Race Day Handbook: 2023 TCTF presented by Stone Hound Brewing

The stoke, as they say, is rising. We can’t wait to get back on the start line with more than 200 of our mountain bike pals. The 2023 Traverse City Trails Festival presented by Stone Hound Brewing is almost here and we’ve got everything you need to know!

The TCTF is a critical part of Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association’s work. This is our biggest fundraising event of the year, but it’s also how we build our active community. We take a lot of pride in offering an affordable, accessible, family-friendly event - thank you for being a part of it!

The Basics

• Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023

• Location: Timber Ridge RV and Recreation Resort, 4050 E. Hammond Road, Traverse City, Michigan, 49686 (Google Maps Link) 

• Early Packet Pick-up: Timber Ridge Banquet Hall 4-7 pm

• Packet Pick-up: 7 am - 8:30 am There is no late or day-of registration! Online registration closes at Friday, 9/29 at noon.

• 28-mile race start time: 9 am

• 15-mile race and all tours start: 9:10 am

• Norte Balance Bike Race: High Noon! (Please register your child for the free Norte Balance Bike Race)

Online Registration

Online registration is open!

There is no in-person registration! Online registration closes Friday, September 29 at noon EST.

Volunteer Information

Ready to lend a hand? We’re still looking for volunteers! Sign-up today.

Parking

Please obey all parking signage and the parking volunteers directing traffic. When parking at Timber fills up, please park only on the west side of Six Mile Road. Do not obstruct driveways or intersections.

Consider parking at the New and Improved (and Expanded!) parking lot at the Vasa Supply Road Trailhead. It’s a lovely 1.1 mile-ish ride over to Timber Ridge and will save us some parking spots!

The Course

The long course will be just shy of 28 miles and includes sections of marked and unmarked singletrack. Follow the color-coordinated signage which will match your number plate! Expect 90% singletrack trails and 1 aid station just past the halfway point.

The short course is just shy of 15 miles and primarily includes sections of the Vasa Singletrack. Expect a fast and fun course!

Route files for your Garmin/Wahoo.

Etiquette

Please be cool. This is going to be a whole lot more fun if riders seed themselves appropriately at the start. Be a good sport; if a rider asks to pass, please allow them to get by as soon as it’s safe.

Safety

You’ll find emergency information located on the back of your number plate. If you’re having a medical emergency, contact 911. Be safe, be smart and look out for each other.

What About the Food and Beer?

We have not one but TWO food trucks on hand this year! Check out Mac’s Shack and Guiseppi’s Pizza post-race. We’ll also have Stone Hound Brewing on hand - and hey, the SHB crew is located just a few miles away!

Sponsors

Bezos doesn’t sponsor TCTF - local sponsors do. We can’t thank our community partners enough for their continued support of this event and all of the events that make Northern Michigan such a wonderful place to be active.

Take a moment to check out our sponsors!

Results

2023 results are available here.

More Ways to Support NMMBA

Can’t make the race? Consider becoming a member or making a donation!

Traverse City Trails Festivals Get A New Date, Venue!

The Traverse City Trails Festival presented by Stone Hound Brewing has new digs and a new date! After a lot of discussion with race participants, sponsors and the board, we’re stoked to confirm that the 2023 Traverse City Trails Festival will start and finish at Timber Ridge Resort on September 30!

Why Timber?

We’ve loved the atmosphere and unique setting provided by Rand Rudolf since the first edition of TCTF. The venue truly became a part of the TCTF experience; who hasn’t hopped in the creek after crossing the line?

However, the ranch did limit our access to some of the best trails in the area. It also forced us to cross a busy Supply Road twice, adding to the risk of the event, our volunteer needs and impacting the experience.

Enter Timber Ridge. Gordon and crew have been crucial to the development of trails and, just as important, the growth of our community for decades. Timber has facilitated our winter grooming program by allowing us storage and a cabin, plus donated generously to NMMBA and other bike-focused non-profits, including TART and Norte.

In addition to being a nice place to camp, it’s also in the perfect location to allow for easy access to nearly 100 miles of trails. The prospect has our course design team salivating.

About That TCTF Route…

We’re working on nailing down courses for three distances. While the mileage isn’t set, expect each of these categories to be roughly these lengths:

• Expert/Elite – 25-30 miles, 2 hours

• Sport – 20-25 miles, 1.5 hours

• Beginner – 15-20 miles, 1 hour

So Why September?

Summers are busy. Based on feedback from race participants, the July race date was a challenge based on other events and off-the-bike priorities. We also faced several editions of TCTF with temperatures well into the 90s! We’re confident that moving September will make TCTF the unofficial kickoff of the fall mountain biking season that queues up a slew of great races across the state.

How can I get involved?

