RACE CLASSES RULES AND REGULATIONS
All age classifications are based on the age of each racer as of December 31st of the current year. The minimum age for racing is 12. Teams may compete in a class that is higher than their highest caliber racer (sports may race in the expert class), but teams may not compete in a class that is lower than their highest caliber racer (experts cannot race in the sport class). There is no beginner class. These events are not recommended for entry-level racers.

All amateur racers may race in either ability category (Sport or Expert) regardless of their age or they may race in their age class (Junior, Veteran or Masters) regardless of their ability (excluding pros). In other words, there is no such thing as a "Junior Expert." You may race either Expert in the Expert class or you may race Junior in the Junior class. Likewise, Clydesdale is a weight class only and does not contain a sport or expert qualification. Racers of any age, gender or ability class may race in the Just-for-Fun class.

4-Person Classes:
•Coed/Pro/Expert (must have at least one woman)
•Men's Pro/Expert, Women's Pro/Expert
•Men's Sport, Women's Sport
•Men's Veteran (35+), Women's Veteran (35+)
•Men's Masters (45+), Women's Masters (45+)
•Men's Junior (18 and under), Women's Junior (18 and under)
•Clydesdale (200+ lbs. each or team weight of 830+ pounds w/weigh-in at Registration)
•Rigid/Single (All ages, either sex, Sport, Expert or Pro, bikes must be single-speed with no suspension of any kind)

5+ Person Class:

The 5+ Person Class must have at least one woman and one man with no more than one expert. For the purposes of classification in the 5+ person class, you must compete according to your ability category, regardless of your age class. That is, if you are a Vet/Expert you must classify yourself as an Expert.

Duo Class:
The Duo Pro/Expert class may consist of 2 Men or 2 Women or 1 Man and 1 Woman. Participants must have either Pro or Expert Class experience.

Solo Classes:
Men's Solo Pro and Women's Solo Pro: All Solo racer applicants must be 18 years or older.

STARTING PROCEDURES
24 Hour Races: Each starting racer must log-in at the Log-in Tent no later than 5 minutes prior to the start of the race. They will receive their scan card (RFID) for the first lap when they log-in. Starting racers must have their bikes pre-positioned in the bike racks provided at the Start/Finish area. There will be a Le-Mans style start, where the racers must run to their bikes from the starting line.

