We Had a Great Day: You Can Still Donate Here:

Registration for Oct 22, 2011 not open yet. Watch carolinacentury.com for news.

10 HOURS of SUPPORT for YOUR CENTURY
Roll with us to benefit others at the 3rd Annual

Carolina Century for MS

Come Roll with Us Again on October 22, 2011 in Greensboro, NC

Registration for Oct 22, 2011 not open yet. Watch carolinacentury.com for news.
October 27, 2012 * October 26, 2013 * October 25, 2014 * October 24, 2015
The fourth Saturday of October! If you come, we'll build it.

NEW Metric Century for 2010 means we offer...
102 * 82 * 72 * 64 * 51 * 31 * 21-mile routes
10 Hours of Support for You * All proceeds for people with MS

Registration open! Great bonuses for preregistration or donations of $25 or more!

News * We Had a Great Day! * You Can Still Donate Here...

• Preregistration for the Carolina Century Charity Bike Ride for MS October 23, 2010 includes participants from 39 cities so far: Archdale NC, Banner Elk NC, Beech Mountain NC, Boone NC, Burlington NC, Cary NC, Chapel Hill NC, Charlotte NC, Columbia SC, Denton NC, Durham NC, Elon NC, Grayson GA, Greensboro NC, Hickory NC, High Point NC, Jamestown NC, Kernersville NC, Lexington NC, Liberty NC, Madison NC, McLeansville NC, Morganton NC, Raleigh NC, Randleman NC, Reidsville NC, Rock Hill SC, Rural Hall NC, Smyrna GA , Smyrna GA, Sparta NC, Stokesdale NC, Summerfield NC, Thomasville NC, Tobaccoville NC, Trinity NC, Wake Forest NC, Whitsett NC, Wilmington NC, Winston Salem NC.
• EVERYONE (participants, volunteers, anyone) is welcome to meet us for the NIGHT BEFORE CAROLINA CENTURY dinner and route preview Friday evening. We can't buy your dinner, but we'd love to meet you Friday at 6PM at Ruby Tuesday, 7611 Thorndike Road, Greensboro, NC 27409. Please RSVP to nightbefore@carolinacentury.com if you are coming. The meeting is not required but it can greatly increase your fun the next day!
• SIX PEOPLE HAVE PAID FOR YOU TO ROLL FREE if you are unemployed, or underemployed enough to qualify for government aid. They selected "sponsor unknown participant" or paid too much on purpose so you could roll. I'm the only one who needs to know. If you're thinking of doing a free ride this weekend and you qualify for this, let me say this one includes 8 rest stops at least, plus hot chili based on mom's recipe and a sandwich you control so you get it right. We want to help those worse off than us, and hope those better off will help us do that. Wherever you are right now, it's where you are, not who you are. We want to give you a way to give and receive help. Feel bad about needing to ride free? Come enjoy the ride, then roll up and volunteer to make the Carolina Century shine for everyone who was behind you. Then write about the experience and tell others about your day. That's plenty.

Survey for All Who Ride or Roll for Charity Anywhere

Preregistration Perks Donated to Carolina Century

• Bet you don't have one of these from a charity roll! Vera Bradley has donated a fun prize for yourself or your family (call them what you will). ALL preregistered or predonating $25+ (even those already signed up) receive one FREE Vera Bradley "Kiss Me Twice" lipstick case with mirror for each $25 paid, available at the registration table at the Carolina Century. Really, this could be a really nice little gift for someone who encourages you to roll for fitness in the service of others. No Carolina Century logo, but they'll get over the disappointment!
• PLEASE BE SURE TO PREREGISTER if you want to roll at 730a! Otherwise please wait until 9am to start. You may preregister for the 9am start or use our onsite registration starting at 800am. Please pay cash if you can at the 8am registration. We'll take a check but we go shopping for some perishables AFTER reg so we waste as little as possible. Every roller gets everything we give anyone until we close at 542pm, but we don't want to be wasteful in providing abundance.
• The first 100 preregistered or predonating $25+ are eligible to win a $50 gas card and car cleanup kit from Valerie Gardner of Tour to Tanglewood Rest Stop fame!
• The first 200 preregistered or predonating $25+ are eligible to win a $25 food card for Macaroni Grill/Maggiano's/On the Border from Tom and Pat Noll of Sparky's Tater Ride!
• The first 300 preregistered or predonating $25+ are eligible to win a $25 food card for Applebees, also from Tom and Pat!
• Thanks again to Dale Brown of Cycles de Oro for giving a $10 gift certificate to all who preregistered or predonated $25+ before 10/10/10! Remember to thank Dale at the Carolina Century, where he'll do registration and more, including the big send off for the sleep-in starters.
• ALL bicycle shops ANYWHERE still have a chance to be part of Carolina Century this year. 17 years from now you won't get to say it's your 20th year if you wait, but Cycles de Oro will. Send us a tech and your logo tent. Send us a driver in your logo van. Send us your team in your logo kit and pay for them to roll the 102 for MS! Your potential customers will be there, and so will their word of mouth! Are you sure you're going to have more important customers every fourth Saturday of October than the charity minded rollers with disposable income at the Carolina Century, doing it for people who can't because of Multiple Sclerosis?
• Also, charity rides, businesses and individuals who care about MS...you can offer a substantial gift or service to help us help others. Offer yourself! Our volunteers will start before sunrise and quit after sundown, but you can give us any amount of time and we will not waste it.
• To volunteer (and earn donations to your 2011 Tour to Tanglewood for MS fundraising, see below), email us in advance preferably, but by all means if you need to, just show up! Ask for THE NEXUS, Marianne (mah ree ahh nah). She is the keeper of the wish list of hopes and dreams for the day. Every volunteer is applied to building support for the rollers and volunteers still out there. Consider your day might not have to be over and you can shepherd some people home like someone did for you. Remember?

