(edition updated October 29th, 2024)
This is the 2025 Northwest Nonstop Manual Issue 1 Version 1, this document is the place for all of your Northwest Nonstop info needs. It contains the rules, guidance, and main pieces of information you should know about the ride. We reserve the right to make changes to the manual and will post any changes as expeditiously as possible.
Rider Agreement, Waiver and Release of Liability, and Payment: Upon sign up all riders will be required to sign the Agreement, Waiver, and Release of Liability form, after that you’ll then be directed to the payment form. For reference, that form is linked here.
How to sign up? (SIGN UP HERE)
Northwest Nonstop Rider Agreement and Registration Payment Form
Pre-event festivities: The evening of June 21st from approximately 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM In Bellingham, WA, exact location to be announced. All riders are heavily encouraged to attend the pre-event kickoff the night before. It’s by no means mandatory as we hope to have all riders dialed well in advance. Nonetheless, you’re invited with gusto!
Where and when does the ride start? Waypoint Park, Bellingham, Washington, June 22nd at 6AM. 1145 Granary Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225
What is the ethos? It’s different things to different people. To the very core essence of this ride, we’ll summarize it as this:
What is the fee for Northwest Nonstop: $50.00 USD paid to Ride Yr Bike LLC and is nonrefundable after 28 days. This fee puts the rider on the roster and gets a direct line of communication with the director at nathan@rideyrbike.com. Functionally it covers the app tracking setup and general administration, not much more, certainly no less.
When does sign up start and close? Sign up is open and will remain so until or if we see a reason for closure.
Are there ride time cutoffs? No. However we expect most riders will average between 4 and 8 days on the route.
Ride Yr Bike does not tolerate hate speech: Be kind to each other, it’s that simple. Any acts of racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, or any other slights toward any person’s way of being is explicitly not allowed under any circumstances and can result in immediate ejection from this and potentially all future events.
Forum and login: We'll provide a forum on the website for riders to network and we will provide added information when and where we can. Registered riders will find the forum login here and then the actual forum here. Please e-mail us if you are having trouble
Questions? All questions can be directed to nathan@rideyrbike.com Responses will come as quickly as possible. We’re more than happy to help with questions on tracking and rough logistics on travel to and from the start. To reinforce however, all official correspondence should be directed to nathan@rideyrbike.com and we’re happy to point you in the right direction for a few key questions. We can’t and don’t want to provide all the answers but we’ll dispel any outright myths as quickly as possible.
Tracking: Riders will be allowed to track at their own frequency during the event but we expect riders track their location at least every two hours permitting circumstances. Riders are additionally encouraged to allow their phone to update at least every 10 minutes when they are near reception. The majority of the route is covered by all the major service providers and there’s not much reason for someone to go dark anywhere for more than a few hours provided they aren’t stopped for a bivy. In the lead up to the ride we’ll provide some simple notes on how to keep your location updated as well as how to post photos and videos. It’s all fairly straightforward and we look forward to providing a new dimension to this ride with the app.
Contact with the ride director organization during the event: The ride director will be traveling portions of the route, likely riding the whole thing. We ask as a first point of contact in a non-emergency situation that you use the official ride email: nathan@rideyrbike.com. If you have any kind of collision or wreck, even a small one, you should inform your next of kin first and then the ride organization as soon as you are able to do so. If the ride organization learns of an incident, first it will attempt to advise your next of kin so that they may begin to assist you if necessary. It will only share any details you make public (via social media) or you or your next of kin give permission or instruction to do so. It is important that riders and their friends and family understand from the outset that this passing of information to your next of kin is likely to be the only action the ride organization will perform in the event of a rider injury. As stated many times in the rider agreement and this document, riders are self-reliant and responsible for themselves, and it is not practical for us to give any indication that we may be able to assist and therefore we can carry no obligation. We will be contacting next of kin before the ride just to confirm their details and notify them that they have been nominated. It’s important to us that they have as much of an understanding of the risks and implications of the ride as you do, so it’s a good idea to give them full disclosure about the ride and your decision to ride. To reiterate, we can’t help you or your family much more than letting them know if we hear anything, we’d love to be everywhere but that’s not a possibility. We expect you to provide a valid email address or phone number for us to contact you during the ride. We do not intend to contact any riders in any circumstances, we will get in touch as time allows us and only if we feel necessary and have the ability. We will be mobile and not necessarily able to respond to even the worst on course crisis in a timely manner. There is no sag wagon, there is no support, the race organization is not an emergency service.
Safety and equipment check suggestions
A final note on safety: Do not test us on this. Err on the side of caution. We aren’t messing around and we mean business. We don’t have a problem saying no if you can’t do what’s required. We don’t mean to sound rude but we just want riders as safe as possible. Please email us if you need clarification on safety issues.
Online inspection: We facilitate an entirely online inspection process. Near the ride start we’ll have you submit a checklist and provide photo documentation of your safety efforts. We don’t look to turn anyone away but we will make suggestions where we can.
Insurance: Riders are strongly encouraged to have AD&D insurance coverage. We are not in the business of selling insurance however we will make recommendations as requested.
