Six Pillars Century

We are BACK for our 18th year as the Six Pillars Century, with a new date. We have been ROCKED by weather the past few years with the first weekend in May, so we are pushing back a week. SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2025!!! Save the Date!!!!

 We will be on the same great routes as last year, and can't wait to show you all that Dorchester County has to offer. We can't wait to celebrate with you at Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh when you are all done for the day! We'll have refreshments and more while you recover your legs!

Cycle the scenic back roads of picturesque Blackwater Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, MD. Choice of three FLAT routes: 37 miles, the famous 56 – mile Eagleman course, or our beautiful 100 – mile century course that takes you through quaint townships along the Chesapeake Bay and back through serene woodlands. Begin your day at Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh complementary pastries and more along the shore of the scenic Choptank River, before heading out on 2 wheels.

Join us and help support our youth programs creating tomorrow's leaders, today!

PACKET PICKUP TIMES AND LOCATION

Friday night - 5pm to 7pm - Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh Park

Saturday morning - 6am to 9am - Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh Park, Somerset Avenue, Cambridge, MD

Suggested start times are:

Century (100 Mile) - 7am

56 Mile (Eagleman course) - 8am

37 Mile - 9am

We would like all riders to leave by 9am. There is an 8 hr cutoff, based on the 7am start time, for the course. All support will discontinue at 3pm

Please join us for our 18th annual Six Pillars Century Blackwater Tour.  

 

Our updated RideWithGPS maps can be found at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35740025

This course will be marked with YELLOW tape arrows, and your bib will be yellow!

 

 

 

 

 

2021 Six Pillars Century Bicycle Ride – COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies

Each year riders from all over the country converge on Dorchester County to participate in the Six Pillars Century Bike Ride, to benefit MidShore Character Counts. The 2020 event, originally scheduled for May, had to be postponed due to the Governor’s Orders restricting the mass gathering events.

In April of 2020, this event was acquired by TCR Event Management, out of St Michaels, MD, and will continue to be one of the fundraisers for the For All Seasons behavioral organization, which has taken the place of the closed MidShore Character Counts organization.  

This document is to form a COVID-19 (also known as the Coronavirus) action plan based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It should be noted that this plan is a LIVING DOCUMENT, and can be changed based on the current situation in the area. Further restrictions can be made, based on recommendations from community stakeholders, and a more comprehensive plan for the safe start to the event will be created and passed on to athletes as the event draws closer.

COVID-19 is categorized as a respiratory disease and has been detected in over 100 locations internationally. The number of reported incidents in the United States has been increasing over the past few weeks and many mass-gathering events have been cancelled or postponed, due to threats specific to their area.

The CDC’s current risk assessment (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html) states that the immediate risk of being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to be low. There is not widespread circulation in most communities in the United States. Furthermore, the assessment is that people in places where ongoing community spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been reported are at elevated risk of exposure, with increase in risk dependent on the location. Due to this assessment, we will be actively monitoring the number and location of cases of COVID-19 in the immediate area.

The CDC has prepared a document on Interim Guidance for event planners (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html). This guide has been utilized by TCR Event Management to produce races in the later season of 2020 and is continually adopted for events.

Address Key Prevention Strategies

All TCR Event Management/Six Pillars Century staff members and volunteers will be educated on the prevention methods, set forth by the CDC, for decreasing the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. This will be done by both email communication, as well as laminated paperwork that will be at every aid station.  All staff members/volunteers will be required to wear both masks/face coverings AND gloves, at all times. Direct, physical contact with cyclists should be kept at a minimum. All staff members/volunteers will have their temperatures taken, prior to the start of the day. Any person with a temperature over 100.4 degrees will be immediately sent home.

The Six Pillars Century will be sending out periodic emails to all participants, and making social media posts, for the currently registered participants, and will continue to do so as long as the registration period is open. These emails will promote the daily practice of everyday preventable actions. These activities will include:

·        Stay home when are sick

·        Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash

·        Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

·        Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands

·        Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily

 

The Six Pillars Century will also provide COVID-19 prevention supplies at the event.

·        Additional hand washing stations have been added to the Start Line and Finish Line area of the event. These areas are the area that are of the greatest concentration of people at one time.

·        DEFINITION – Aid Stations are areas, along the run route, which are manned by volunteers who hand the runners water, sports drink, and some type of food.

·        Liquid soap and water for Aid Station volunteers to be able to wash their hands will be made available at each of 5 aid stations.  

·        Nitrile gloves will be provided at every aid station for MANDATORY use by the aid station volunteers.