Register or Donate Now for Carolina Century

"Don't hibernate! Have a nice leisurely century with us...or drop us & get home early!"

7:30am Sunrise start (preregistered only) ◦ 10 hrs. support
9:00am Sleep-In start (8-8:45am registration) by Dale Brown of Cycles de Oro ◦ 8.5 hrs. support
Start/Finish ◦ Gospel Baptist Church, 5945 N Church St, Greensboro NC
Supersweet 21, 31, 51, 64, 72, 82, 102-mile routes: marked, turnsheets, maps
Fast hills ◦ Smooth rollouts ◦ Country views ◦ Crisp skies ◦ Autumn colors
Rest stops ◦ Val, Jim, Elaine, Mike & Law (T2T rides/Tour de Triad); RSN team
Guilford/Forsyth/Rockingham Fire/Rescue stops ◦ SAG ◦ Bicycle Response Team tech/sweep
Awesome lunch by Margaret Bell ◦ Hospitality by Mom & Dad ◦ Proceeds to MS
Donate $25+ to roll ($35+ day of) ◦ Volunteer/Earn MS donations to your T2T 2011
Additional support and materials supplied by the National MS Society, Great Harvest Bread, and Panera Bread
Like life, everything subject to change, especially for the better.
Rain or shine the scenery will be glorious and we'll be there to support you.
The latest info on the Carolina Century will always be here at CarolinaCentury.com.

• Participants needing more than 8.5 hours to do their selected distance should preregister online and arrive in time to roll out at the sunrise start, 7:30am.
• Participants needing 8.5 hours or less of support may bring cash to register from 8:00-8:45am for the 9:00am sleep-in start.
• We'll accept checks, but if you can bring cash or prepay online, that helps us buy supplies for the event. We'll buy as many perishable supplies as possible after registration. Just in time management cuts waste and gives more to our cause.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO DONATE OR SPONSOR SOMEONE WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO REGISTER

$25 is not much for all this goodness, but for someone worried about where their food money is coming from, you can help. Just use the dropdown menu above to select "Sponsor Unknown Person $25" and donate $25 or more to sponsor a participant you know, or let us pick one based on their private statement of financial need. For each $25 we get in online donations, we'll do our best to find a person going through hard times economically who can ride with pride for people who can't. And if you're on the short side of money right now, let us know early and we'll try to find you a sponsor.

REST STOP SPEEDSHEET: Support for 10-22mph Avg Including Stops (12-22mph for 900am)

Volunteers love to help. That's why they're volunteers. But they want to know when they need to be there and when they can leave without breaking any promises. We have rolling support including trunkstops after rest stops are closed, but they want to know what we and what participants have agreed upon. Here it is:

At the Carolina Century we use a rest stop speedsheet that shows every rest stop and for every route that it serves, the mileage at that point. It also shows when a 22mph roller will arrive, and when a 10mph roller will be there, for every route, for each time on every route it arrives if it does so more than once, for both start times. For people that sleep in, we offer 12mph support for the full century, and may still be open if you are slower, but the speedsheet tells volunteers when they can begin to pack up. Some will move on to another location to serve you again, because our event is designed to get better, not worse, as the day goes on.