GENERAL RULES

1. Team Captains
   Each team will designate a team captain and co-captain. Team captains will represent the team in all official correspondence and communications before, during and after the event. The co-captain may represent the team during the event when the captain is unavailable. Only team captains and co-captains may file protests.
2. Pre-race Meeting
   The team captain and/or co-captain must attend the pre-race meeting; however, everyone is welcome.
3. Team Pit Area
   Team's must designate one and only one pit area. Typically, this is at your campsite or housing accommodations. Racers may change or repair any equipment in their Pit Area. Pit areas are not allowed on the course or in the Start/Finish area. However, emergency repairs may be performed in the Start/Finish area; you may even swap entire bikes. In the Start/Finish area or the team's pit area, racers may accept support from anyone. Also, teams may bring as many support people as they would like, but their support is limited to the Start/Finish and the team's pit areas, not on the course.
4. Support on the Course
   Support on the course may only be supplied by other registered racers. Supporting racers must access the course under their own power (i.e. foot travel or on bike) and that access can only be achieved by following the course in either direction. Short-cutting the course is not allowed (see rule #12). Supporting racers should stay clear of all competing racers. Supporting racers may take any equipment or tools with them; they may even swap bikes with their teammates. Cannibalizing bicycle parts is legal. Support can be provided by any registered racer on any team to any registered racer on any team.
5. Water and Food
   Water and food may be supplied to any racer, by anyone, anywhere on the course. However, racers must stay well clear of the course when taking food or water. (And please do not throw energy food wrappers on the ground. Remember: Leave No Trace).
6. Permitted Course Riders
   Only officially registered racers, credentialed media and event staff may ride on the designated race course during the event.
7. Team Number Display
   Racers must display their race number on the outer most layer of clothing and display the bike handlebar number on the front of their bikes, whenever on course. In the case of a bike swap, racers must swap the bike number to the new bike prior to continuing the race. Race officials may request to see this at any time.
8. Drafting
   Racers may draft, but they may only draft registered racers. Drafting other vehicles or a non-registered rider is grounds for disqualification.
9. Right of Way
   Racers riding bicycles have the right of way over racers pushing bicycles. When practical, racers pushing or carrying their bikes should stay on the least rideable portion of the trail when being passed. Racers pushing or carrying their bikes may overtake a racer riding his bike provided that they do not interfere with the riding racer.
10. Lapped Racers
    Lapped racers should yield to leaders. Leaders should be very vocal when preparing to pass any racer. "PASSING on your LEFT!," "PASSING on your RIGHT!" should be called out. It is the responsibility of the challenging racer to overtake safely. Racers being lapped must yield on the first command.
11. Vying for Position
    When two racers are vying for position, the leading racer does not necessarily have to yield position to the challenging racer. However, a racer may not bodily interfere, with intent to impede another racer's progress; this is considered to be highly unsportsmanlike behavior (see rule #14).
12. Short-cutting
    Short-cutting the course by any registered racer shall result in a disqualification of that racer's team.
13. Law Abiding
    Federal, state and county laws and ordinances will be abided by at all times. At the request of the promoter, before and/or after an event, a racer must agree to submit to urine and/or blood testing for the illicit use of illegal performance-enhancing substances or blood doping. Racers who do not agree to submit to such testing will be disqualified. Any racer found to be using performance-enhancing substances or blood doping will be permanently banned from the race and venue.
14. Sportsmanship
    Foul riding, use of profane or abusive language and other unsportsmanlike behavior will be taken very seriously. Such behavior by any racer shall subject that racer's team to a warning or immediate disqualification. This will be strictly applied when such behavior is directed at course officials, volunteers or spectators. The penalty imposed is at the discretion of the race director or co-director, should the race director be unavailable.
15. Protests
    Protests can only be made by team captains or co-captains. Protests will be made in writing and delivered to the race director or co-director any time during the race or after the end of the race, up to 30 minutes after the posting of the final results. Protests should contain any information that supports the protest, including description of the incident, witnesses, names, addresses, phone numbers and signature of protesting team captain. A $50 fee shall be submitted, in cash, with the protest. The race director, after his own discovery, will promptly rule on the protest. The fee will be forfeited to the race director if the protest is denied or refunded if the protest is upheld.
16. Final Rulings
    The race director has the final say in any ruling, including rulings made by the co-director.
17. Quiet Hours
    Quiet hours for events conducted at night, will be imposed from midnight Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday. During this time, noise must be kept to a minimum.
18. Lighting
    Lighting recommendations for events conducted at night: During the night ride, racers should have a primary light source with a minimum rated power of 10 watts. In addition, each racer should carry a secondary or backup light source in the form of a penlight, flashlight or other lighting system. (Battery chargers may be plugged in at the neutral charging station, when provided. For your own sake, teams should label their batteries and chargers with the team's name. The neutral charging station is unsecured).
19. Lights Burning
