Rollin' Coal Gravel Grinder WVGS Race #1

Rollin' Coal Gravel Grinder

Gravel and Dirt Road Race

Welcome to Rollin' Coal!

Rollin' Coal is a mixed-surface cycling race which pays tribute to the hard-working, adventurous coal miners, who since the 1800s, have travelled the very roads you will race.  You'll need to bring your sense of backroad adventure, a coal-miner's work ethic, and strong will to survive a day toiling in the gravel roads of West Virginia Coal Country.

 

The race is Saturday, April 13th, at the Shinnston City Park.

 

Rollin Coal is proud to be the Championship race for the West Virginia Gravel Series! 

 

Pack your lunch box and get on down to coal country! We have 3 shifts for you all!!!  The Long Wall 75 Miler starts at 9:00am, the Low Seam 46 Miler starts at 11:00am  and the 21 Short Shift starts at 12:00pm! Harrison and Marion Counties are loaded with gravel roads, single track and long-abandoned train tracks! This event will take you through the hills of WV where thousands of hardy souls have ventured deep into the earth to bring out the coal to power the nation.  Let’s all put our hands together say thank you to the WV Coal Miner!

 

Venue:

The race will start and finish at Ferguson Park, 1301 North Street, Shinnston, WV 26431.

Click here for the Google maps location.

 

Categories:

9:00am   LONGWALL 75 Miles... Men, Women, Junior (Trapper), Single Speed & Tandem

11:00am   LOW SEAM 46 Miles... Men, Women, Junior (Trapper), Clydesdale, Athena, Single Speed, Tandem

12:00pm   SHORT SHIFT 21 Miles…Men, Women, Junior (Trapper), Clydesdale, Athena, Single Speed, Tandem, E-BIKE 

 

Registration:

* $65 ADULTS / $35.00 JUNIORS  – Online entry fee until September 3

* After September 3, $75.00 ADULTS / $45.00 JUNIORS

* $90 ADULTS / $60 JUNIORS - Race Day

* Packet pickup will be available on race day morning starting at 8:00am.

 

What you’ll get with your entry:

Souvenir with Rollin Coal Logo

Post-Race Food, snacks and soft drinks will be provided for all racers

One (1) Gallon-size Ziploc Drop Bags to send out to the aid stations

Three (3) or Four (4) stocked aid stations on the course to refuel and get refreshed, enough to finish out the day

A well-marked course

Some of the best gravel riding in the state of WV

Awards (cash, prizes and medals/trophies depending on number of racers.)

 

Course Info:

Packed with everything from gravel, dirt roads, and crappy pavement! #rowdy!!! We highly recommend that you download the course that you are racing.. Download it as OFF LINE due to cell service. We will have plenty of people out on course, but we want you to have a great experience and using your GPS will help provide this! 

75 Mile Course      Routes · Ride with GPS

46 Mile Course      Routes · Ride with GPS

21  Mile Course     Routes · Ride with GPS

*** PLEASE CHECK BACK PRIOR TO RACE FOR POSSIBLE COURSES CHANGES ***

   

Elevation Gain: Please see RWGPS Mapping 

RidewithGPS Course link

Aid stations: Please see RWGPS Mapping 

Gear:

Bicycle – Gravel, Cyclocross or Mountain bike with at least 35mm tires recommended.  Road bikes are not ideal, but if that is all you have, we recommend tough 28mm tires and lots of spare tubes  (actually, we don't recommend anything skinnier than 35mm).

Pedals – Road pedals can be used, but keep in mind muddy, dirty conditions can make it impossible to clip back in, so mountain pedals and shoes are preferred.

Helmet – Helmets must be worn at ALL times during the race and warm-up rides.

Spare tubes and parts – Be self-sufficient.  Bring a couple spare tubes, multi-tool, chain tool, spare chain links, hand pump and/or CO2, rain/wind shell, water and food to last 2-3 hours between aid stations.  It’s a good practice to load spare tubes in your drop bag just in case.

Clothing – Bring it to the race even if you don’t think you’ll need it.  You can always take layers off, but if you don’t bring a rain shell and get caught in a storm, you may be shivering on the side of the road or wearing a garbage bag to stay warm.

 

General Rules:

Poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated and may result in disqualification from the race. In short...don’t be a jerk, especially to the volunteers!