Rider identification: Riders are expected to carry simple emergency identification on both body and bike. There are numerous ways to achieve this. For the bike we require a laminated ID card taped in a visible location near the front. We require your full name and your next of kin’s name and contact information. Additionally on your body we require this same identification preferably worn either on the wrist or around the neck. We recommend dog tags or a service such as Road ID. We are in no way affiliated with Road ID, there are other services out there that may suffice. Shop around or make your own identification, no need to spend too much.
Rider behavior: Riders are expected to adhere strictly to the Leave No Trace ethos, PACK IT IN, PACK IT OUT. Do not expect any business to stay open late and do not call them asking to do so. Don’t expect any handouts from anyone on this route, if people want to help you, they will be ready to. That said, obviously do not expect people to overextend themselves as most are already overextended!
Mutual support? We expect riders to not lean on the locals unless they come to them but this does not exclude generosity between riders. Now more than ever, if someone is “bonked out” and you feel an obligation to provide support as obviously evidenced by someone’s need, by all means make the offer of food or water if you can spare it. We’re not saying anyone should expect a handout but that all riders are hopefully prepared to give one, this event is clearly better with more snacks and beverages for everyone and sharing is encouraged. Everyone is a solo rider but everyone is also in this together for better or worse.
Booking accommodations: No bookings of any sort may be made before the ride starts, during the event advance booking of rooms is permitted. There is no caching of supplies at hotels.
Route changes: At the moment, the route is fairly dialed for 2024. That said there are guaranteed to be a few minor changes in the months and weeks leading up to the event and we’ll post those as expeditiously as possible. We are expecting to offer up a few alternate route choices for this edition but first a few scouting runs are in order.
Finishers list: We’ll aim to provide an accurate recording of everyone’s finishing time. The ride is at its heart, an individual bike ride and we provide an interface for it to be logged in real time. We’ll publish a finishers list as we see fit when we see fit. The ride lives in real time and when it’s over, it’s over. If the rider provides accurate app tracking or fitness app recording we’ll post the result in due time provided there are no shenanigans.
How to let friends and family watch the ride: Naturally the Ride Yr Bike Tracker will be the easiest way for friends and family to follow along. Available for both iPhone and Android as well as having a web version. It will be easy as can be to follow all of the action.
Next of Kin: All riders are required to give details of their next of kin, so that they can be contacted if the ride organization becomes aware of any incidents involving riders. Next of kin will be contacted before the ride and notified that they have been nominated as a rider’s point of contact. They will also be advised of some of the more important details of the rider agreement which riders have signed, the responsibilities of the riders, and the limited obligations of the ride organization. The ride organization advises that riders discuss their entry into the ride with their next of kin prior to this and that the next of kin understand that the rider knowingly is taking full responsibility for their ride and they won’t be getting any assistance. This can avoid them misunderstanding. Note that riders are requested to notify their next of kin first before reporting issues to the ride organization and notification of next of kin may be made by any emergency services so it is likely that next of kin may become aware of an incident before the ride organization. Due to the nature of the event and the distribution of riders the ride organization cannot provide emergency rescue to riders. Our commitment is to notify next of kin as soon as possible once we are aware of an incident and provide them with as much information as we can. In the event of an incident the ride organization may not make any public statements without first contacting next of kin and verifying information.
The Rules
Rule #1: No complaining about the rules.
A heads up that you’ll need to keep your phone in good working order for tracking purposes. We’ll provide documentation on how to best do this efficiently but you’d be wise to have a backup battery with a few days charge.
Riders must act in the spirit of self sufficiency and equal opportunity for all riders.
We don’t care how quickly or slowly the route is completed, the primary concern is that the route is impacted in a positive manner with the communities feeling supported and not taken advantage of. We ask everyone to be respectful of where they sleep at night so as to not upset the locals and be mindful of the space others are already occupying.
Modus operandi: To complete the Route, a rider may resupply food/equipment, rent a room, launder clothing, even service their bike at commercial shops along the way. The intent is to ride unsupported between towns, and function self-supported when in towns. Any services utilized must always be commercially available to all challengers and not prearranged. No private resupply, no private lodging, no support van.
Northwest Nonstop is a web-administered, do-it-yourself challenge. It really just boils down to your own self contained long bike ride. It doesn’t need a million rules, you either get it or you don’t. It’s not the hardest thing ever but it aims to be a quality experience for anyone who chooses to partake.
Functionally there are no checkpoints or officials on course. It is the rider’s responsibility to know and observe local laws. Riders alone are responsible for their safety. Riders alone must police their conduct. There is no mechanism to communicate to riders on course in real time. Riders alone are responsible for communicating with their loved ones. The Ride Yr Bike Tracker is not intended to ensure rider safety. It is for entertainment purposes only. It is exclusively the riders responsibility to share their location with their next of kin.
Relegation: Ride Yr Bike LLC and Northwest Nonstop can and will remove any rider tracking for failing to follow the ethos and guidance.
What is the ethos? It’s different things to different people. To the very core essence of this ride, we’ll summarize it as this: