If you’re organizing a bike ride, gravel grinder, fun-ride, or full-blown competitive event, it’s time to shift into high gear—and partner with a registration platform built for cyclists. With its dedicated cycling use-case tools, RunSignup offers organizers the full range of features you’re looking for: mobile-friendly registration, flexible pricing, volunteer and fundraising support, event-day check-in and corral/wave management—and a solution to collect Waivers and License numbers for USA Cycling (USAC).
In this blog, we’ll highlight a few standout cycling events that demonstrate how RunSignup supports both fun and serious rides—from scenic long-distance tours to rugged gravel challenges—and dive into case studies that show how organizers streamline operations and elevate participant experience. Two of the featured events are proudly sanctioned with USA Cycling, bringing added credibility and insurance benefits. Whether you’re new to bike events or looking to scale your ride into something bigger, you’ll see how RunSignup makes the logistics smoother—and lets you focus more on rider experience and promotion.
Iceman Cometh Challenge
This iconic point-to-point cross-country mountain bike race uses RunSignup’s high-capacity registration, over 6,000 registrations with no downtime, and seamless integration of USAC requirements for waiver signatures and member number collection. This allows race organizers to easily pull reports, offer member discounts, and apply setting to all races or only certain events.
This event also took advantage of the waitlist features to manage its high-volume demand. Once a race category was filled, riders were able to join a waitlist and are automatically notified when a spot was open, ensuring a fair and efficient process.
A highlight of this event’s setup is its use of RaceJoy for a premium participant and spectator experience. With live GPS tracking, performance updates, and spectator cheer messages, the race created an engaging atmosphere both on and off the course.
Race organizers offered participants the option to add-on race insurance during registration. RunSignup allows races to offer registration protection insurance through Protecht’s FanShield-RegSheild by enabling in the race dashboard. This option not only gives participants peace of mind, while allowing organizers to earn additional revenue and less administrative work on their end.
Solvang Century
Set in iconic wine country, the Solvang Century is a great example of how a large, experience-driven ride can leverage RunSignup features to manage capacity, volunteers, and donations while delivering a premium participant experience. The event offers three different ride options, but caps the total participation at 1,000 riders – making accurate registration tracking and participant limits critical.
Since this event is USAC-sanctioned, ride organizers benefit greatly from having all USAC requirements and waivers in one place. RunSignup’s flexible event setup allows for multiple waivers to be added to the registration flow, as well as registration insurance, ensuring that everyone has signed USAC’s waiver before event day.
On the fundraising and revenue side, race organizers maximize RunSignup’s integrated tools by enabling donations with both a dedicated donation page and a built-in ask during registration checkout. This allows riders to easily support the event’s benefiting cause while completing their registration. Race organizers also utilize registration add-ons to offer additional items—such as extra jerseys—directly within the registration flow.
Specialized Cactus Cup
This event is the perfect example of a multi-day stage race relying on RunSignup to manage complex operations. Last year there were nearly 900 registrants across 12 adult events and 5 kids races/camp, from 28 U.S. states and four countries.
Race organizers utilized the RaceDay CheckIn App allowing packet pickup to be an efficient process for participants and volunteers. All participants were emailed a QR code ahead of event day making packet pickup a seamless and quick process. Race organizers maximized registrations by without being bogged down with administrative tasks by using RaceDay Registration – a streamlined on-site registration process where all new registrations are automatically synced with the RaceDay CheckIn app.
In additional to using the RaceDay tools, race organizers took advantage of selling race merchandise ahead of event day with an online store right on their registration website. This not only allowed participants to purchase a wide array of merchandise ahead of the event, but also created another revenue source for the event.
Dust Bowl 100
This gravel event draws riders from across the country with multiple distance options – including 100-mile, 100K, and short-course rides – making flexible registration tools especially important. RunSignup supports all categories, age groups, tandems, and e-bike divisions in a single, easy-to-manage setup, and the event further customizes its pricing with age-based discounts to ensure fair, accessible pricing for younger riders.
They also take advantage of RunSignup’s email capture option on their homepage, allowing them to grow their list and connect with interested riders before registration opens.
Race organizers use RunSignup to implement a clear registration process, including structured waitlist management for sold-out divisions. The platform automatically notifies participants when a spot becomes available, reducing manual outreach and saving staff time.
The event also leverages RunSignup’s integrated store to offer merchandise from shirts and socks to camping and shower access. Selling items ahead of event day not only drives additional revenue but also helps organizers better anticipate demand. The ability to host route files, tech guides, and event-day resources directly on the race website also ensures riders can find everything they need in one place.
Whether you’re planning your first ride or a USAC sanctioned event, RunSignup makes registration easy with our free technology to help manage your event from conception to execution.