How does the Carolina Century get better when everyone's getting tired? When riders finish, we have a long list of hopes and dreams for them to fill if they'll be so good as to give back to the sport and further to the cause. We fill gaps forward and backward from the start (which we call rest stops 0 and 9). We have permission to use EVERY fire station and a few other select geographic locations for full rest stops or trunkstops (a trunkstop is a rest stop that is packed up and in the trunk but still functions for powder and water at least). We fill our hopes and dreams with volunteers and relieve the ones who have been out there since 630am.

Why would a participant volunteer after it's over for them? Because it doesn't have to be over for them. In fact the experience may be just about to begin, and they know more than anyone else what it is like to be slower, because they were in the past. And if they are riding or skating Tour to Tanglewood next year, every hour they serve earns them a donation share to THEIR Tour to Tanglewood fundraising NEXT year, but we like to spread things around so we probably will not give a donation share greater than $200 to their T2T account. The more popular the volunteers and rollers make the event by making it amazing, the more people we will be able to get to their minimums so they can ride the tour even if they do not move in circles of people with much disposable income...or if they hate to ask people for money. Serve. Sacrifice. Fundraising. How great would it be to end this year knowing that you pay reg for T2T and set higher goals, but the fear of having to write a check for the minimum is over. Without fear, love might have some room. Our team still gets some of the fundraising because not everyone will ride next year, but this is meant to be a fundraiser for all those who say they hate to ask their friends for money. We made this event so they can serve instead of or in addition to rolling...and earn donations that we turn in but they get credit for. It all goes to the same cause, but instead of one person standing up with a big check, the volunteers who worked hard get a boost to their own fundraising. And other people just do it because it feels good. Some people donate their hours to someone who rolls next year's Tour. The only person whose hours do not count is the guy who started the Carolina Century. They don't count in the total and they do not earn donation shares. By rewarding volunteering, don't we get a better event? And the BETTER Carolina Century is, the more an hour of human experience will earn in donations for people with multiple sclerosis. Aren't cyclists and skaters some of the best rest stop workers and drivers? The organizer rolls near the back so we know that "everybody gets what anybody got." In general, ten hours of exercise is harder than five, so as the day goes on the Carolina Century must get better. And when we can't do that, we don't have enough volunteers or riders and we do not do Carolina Century.

102-mile Carolina Century Color Speed Elevation Profile

• All routes use first 12 miles.
• 21 uses the first 12 miles (plus other roads then) and last 7 miles. Guilford County.
• 31 uses the first 12 miles (plus other roads then) and last 7 miles. Guilford and Rockingham Counties.
• 51 uses the first 12 miles and last 39 miles. Guilford and Rockingham Counties.
• 64 uses the first 19.5 and last 44.5 miles. Guilford and Rockingham Counties.
• 72 uses the first 63 miles (plus other roads then) and last 3 miles. Guilford and Forsyth Counties.
• 82 uses the first 68 miles (plus other roads then) and last 7 miles. Guilford, Forsyth and Rockingham Counties.
• 102 is the whole dog. Guilford, Forsyth and Rockingham Counties.

The Carolina Century invites all to come and enjoy our favorite smooth, hilly, gorgeous roads for the 3rd Annual Carolina Century for Multiple Sclerosis. We want to help people who can't enjoy rolling the way we do because of MS, and to show you some of our favorite roads and scenery in our part of North Carolina.

We want to be the century for everyone, including slow cyclists, who have long distance goals but can't find support. Come try a leisurely century with ten hours of support, on a fun but challenging, beautiful and safe course. Preregister and leave at 730am, or sleep in and roll out at 900am. You decide. Get it over with or make it last, then have lunch (or early supper!) when you get back to the church.

So forgive our enthusiasm and come love our supersweet routes. We have the very finest and kindest folk to sacrifice a day for us all in the service of a great cause, helping those with Multiple Sclerosis. If you've done Tour to Tanglewood Training Rides or the venerable Tour de Triad, you'll know Val & Jim, Mike & Elaine, and Law for great rest stops and refreshing conviviality. Many of the Fire & Rescue stations know we'll be coming by and some are hosting our rest stops, as this seems the very best place to rest, since we know they have plenty of water and medical care if anyone needs it. We've talked to local stores so we'll let you know which ones will welcome you and want to help you have a safe and happy day.

Our route philosophy is to start a bit further north of Greensboro than most events, then head south early while we're fresh and traffic is low. We get in a couple of lake crossings to wake up, then leave for a day of countryside views. This way, we don't come back into Greensboro late, when we're at our most tired and so are the drivers who are on their way to something busy and important. On all routes, including the western loop, the populated sections are completed first, so as the day goes by, the views are better and the finish is still in green rolling hills.