·        Aid stations will serve food that is pre-packaged to reduce cross contamination

·        Water and sports drink coolers at the aid stations will be filled with water from sealed gallon containers and gloves will be worn when refilling

·        Hand sanitizer pumps will be available at all aid station for cyclists to utilize

 

The Six Pillars Century will promote messages that discourage people who are sick from attending the events.

·        A liberal deferral program will be communicated to registered athletes, that will allow them to use their 2021 entry for the 2022 Six Pillars Century, at no charge.

Communicate about COVID-19

·        All riders will be sent out a COVID Questionnaire, Thursday, April 29th, with questions asking about any new symptoms. This questionnaire MUST be completed by every athlete and will be checked during packet pickup and/or START. The responses will be captured and compared to those coming in to the start area and, if needed, could be done via mobile device on race morning. This questionnaire will be similar to the CDC form found at chrome-https://www.cdc.gov/screening/paper-version.pdf

·        In addition to the COVID questionnaire, riders will have their temperature checked at the starting area of the ride, as they pick up their packets for the event. This will be done by a Staff member, who will wear masks and gloves at all times. Any participant with a temperature over 100.4 degrees will be asked to leave the area, not participate in the event, and be given a free deferral to the 2022 event.

·        In addition, athletes, volunteers and spectators are ALL encouraged to download and install the TCR Event Management app, which is the home for the Six Pillars Century app. This app will allow us to send out any Push Notifications to all parties. This will allow for us to have rapid communication with everyone with the app. This has been used in other TCR Event Management events to remind people to hydrate while spectating and volunteering, when the weather was hotter than expected.

 

TYPE OF EVENT- TRADITIONALLY 

The Six Pillars Century is a non-competitive bicycle event, consisting of a 37 mile, 56 mile, and 100 mile bicycle ride in the Dorchester County area. The event traditionally starts and ends at Gerry Boyle Park on Somerset Avenue, and culminates with a provided lunch. The times have traditionally been from 7 am to 2pm.  Along this course there are typically five (5) “aide stations” where riders are able to resupply with water, electrolytes, and food. These aide stations are typically manned by volunteer groups, who restock materials and interact with the riders. Homemade goods and other food items are typically found at the aide stations.

TYPE OF EVENT – 2021

For 2020, the Six Pillars Century will continue to be a non-competitive bicycle event but with alterations to help mitigate exposure risk. As a brief overview, the following alterations are presented:

·        Masks

o   Riders will be mandated to wear a cloth face mask, when not actively riding.

o   This will include before and after the ride

o   If there are many people at the aide stations, and 6 foot social distancing cannot occur, then the riders should wear their mask until they start to ride

·        No mass start/finish area

o   There will not be a large start to the event, as in previous years. Participants will be encouraged to Show-And-Go by starting from their vehicle, wherever it is parked. Once the event is concluded, participants will be provided with a box lunch and asked to return to their cars and leave.

o   FOR 2021, WE ARE GOING TO ASSIGN START TIMES, BASED ON THE DISTANCES THAT THEY ARE RIDING. WE WOULD LIKE TO LAUNCH ALL 100 MILERS AT 7AM, all 56 MILERS AT 8AM, and ALL 32 MILERS at 9AM. Additional waves, of no more than 150 riders, may be assigned based on sign-ups. We would like to have a discussion with local Health Officials regarding what would be deemed a safe interval for starting. 

o   Start time will begin at 7am (sunrise) but athletes will be able to stay on course until 3pm (8 hours). This will allow athletes to come out any time that they like to start their event, and will spread out the number of riders on course.

·        Volunteer reduction

o   Volunteer interaction will be greatly reduced, as will the total number of volunteers. Any volunteer activity that can be eliminated will be done so.

o   Volunteers will have their temperature checked before starting their “shift” for the day.

o   All volunteers will be given masks and gloves, and will be discouraged from interaction with the Riders.

o   When a TCR Event Management staff member can do the job of the volunteer, they will do so, with all safety protocols aforementioned in place (Temperature check, Gloves, Mask)

o   Volunteer groups will be eliminated from the aide stations (5 total on course). Instead, these aide stations will be self serve (described below)

o   All volunteers will sign waivers and will strictly adhere to all safety measures

·        Aide Stations

o   There are five (5) aide stations on course, with the most being on the Century (100 mile) course

o   These aide stations will have AT LEAST two (2) portable toilets and AT LEAST one (1) hand wash station. Additional bottles of hand sanitizer will be on site as well

o   Aide stations will ONLY have pre-packaged water, endurance drink (Gatorade) and commercially pre-packaged foods.

o   Aide station volunteer groups will be eliminated.

o   Aide stations will be monitored by NO MORE THAN FOUR (4) persons. The role of these monitors is to re-stock the drink and food supplies, but at no time should they be “working” the aide station. They are to remain in their vehicles unless an emergency dictates that they need to interact with riders.