We like your attitude! Register to race or ride with us or by becoming a sponsor. Can’t make it September 9? You can still support our mission by registering to race and considering it a donation!

Race Week Handbook: TCTF 2022!

2022 Traverse City Trails Festival p/b Stone Hound Brewing

It’s race week! Thank you for being a part of the 2022 TCTF, the biggest fundraiser of the year for NMMBA and an important opportunity to show just how much Northern Michigan loves its singletrack. 

This race-week handbook is designed to answer all your questions before, during, and after the word “Go” on Saturday. 

Aside from the who-what-where, the why: the TCTF is how we show landowners and land managers what mountain bikers want. To preserve and expand our singletrack network, we need tangible proof that singletrack is what the People want; in addition to becoming a member, your participation as a racer or a tour rider is the proof we need to show interest in singletrack trails. 

If you love singletrack, we need you! 

The Basics

• Date: Saturday, July 23

• Location: Ranch Rudolf (Google Maps Link) 

• Packet Pick-up and Day-of Registration: 7 am-9 am (Late registration is an additional $10)

• 28-mile race start time: 9 am

• 15-mile race and all tours start: 9:30 am

• Norte Balance Bike Race: High Noon! (Free!)

Event website
Results website

Online Registration

Online registration is open until July 21 at 11:59 pm. Please sign up online; this makes day-of run much more smoothly for our volunteers and timing company! 

Register

Parking

Please park in the designated area. We’ll have volunteers directing you to the great big ol’ field where all racers need to park!

Friday - Packet Pick-up and Late Registration

Online registration closes Thursday at noon. 

Late registration will be open in-person at packet pick-up on Friday from 4-6 pm at Wild Card Cycle Works. Late registration is an additional $10. 

The Course

The course will be marked with color-coordinated signage. The 28-mile race is pink, the 15-mile race is green. Your number plate will match the signage. 

Need a little extra reassurance? Download the appropriate file for your event. 

Trail Etiquette

Please be cool. Singletrack can make passing difficult. If a rider asks to pass, please allow them by at the soonest safe opportunity. We have moved the 15-mile events back 15 minutes to reduce problems, but the same “goodwill” is needed within the 15-mile and 28-mile fields, too. Let’s all be cool. 

At The Ranch

Cash is king. Food, beer, and NMMBA merchandise will be available at the Ranch all day. Due to iffy cell signal, consider bringing cash. We’ll also try to accept credit cards and Venmo! 

Our Sponsors

Our local sponsors are vital to putting on the Traverse City Trails Festival, but they also help keep our region’s cycling community rolling. From bike shops offering service and expertise to Stone Hound Brewing giving us a place to come together after a ride, we wouldn’t have the tight-knit community we enjoy without their support. 

Please take a moment to check out all our sponsors and show them some love on social media - and with your next bike-or-beer-related purchase! 

We can’t wait to spend Saturday with our mountain bike pals. On behalf of the entire NMMBA board, our army of selfless volunteers, and our members, thank you for being a part of the event!

- Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association

2021 Traverse City Trails Festival p/b Short's Brewing: Thank You, Racers!

On behalf of the NMMBA Board and everyone at the Traverse City Trails Festival presented by Short’s Brewing, thank you for such a wonderful Sunday in the woods!

We had a perfect day for a race, and we hope that you enjoyed every second of your time at Ranch Rudolf and on the course this year. If you’ve raised with us before, you know how much time Tom White and the whole trail crew put into creating something fun and unique for the Traverse City Trails Festival, and certainly think we achieved that with the routes for 2021. 

What’s Next

Looking ahead, we hope you’ll join us for the Bear Claw Epic on September 25! This is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Cadillac Pathway and has played a big part in the many improvements that have come to that trail over the past several years. We know that this fall is absolutely packed with racing options, but we hope you’ll include this very special race and trail in your campaign. 

Save $5 with the coupon code TCTF21 and get committed! 

Results

You can check out the full results from Sunday’s events right here.

Sponsors

We have been so lucky to get have the support of sponsors like Short’s Brewing, Max’s Service, Suttons Bay Bikes, and so many more. We hope you’ll take a second to check out our Sponsors Page and Like or Review even just one that you love, or consider making an effort to support one that is new to you! 

Photos

Cris Pena will have a TON of great race photos available Cris Pina Photography soon! 

Until then, check out this album of pre-race and the assault up the opening climb! 

Thank you all so much for racing and we will see you in the woods soon!

Flashback Photos with Cris Pena!

Cris Pena will be BACK in 2021 to snap fresh photos!

Make sure you check out his site for this year’s photos and enjoy a gallery from 2019 below! There are few more available here.

Remember, late registration is available Saturday from 1-4pm at Wild Card Cycle Works and on race day from 7am-8:30am!