a bit run down.  They work really quickly, too.)

• Sunscreen

• Padded bike shorts (you'll thank me on Monday)

It is HEAVILY advised you load the route onto a bike computer OR ride with somebody who has the route loaded on a bike computer.  We'll have some groups going out being led by folks following the route, you may want to join them if you don't have a bike computer.

• Link to the GPX file for the 100 mile route: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14dzf_c-cliyUb21qSj9lYnJihlJsw0l5/view?usp=sharing

• Link to the GPX file for the 82 mile route: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rViRhs5-vUbXc0zq_Bu8Std2R8KBtqOf/view?usp=sharing

Route Information

This route will NOT be marked with turn signs.  It is HIGHLY advised you either follow the route with a bike computer or ride with people following the route with a bike computer.  We will have people sitting at two particilarly challenging intersections to ensure folks make it through.

• Link to the GPX file for the 100 mile route: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14dzf_c-cliyUb21qSj9lYnJihlJsw0l5/view?usp=sharing

• Link to the GPX file for the 82 mile route: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rViRhs5-vUbXc0zq_Bu8Std2R8KBtqOf/view?usp=sharing

This route is 100 miles and touches roads, trails, and will probably hit some gravel.  It is recommended that you bring a bike with wide tires (32mm+, gravel-appropriate tires.  Slick, skinny road tires are NOT APPROPRIATE for this ride.)  We will have rest stops spaced throughout the course but you should bring at least two full water bottles with you plus whatever snacks / electrolytes / etc you think you might need for a long slog.

If it rains in advance of or during the ride, there will be muddy sections.  Please understand this will slow you down and make cycling more difficult.  

THIS IS NOT A RACE.  Do it at your own pace.  There are no podiums at the end.  Hang out on the trail with your buds and have a good time.  Stop for snacks and drinks along the way.  Take some photos for instagram.  We'll be at the finish until 9 or so, no need to hurry.

Please note that there are some stretches of road and a couple intersections that will require careful, defensive riding.  You may need to walk your bike across an intersection at one point.  We will be giving a pre-ride safety briefing the morning of the ride, and will send out information via email leading up to the ride.

When riding on trails and on roads, please be mindful of other riders and other trail users.  Please pass other trail users single file and not side-by-side.  Call out oncoming riders/walkers with "bike up" / "bike back" / "walker up" etc.  Help identify potential hazards in the roads so other people get their attention.  We're all in this together, look out for your buds.

Rest Stops:

Century Route Stops:

• RS1: Mile 27.66 (Parking lot approx 12 miles into Montour Trail leg)

• RS2: Mile 39.06 (Helicon Brewing Parking Lot)

• RS3: Mile 67 (Peters Creek Rd)

• RS4: Mile 90.6 (Eliza Furnace Parking Lot)

Express Route Stops (These will not be as well stocked):

• ES1: Mile 47 (Galati Road Trailhead)

Day-of Event Information

For serious emergencies, please call 911 first.  If anybody's life is in immediate danger, call 911 before calling anybody else.  Seriously, do not call anybody before you call 911.

WEAR A HELMET.

For less-serious issues and SAG support, please call 412.616.4937

Donations

TBC 2024 is a free event organized by GIVE UP.  We're covering the cost of snacks and rest stops and bibs and everything that (hopefully) makes for a great event.  If you want to throw us a few bucks to help recoup costs, please Venmo @bingosherlock.  $5-10 bucks goes a long way in buying swedish fish.