·        Group riding

o   Group riding/Drafting will be discouraged

o   There will NOT be marshalls on the course enforcing this, as this is not a competitive event

o   Any vetted information about riding in large groups will be sent out, electronically, to all riders

·        After ride amenities

o   There will be a number of portable toilets stationed at Gerry Boyle Park, where the event typically starts and ends. This number will be dictated by the total number of registrants

o   Concurrent with this number will be a hand washing station. Our goal is to provide one hand wash station for every 5 portable toilets

o   Riders will be provided with a pre-packaged lunch and a commercially sealed bottle of water

o   Lunches will be at a single location, with a separate entrance and exit, and will be self serve, with one staff member monitoring the lunches and water for re-filling

o   Riders will be encouraged to leave the area upon completion of the event, to decrease the amount of people congregating in one area

o   There are no awards, as this is not a competitive event.

UNDERSTANDING

We understand that this is a very fluid situation and that the event can be cancelled at any time. Thought the event will be planned for, should we not be in an appropriate phase in our Roadmap to Recovery, or should there be a spike in COVID-19 cases that warrants concern for the safety of the riders and the community, we understand that the County Health Officer will have the ability to cancel the event.

 

 

Welcome to the 2022 Six Pillars Century Bike Ride. We are happy to host you in the City of Cambridge, and in Dorchester County.

Packet Pickup (this will be where you pick up your jersey too, if you ordered one)

Weather permitting, we will have a packet pickup on Friday, May 6th, 2022, from 5pm to 7pm, at Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh. The address for this park can be found by searching for 1 Somerset Avenue, Cambridge, MD 21613. This is also the official start and finish point for the ride. If you are able to go to FIND A PARTICIPANT on the website (www.6pillarscentury.org) or we will send everyone an email with their bib number, that will make the whole process a LOT faster!

On the morning of the ride, we will be at Gerry Boyle Park at Great Marsh, and ready to disperse packets, by 6am. Please understand that there is a process to the bags and we need to get them out and sorted, so please be sure to not ask until 6am. Sunrise is shortly after that, for all you early risers.

Ride Morning

RULES OF THE ROAD- 1) All riders must wear a helmet!!

                                        2) All riders must follow all vehicle traffic laws (in MD, you ARE a vehicle)

                                        3) When possible, stay to the shoulder

                                        4) Have fun! But be aware! This is an open course with vehicle traffic. 

PARKING On the morning of the ride, parking can be found on the local streets near Gerry Boyle Park. We have included a map on the website, under the PARKING tab.

Suggested Start Times

·         Century (100 Mile)     7am

·         56 Mile                         8 am

·         37 Mile                         9 am

 

The official Century start time is 7am. We ask that the Century riders start earlier than all others because there is an 8 hour limit on the ride. This means that after 8 hours, the course will be swept and aid stations will be broken down, based on that time frame.

We have based all of our aid station times, based on the above listed times. If you happen to leave BEFORE your time (for some of you early risers), we cannot guarantee that the aid stations will be up and stocked for you.

STARTING THE DAY - We suggest that you bring full Water Bottles, Gatorade drink and some snacks. Everything that we will be having will be sealed at the aid stations. THERE ARE ON BOTTLE FILLS AT GERRY BOYLE PARK. Start with a full bike.

We would LOVE to see everyone come down to Gerry Boyle Park to start with us, but sometimes show-and-go rides start from wherever you are, and we understand that. Please ride down and see us, at some point, and let us know you are there, and that you are back. We will have drivers out on course, in case you need help, and will send out a SAG phone number later, in case you need help.

COURSES

We are going to limit paper maps from our side, so please, if you want a paper cue sheet, print out and bring a cue sheet with you from the RideWithGPS site. Links are in each course.

All of the courses are listed on RideWithGPS and have been linked on the website (www.6PillarsCentury.org) . All of the courses have ALSO been tape arrowed already with Yellow designating the 100 mile route, Orange designating the 56 mile ride and Pink designating the 37 ride.

 

As a course diverges from the others, there will be an arrow showing the diversion, and the route. So the left turn on to Key Wallace from Route 16 that ONLY the 37 mile riders take, has a 37 with the Left Turn arrow.