We borrowed from parts of Mike Clark's Tour de Triad for Leukemia & Lymphoma for our 102 route's western loop. We made changes to maximize bucolic splendor and smooth, fast runouts, but we owe lots to Mike's vision and planning, and will always remember the rolling rest stop he provided up at Belew's Creek when we blew by the Fire Department there.

We also borrow from the old GVC Red, White & Blue Show'n'Go route. We had a great day, part of it lost and happy, when we missed a turn due to a downed street sign and had some joyous moments along the way. I knew I had to go back up there and look around, because it was non-stop glory that day. These loops are nested so we share the same first twelve miles and come together again for the final miles.

Our routes are subject to change as needs arise and new opportunities for fresh asphalt present themselves, but you can be sure we've thought about the route first and last, because without a great route, the event can only be good. These are the best routes we know, period.

If you preregister and start at the early rollout and average 10mph, we'll be there to support you for 10 hours (if you rollout at the sleep-in start on any non-century route, we'll support 10mph for you, too.). If you think you're going to ride but can't preregister please write me so we can plan for your presence (take out the spaces and funkiness that follow): ccinfo at carolinacentury.com.

Routes are...

• Supersweet maps and turnsheets included.
• The course is designed with preference for smooth, rural, fast, scenic, safe roads, downhills with runouts, and challenging (for the Piedmont) but smooth uphills.

GREAT HELP RETURNS

• Dale Brown from Cycles de Oro will be in charge of registration and the Sleep-In start. Thanks for you continuing support of people with MS!
• Valerie and Jim Gardner, Tour to Tanglewood volunteers extraordinaire, will be managing rest stops and more.
• Elaine and Mike Clark of Tour to Tanglewood and Tour de Triad fame, will be helping with registration and rest stops and rolling support.
• Jim and Betty Lambert will be providing rest stop and finish line support as needed.
• Elizabeth Bailey has donated many hours assisting while I was driving hundreds of miles of roadways during route development.
• Amy Harper and Katherine Brown provided rest stop support, and Doug Lytle provided rolling tech plus support and gear (SAG).

The Start/Finish parking area is graciously provided by:
Gospel Baptist Church (http://gospelbc.org),
5949 N Church St,
Greensboro, NC 27455

LatLon: 36.225364,-79.790987 or +36° 13' 31.31", -79° 47' 27.55"

• Park at the NORTH side (away from the intersection of Church Street and Hwy 150) as far back toward the house as possible to the right side of the church as you enter the lot.
• Please be considerate of the family living next to the lot by keeping noise to a minimum. Thanks.
• Please thank anyone you see from the church for witnessing through action by allowing us to use their parking lot and any other facilities they offer.
• "Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me!"

If you can volunteer we can make the Carolina Century even better! Please email me so we can use your skills and time to greatest effect (take out the spaces and funkiness that follow): ccinfo at carolinacentury.com.

NOTES FOR CYCLISTS

• Helmets required
• Event numbers with emergency contact info on the reverse required (numbers supplied).
• Waivers required.
• Please check in at the finish.
• The course will be open for 10 hours, 12 minutes. Even if held open longer, at sunset the course must close and participants must be off the roads.
• Cyclists are encouraged to attend the pre-event route summary and safety talk (Friday evening, see below) so you can meet us and hear about our event.
• The optional weigh-in for the Power Challenge will be available at the start line (see below).
• There are many nice piedmont downhills with clear views and plenty of rollout, and there is one very fast hill that deserves respect on the 72/82/102 only, at Freeman Rd. There's plenty of run-out but the entrance to the hill contains a bend so you can't see the runout from the top (after you turn left onto Freeman Rd. from Piney Grove/Kernersville Rd. at the Goodwill Baptist Church cemetery, the road drops down and left). This is no big deal if you're awake and aware so that's why we're pointing it out...be awake and aware. Also, watch for holes or patches at the base of this fast runout. We'll review the course before the Carolina Century.
• There is one moderate downhill to a T at a stop sign on the 51 and 102-mile routes noted on the turnsheets. It is not that difficult to control your speed if paying attention, but it is VERY important to stop here, and fully adhere to the laws for all road users.
• Please represent your sport with love to all.
• "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

AIRPORT & HOTELS

• If you're flying from out of town, save yourself a lot of trouble and fly in to GSO airport. It will end up being about the same price with hours less on the roads. You'll need access to a car, but they're cheap at the GSO airport, and taxis are not in much use in Greensboro.
• NC-68 and I-40 (the older I-40, north of the newer one, which may not be called I-40 any more) are good places to grab a reasonably-priced hotel. There very few hotels near our start/finish area (which is the point, when you think about it). Check maps.google.com for directions because it takes longer than most of us think to get to Gospel Baptist Church, which is one nice thing about finishing there. It's a supersweet location.