The Reggie Awards – our playful nod to “registration” excellence – celebrates event organizers who create extraordinary experiences within the athleteReg community. Each month, these passionate individuals share their stories, strategies, and the magic that makes their events uniquely special. Ready to share your victory story from the podium? Introduce yourself here.
Event Overview
Event Director: David Schwartz
Event Name: Macedonia Gravel Grinder
Event Registration Site: https://www.bikereg.com/68382
Event Website: https://rsgadventures.com/
How many years have you been organizing this event? In 2025 we’ll be holding the 4th Annual Macedonia Gravel
How many participants attended your most recent event? 200 Gravel Riders attended in 2024
Tell us about your event:
Macedonia Gravel was launched in 2022 in response to requests from many Connecticut riders that were coming to our much loved Jersey Gravel Grinder. The Gran Fondo format works well to meet the needs of riders of all levels of ability and pace. There’s 40, 65 and 82 mile routes with Segment Racing and well stocked aid stations including our famous Pancakes & Maple Syrup stop. The post race party features hot Mexican food, Athletic Brewing N.A. Beer & ice cream – all included with registration.
Strategy & Results:
How do you use your event page to address common participant questions and reduce support inquiries? We feature as much information as possible in the event notes page including planned course maps and information to help ensure riders have an amazing day.
Your course preview video does a great job of showcasing the route. For other event directors looking to create similar videos, what’s your approach? Could you share your technical setup, any challenges you’ve overcome, and tips for getting started? We’re big on testing out our courses prior to the event. We know riders like to get a feel for what to expect, so we shoot video with a Go Pro on the preview ride and edit it down to post on YouTube and share in event notes.
Implementation & Tools:
Tell us about your approach to event merchandise: What strategies have been most successful in driving merchandise sales before, during, and after your event? Merchandise sales have varied each year. We shoot for having great graphics and using higher quality shirts. We also include a mix of soft triblend and tech Ts. Key is having designs ready when we launch the registration site and having staff on hand to sell additional items at the event.
Marketing & Communication:
How do you use your event registration page to support your broader marketing efforts? We send follow up emails to past participants within BikeReg and also have the event featured in the event Calendar.
Just for fun:
Which section of the course makes you think “I can’t believe we get to share this with riders” every time you preview it? The event features tons of amazing gravel in and surrounding Macedonia Brook State Park, which the event is named after. There’s some great climbs in that are of the course and midway through the park we rent a large gazebo to host the Pancake & Maple Syrup Aid Station.
What’s the signature element or tradition that makes your event uniquely yours? (The thing participants rave about year after year!) The event features all elements of a much larger 1000+ person type event. We’re proud of our curated routes that feature some of the most picturesque and challenging gravel roads in Connecticut. Racers rave about the well executed event. While many use the RideWithGPS routing with audio cues or upload GPX file, many simply follow the extremely well marked course with every turn arrow, race segment and aid stations marked with corrugated signs. Our RSGA crew make a party out of every aid station and of course the post race party and we include great food and drink options throughout.
