Virtual ride along the Great American Rail-Trail™
Great American Ride...
...is a 3,700-mile virtual team bike ride along the route of the Great American Rail-Trail™, a signature project of Rails to Trails Conservancy, our event charity. The developing trail that is more than 55% complete and will one day connect over thousands of miles and 12 states between Washington State and the District of Columbia. We’re combining the camaraderie of team cycling with the fun and sightseeing of a long-distance solo ride. The Great American Ride is a journey that you can experience from whatever corner of the world you call home.
Gather your team of 4, 8, or 12 riders and chip away at the miles as a group. At the end of each day, you’ll report your progress and watch your team dot move across the map in real time while the race leaderboard will update to show the overall standings! And to make the miles even more fun, we’ll send you facts and highlights about the locations you ride past along the way.
How it Works
Individual team members will track their own rides using one of the many GPS-enabled tracking systems (e.g., Strava, Map My Run, Garmin, Wahoo, etc.). From there they will self-report the time & distance of your ride into the reporting site, which will update the official leaderboard and move your team’s dot across the course map. Entries without GPS will be permitted but are not encouraged for the sake of validation.
How to Log Activities
- Participant Look Up
- Lookup Registration
- Log Activities
- Two ways to log:
- Manually Enter
- Load Activities from File
- Submit Activities
How To Edit
- Participant Look Up
- Lookup Registration
- Log Activities next to event name
- Manage Activities
- Edit or Delete
Perks & SWAG
- Unisex Short Sleeve Shirt (cotton/poly blend)
- Event medal
- Pre-mapped 3,700-mile course across the country
- Leaderboard and online map updates
- Virtual travel experience through fun facts and photos of things you would see along the route
Referral Rewards
The only thing better than the Great American Ride experience is sharing it with friends & family! Invite others to join you on your journey & earn the following rewards:
- Refer 5, receive Great American Ride Water Bottle
- Refer 10, receive GAR water bottle + GAR Hat
Share your unique referral link (found in your confirmation email)! You can share the link via email, social media, or text. Remind your friends/family to use your link to score all the rewards! To be counted towards your referrals, they must register using your unique link.
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Teams
You must join a team, but you can compete as a team of 1 or up to 12. You should assign one team captain to set-up your team & then share the team name & password (optional) for the other team members to register & join. All team members need to register themselves & join the team during registration. For more information, visit our Team Captain page.
Team Types:
- Open
- Female
- Co-Ed (at least 50% of the team is female)
Team Sizes:
- 4-Person Team: 1-4 members
- 8-Person Team: 5-8 members
- 12-Person Team: 9-12 members
Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) is a nonprofit organization working to build a nation connected by trails, reimagining public spaces to create safe ways for everyone to walk, bike, & be active outdoors. RTC is the nation’s largest trails organization—with a grassroots community more than 1 million strong—serving as the voice and advocate for the nation’s nearly 40,000 miles of multiuse trails. The Great American Rail-Trail™ is a signature project of RTC and the organization’s most ambitious trail project to date. As the nation’s first cross-country multiuse trail, the Great American Rail-Trail™ will be entirely bikeable and walkable, connecting travelers of all ages and abilities with America’s diverse landscapes & communities.
Connect with RTC and the Great American Rail-Trail at www.railstotrails.org and @railstotrails on social media.
Sports Backers’ mission is to inspire people to live actively. Since 1991, Sports Backers has fostered a culture of active living in Central Virginia through its participatory sporting events and community-based programs that have inspired hundreds of thousands of people in the region to set fitness goals and pursue an active lifestyle. In everything that we do, we strive to promote health equity and create accessible opportunities for active living throughout our region.
We fulfill our mission by: (1) advocating for bike and pedestrian infrastructure; (2) energizing the community through events; and (3) building a network of community-led group fitness programs in schools and neighborhoods. With your support, we can make this region a more vibrant place to live where safe opportunities to walk, run, bike, or workout abound and where access to these activities are available to all. Thank you for considering an investment in our region’s future!
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