Riders should strive to be self-supported, i.e., take food, drink, tubes, pump, multi-tool, extra layers (if needed) with you on course.

Racers may have two drop bags (supplied) transported to the aid stations.
There may be additional aid station and drop bag locations based on weather.  Drop bags must be submitted 30 minutes prior to the start.

If you get off course, you must backtrack to where you went off before continuing.

Course time cut-offs will be announced and finalized before race-day. For the safety of everyone out there, and to ensure our volunteers aren’t out there until dark, if you don’t make the cut offs…we’ll steer you toward the finish or there will be sag support to shuttle you back to the venue. Please be understanding of the race cutoff times.

Good Samaritan rule:  If you come across an injured rider, please stop to assess the person’s injuries as you may be the first responder.  Please note your time stopped helping and we’ll do our best to adjust your finish time.

Riders under 18 will need a signed parental consent form to race or ride.

 

Food and Lodging:

Shinnston has several restaurants:  

Gibby's Ice Cream, East of Chicago Pizza, Shinnston Peking, McDonald's, Subway, T&L Hotdog, Casey's & Demarco's Meat Market  

Bridgeport is approximately 15 minutes away and has plenty of restaurants also.    

We have CAMPING available at 3 locations to ensure we give everyone plenty of space! Tent camping will be allowed in the park and there is plenty of van/RV/Camper space. We will also have camping on the future home of the Dead Canary Coffee lot along with the large parking space next to it as well. Tent camping is also allowed across the street from Pike Street Bikes. Not in to camping, please get a hold of Kathleen at the Gillum House Bed and Breakfast in town. There are plenty of hotels nearby in Bridgeport, WV (7 miles away). Go here to find a great plave to stay minutes aways.. HOTELS – Bridgeport CVB (greater-bridgeport.com)

 

Refund/Transfer Policy:

We are unable to offer refunds, so please be understanding.  

Notes 

 

Long Race

Long Race is 75Miles. We are starting @9am from the event location. The hope is to have everyone back by 4PM for the awards. And the WVGS awards are at 5PM.

Race predictors winning time should be around 5.5Hrs and last ones in should be no later than 8Hrs

You will have 3 aid stations. Aid station #2 and #3 are the same station. 

-Hawks Nest Aid Station Mile 13

-Jack Run Aid Station Mile 31

-Jack Run Aid Station Mile 58

Cut Off Time… You must be at Jacks Run Aid Station (Mile 31) Before 1PM. If this happens or you want to short cut the Long Course, you will skip the Wallace out and back segment. By not doing this segment you will have a total race length of 46Miles which is the medium race loop. 

Food Trucks open at 3:00, make sure to get and turn in your food ticket for credit. If you are wanting to party with the Rollin Brew’s crew, its $40.00 for unlimited beer sampling from 14 local WV Brewery’s, no fee for just hanging out?? 

Medium Race

Medium Race is 46Miles. We are starting @11AM from the event location. The hope is to have everyone back by 4PM for the awards. And the WVGS awards are at 5PM.

Race predictors winning time should be around 3.5Hrs and last ones in around 5.5Hrs 

You will have 2 aid stations. 

-Hawks Nest Aid Station Mile 13

-Jack Run Aid Station Mile 31

There are no cut off times but if you reach the Hawks Nest aid station Mile 13 and are not feeling well or having issues, you can take the short course from there. Just tell the Aid station volunteer you want to take the short route, also tell the timer when you get back to the race venue.

Food Trucks open at 3:00, make sure to get and turn in your food ticket for credit. If you are wanting to party with the Rollin Brew’s crew, its $40.00 for unlimited beer sampling from 14 local WV Brewery’s, no fee for just hanging out?? 

 

Short Race

Short Race is 21Miles. We are starting @12AM from the event location. The hope is to have everyone back by 4PM for the awards. And the WVGS awards are at 5PM.

Race predictor. Winning time should be around 1.5Hrs and last ones in around 3Hrs 

You will have 1 aid station. 

-Hawks Nest Aid Station Mile 13

Food Trucks open at 3:00, make sure to get and turn in your food ticket for credit. If you are wanting to party with the Rollin Brew’s crew, its $40.00 for unlimited beer sampling from 14 local WV Brewery’s, no fee for just hanging out??