 

 

If you download the RideWithGPS app, we have verified that it is accurate, and will get you where you need to go. RideWithGPS will give you turn by turn instructions.

AID STATIONS

There are multiple aid stations on course, and each is designated on the RideWithGPS map. Each course will have a different number of aid stations on it, with the Century having the most (5, though you hit one of them twice) and the 37 mile only reaching 2 aid stations.

Each aid station, this year, will be a self serve aid station. Minimal volunteers will be on site to reduce any exposure to non-riders. At each aid station will be:

·         Coolers of Water

·         Coolers of Gatorade

·         Prepacked snacks

o   Crackers

o   Granola

o   Trail Mix

o   Chips/Pretzels

Aide Station Mileage

Century Course - Aide 1 (26), Aide 2 (40), Aide 3 (50), Aide 4 (58), Aide 5 (73),
                           Aide 6 (82)
56 Mile Course  - Aide 1 (15), Aide 2 (30), Aide 3 (47)
37 Mile Course  - Aide 1 (15), Aide 2 (28)

There will also be minor first aid kits at the aid stations, as well as bike tire pumps, should you need to “top off”.

CENTURY RIDERS –Please follow the Yellow Course arrows. Please note that your first aide station is at Mile 25, so please prepare accordingly.

Please be kind and courteous to our volunteers.

 

After the ride

We are working with local merchants to secure food options for you at Gerry Boyle Park, at the conclusion of the event. We will have plenty of cold drinks on hand to relax and enjoy the beautiful park.

Depending on when you get done, there are LOTS of food options right in the downtown area, and many new ones have popped up since we last held the ride in 2019. Be sure to check them all out at https://downtowncambridge.org/

Please check out our updated RideWithGPS course at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39196827

This course will have PINK arrows, and your bib will be PINK. 

Are you as excited as we are that the 6 Pillars Bike Ride is almost here?!? We can't wait to get back to some in-person events and what better way than with a casual jaunt through beautiful Dorchester County, all while helping to serve our community!

We wanted to reach out and let you know that our 2021 Athlete Guide is on the webpage (and attached here) as well as our COVID plan (on the website) for you to look at! Inside that guide is all the information about packet pickup, where to find courses, and lots of other questions. 

One of the things mentioned in there is that it would be great if you knew your Bib Number for packet pickup. In case you haven't found it in the SEARCH PARTICIPANTS tab on the main page, your Bib Number is %BIB_NUMBER%

We will keep you updated on things, as we move closer to the day of the ride, but we wanted to get this information out to you, and invite you to reach out to us with any questions. Just click that CONTACT RIDE button below, or send us a direct email to sixpillarscentury@gmail.com 

Thank you and see you soon! Keep the rubber side down!

Jason and the Six Pillars Team

We are so excited to be able to say that it is RIDE WEEK!!!! We missed you last year and can't wait to show off Dorchester County to you this year! 

The courses are marked and the cue sheets are updated on the website! Yellow arrows for the century, Orange for the 56, and Pink for the 37. We have also updated our Mitigation Plan for you to look at and the Athlete Guide is there as well. All of this can be found at www.6pillarscentury.org !! 

As we move along in the week, if there are any updates, we will put them on the front page of the site, as well as send an email. 

Aid station snacks have been ordered. They include Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Chips, Clif Bars, etc. We will also have 16.9 ounce bottled water and 20 ounce Gatorade (Lemon Lime and Grape flavors) to replenish those tanks. At 11am, we will have box lunches ready for you, with a half-sub, chip and carrots. We wanted to give you good, hot food and cold beer this year, but... you know... COVID... so we are doing the best we can!

Just a reminder, we will have a packet pickup at Gerry Boyle Park (1 Somerset Avenue, Cambridge, MD) on Friday from 5pm to 8pm, and then we will be back at it on Saturday morning at 6am.

Please be sure to watch your email, Thursday, for an email from us at 9am, with a simple COVID symptoms questionnaire. Yup, we know some of you have the vaccine, or have had COVID. This 30 second survey doesn't care. Just complete that for us and we will be good to go. No need to print it out, it's electronic. 

Finally, start times. We know some of you are going to head out early.... just realize that our aid stations and finish line food are based off of a particular start time. 

We would like the 100 mile riders to leave at 7am, the 56 mile riders at 8am and the 37 mile riders at 9am, so that we can space out a bit. We would like all riders on course by 9am. Again, aid stations are based on these times.. We will close the course at 3pm (8 hours from the 7am start). This IS an open course, so if you want to stay out there and get some more mileage, please understand that you will be on your own after that time. 

Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to us, at any time this week, at sixpillarscentury@gmail.com and we look forward to hosting you on Saturday!

Good evening. Lots of emails today, huh? Well we've got one more and this one is IMPORTANT!!! 

1) Remember, please complete the COVID questionnaire sent out this morning. It can also be accessed on the main page at www.6PillarsCentury.org

2) PACKET PICKUP FOR FRIDAY HAS CHANGED LOCATION!!!! We have been notified of heavy winds coming in to the area tomorrow (should be done tomorrow night) so in an abundance of caution, we are moving our packet pickup to the BACKSIDE of the Dorchester Family YMCA, located at 201 Talbot Avenue. Do not come in the front door, instead come around the back to the vestibule area. 
 

Please, wear a mask in case we have to be INSIDE, though the plan is to remain outdoors. Please be sure to follow social distancing by staying 6 feet apart. 

3) Speaking of the YMCA, we were asked if they had a day rate use for non-YMCA members to be able to use the shower facility afterwards. Unfortunately their COVID restrictions will not allow this, and non-members are not allowed to use the facility on Saturday, after the ride. 

4) Someone asked about the tweak to the Century bike course and if there were porto johns on the first little out and back, within the first 10 miles. There are no additional that we have placed out, but that is because there is one already at the Windmill around mile 9, and there are some at the baseball field at the end of Dailsville/Town Pointe Rd. You can use those prior to the Church Creek aid station. 

5) For those that have ridden with us before, THAT aid station, Church Creek, is the first one. We have partnered with the Church Creek Fire Department this year and the aid station is AT their fire department. This is great for the 37 mile riders, because as soon as you get back on your bike, you will be at your turn. Everyone else will go straight. 

6) MD Governor Larry Hogan removed the outdoor mask mandate yesterday, and we have fielded many questions on it. The Dorchester County Health Department would like for us to follow our original COVID plan as much as we can, until all of the details of the order can be worked out. Please, continue to wear a mask when you cannot social distance. When you can social distance, please do so. 

Hoping that we don't have to send any more last minute surprises, but welcome to riding in a pandemic. Here's to an uneventful day tomorrow!! See you tomorrow night at the Dorchester Family YMCA (201 Talbot Avenue) from 5pm to 8pm, if you are picking up. 

Any questions, our email is sixpillarscentury@gmail.com

Good morning %FIRST_NAME%, 

1) First and foremost, please check out the PARKING map, as well as COURSES for any questions regarding that. 

2) For packet pickup, your bib number is %BIB_NUMBER% . If you are picking up bibs for friends, please refer to the SEARCH PARTICIPANTS tab on the main page to find their bib number. 

3) https://forms.gle/tSBzKGspib4jmuDW6
Please take 30 seconds and complete the following COVID Questionnaire, based on the CDC guidelines.
https://forms.gle/tSBzKGspib4jmuDW6

We are trying to clarify what the Maryland Governor's Order from yesterday clarifies regarding mandatory masks but we would ask that you err on the side of caution. If you feel comfortable, please continue to wear a mask, ESPECIALLY when you cannot social distance. 

Even with the rescinsion of the order, and with a lot of the population being vaccinated, we still MUST have you complete this survey before the event. https://forms.gle/tSBzKGspib4jmuDW6

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms, and would like to defer to 2022, please just reach out to us at sixpillarscentury@gmail.com

Thank you and we look forward to hosting you this Saturday, for the 2021 Six Pillars Century!

The winds that are hitting us today are supposed to subside around 1am, but we know how predictive weather can be. So we wanted to give you some options. 

Yes you can change course distances at any time!
Century riders, if you follow the century course, you will get to the Church Creek Fire Dept at Mile 26.

-If it is just too much from there, if you take the PINK course arrows, you will wind up with about 50 miles.
-If you take the ORANGE course markers, you will wind up with 70 miles.
-If you continue on the Yellow course, you will wind up with 100 miles. 

SAG phone number - 7am to 3pm - 443-328-4323

Keep in mind, also, that we have moved packet pickup TONIGHT (Friday) to the YMCA back gym area. The YMCA can be found at 201 Talbot Avenue. 

Any questions, please send me an email to sixpillarscentury@gmail.com 

Thank you and fingers crossed for good weather!

Be sure to check out our updated 2022 56 mile bike route course at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39196823

 

This course will be marked with ORANGE arrows, and your bib will be ORANGE.

37 Mile Ride: T-Shirt

56 Mile Ride: T-Shirt

Century Ride: T-Shirt

VIRTUAL Ride: T-Shirt