The 12 Hours of St. Pete

Rider Notes and Rules

• All riders must sign the waiver. Riders under 18 must have a signature from a parent or guardian. Waivers will be available at the pre-party Friday night as well as before the event on Saturday. No waiver, no ride.
• Helmets are required. No helmet = DQ.
• This is a “live traffic” event! You will be sharing the roads with other cyclists, vehicles, and pedestrians. Respect their rights, your safety, and the future of this event.
• This event will be held rain or shine.
• We strongly recommend that everyone bring a bright head and tail light, particularly for the event’s final hour. If we do get rain, it’s a good idea to have your lights on.
• You are expected and strongly encouraged to follow all traffic laws. SERIOUSLY. We mean it. So do the SPPD. Stay safe, be sane.
• Only complete laps count. A complete lap is one in which a rider returns to the start/finish with the card punched in the appropriate place once at each of the four checkpoints. Neatness counts. Randomly punching the card in the first corner you unfold will result in a voided lap.
• You can take any route between the checkpoints, but you must ride them in order: (1) Lassing Park; (2) Friendly Way; (3) Country Club Way & Alcazar Way; and (4) ~375 30th St S.
• All laps must be complete before the end of 12 hours. No credit for partial laps.
• Rider exchanges must be done within the designated rider exchange area.
• Teams can only have one rider on the course at a time. No “leap-frogging” riders between checkpoints. Once a rider starts a lap, she must finish it to obtain credit for it.
• You must enter and exit the Friendly Way checkpoint using Friendly Way. Riding through the grass to or from Pleasant Way is forbidden. Besides, it’s slower.
• Do not ride through private property anywhere on the course. Tresspassing is illegal. Specifically, cutting through the St Pete Country Club is forbidden. Similarly, you must enter and exit the Friendly Way checkpoint using Friendly Way. Riding through the grass to or from Pleasant Way is forbidden. You and your team will be DQ’d for tresspassing.
• You must turn right off of 1st Ave South onto 20th St. S, pass over the Pinellas Trail, turn left on 3rd St. S, and turn left on 17th St. S to enter the Home Base parking lot/checkpoint. If you take the Pinellas trail, you will be told to turn around and ride the correct route. This portion of the route is mandatory.
• We are aware that several shortcuts exist that involve jumping curbs and riding on the sidewalk. Officially, we would like to discourage you from riding on the sidewalk. Little kids play on the sidewalk, and old people walk on the sidewalk, and if you hit either of these demographics, or indeed anyone else, it will be a very BAD THING for not only you and the person you hit, but also for the future of this event.
• No non-neutral support on the course. This means no non-registered “friends” pacing you, handing you water or food, helping with mechanicals, etc. You can take support on the course only from (1) volunteers and (2) other entrants. You can take support at the start/finish from anyone. You can paceline with your competitors who are currently riding a lap, but do not obstruct traffic.
• If you lose your card, see a volunteer at the start/finish for a new one. Remember, you only get credit for completed, verified laps (you will not get credit for the lap you lost your card on, no matter how many people vouch for you).
• If a teammate drops out, your team can continue the event. You will be scored in the same category you entered.
  No changing categories once the event starts.
• The failure to follow any of these rules or the spirit of these rules or to conduct yourself in a sportsmanlike manner may result in penalties, including disqualification and banning from future events, that are solely in the Race Director’s discretion. All decisions of the Race Director are final.
• Clean up after yourself. Pack in, pack out. We have a dumpster for your use, so please use it.
• Stoves, fires — open flames of any kind — and tents larger than 10×10 are prohibited at the start/finish.
• No whining.