    Racers entering the course two hours before sunset on Saturday and up to one-half hour before sunrise on Sunday should have both primary and secondary light sources installed and in good working order. Racing with lights out to save batteries or racing with discharged batteries is dangerous and is done so at the riders own risk.
20. Log Tent
    Racers must log-in and log-out on each lap at the Log Tent located at the Start/Finish Area. The scan card (RFID) must be passed from the racer logging out to the Registrar, who records the log-out time. The racer logging-out then scans his RFID. Then the racer logging-in scans his RFID prior to receiving the baton from the Registrar. The log-out time of the first racer automatically becomes the log-in time of the next racer logging-in (regardless of whether or not there is a racer ready to log-in). In other words, the clock is ticking the entire time. Helpful Hint: Racers “on-deck” should give their names to the Registrars well in advance to avoid confusion during the baton exchange.
21. Consecutive Laps
    A racer may ride consecutive laps, but must log-out at the Log Tent after his first lap in order to log-in for his second lap. If a racer is staying in for an additional lap, that racer must log-out from the first lap by scanning his/her RFID, then after the Registrar has recorded his log-out time for his first lap, he will log-in to his consecutive lap by scanning his RFID again. If the racer does not do this, only one lap will be counted. Solo racers will do this every lap.
22. Loss of RFID Loss. The loss of a Radio Frequency Identification card (RFID) does not create a time penalty. However, if a racer does not have a card at the start of his lap, he will be required to retrieve his original card or purchase a new card for $5 from race staff before he can log-in to start his lap. In the event that a racer does not have his RFID at the finish of his lap, a finish time will be recorded on the log sheet and entered manually into the computer with an RFID Error Report Form. That racer will be instructed to purchase a new card for $5 from race staff.
23. Verifying the Log Sheet
    It is the team's responsibility to verify that each racer is logged-in and logged-out correctly. Please be courteous and patient while verifying information with your Registrar. Registrars and race officials may request to see your race number on your back or your handlebar at any time. Helpful Hint: When the racer "on-deck" receives the RFID, they should repeat their team # and name to confirm that the Registrar is logging them in correctly.
24. Lap Requirements for 5-Person Open
    At least one female teammate on a 5-person Open Class team must complete two laps, or a one lap penalty will be applied to the team's finish.
25. Canceling a Lap
    Once on course, a racer must complete his or her lap. However, the team has the option of canceling a racer's lap and restarting the lap from the Log Tent with a substitute. This is a difficult and costly decision, but if the first racer is unable to complete the lap for any reason, including injury, it may be to the team's advantage to cancel that racer's lap. Any team member can cancel a racer's lap by notifying the team's Registrar at the Log Tent and initializing the log sheet next to the canceled lap. If a team cancels a racer's lap and is restarting with a new racer, a new RFID will be issued with the normal $5 fee. The new racer inherits the log-in time of the canceled racer's lap. Once a cancellation has been made, it cannot be rescinded. The canceled lap does not count as a completed lap.
26. Substituting a Rider
    To substitute a rider, the new rider must fill out an Accident Waiver, complete with team name and original signature, and deliver it to Pathways no later than the end of the last day of Registration. You may either mail the Accident Waiver to the address on the form, by the date specified or you may turn it in at Race Registration. Changes made after the date specified on the Accident Waiver will incur a $10 late fee. Any changes or late waiver submissions received during the week prior to the race, regardless of postmark, will be $20 each. No rider substitutions will be accepted after Registration closes. No changes or substitutions will be made after the close of Registration on Friday and there will be no Registration on race day.
27. The Finish
    Most 24 hour races start and end at 12 noon.  Racers should log-off the course from 12 noon on. Each team's final placing will be determined by the number of laps the team has completed and the sequential order of finish within the team's last lap. For example, a team that has completed 22 laps with a finish time of 12:31 p.m. would beat a team that completed 22 laps, with a finish time of 12:47 p.m. And, of course, a team that completed 23 laps, with a finish time of 1 p.m., would beat them both. If a racer logs- out before 12 noon and no other team member logs-in before 12:05 p.m., the last completed lap time will be the finish time.
28. Catastrophic Failure
    In the case of catastrophic failure due to weather or another extenuating circumstance that prevents the ongoing scoring of the event or creates a racing environment that is deemed too dangerous for the participants, the race director may call the race as of a certain time. Final results will be calculated based on each team's placement at the call time as determined by that team's last completed lap. This rule is intended to be exercised as a last resort, in the most dire situations, when no other means is available to continue scoring the event or when the potential for serious harm or loss of life becomes imminent.
29. EMS Ghost Rider
    In the event that a racer stops to assist in the care of a seriously injured fellow racer which requires an EMS response, Ghost Rider procedures will be implemented. The EMS personnel will radio to the Log Tent the name and number of the assisting racer. Race staff will then inform the team of the assisting racer to prepare the next rider on their team. That rider will be allowed to start his lap based on the assisting racer’s “ghost rider” lap time which will be based on the fastest of either the assisting riders average lap time or the team’s average lap time.