What Is Gone Riding? Southeastern Off-Road Cycling Events Explained

Gone Riding is an off-road cycling promoter based in the Southeastern United States that creates and organizes mountain bike and off-road races. It has operated since 1993 and describes itself as "The Premier South Eastern Off-Road Cycling Promoter." If you ride mountain bikes in Florida, Georgia, or nearby states and want to race — or you're looking for a race series to follow — Gone Riding is likely the organization running those events.

What Gone Riding actually does

Gone Riding does not sell bikes, gear, or coaching. Its role is event promotion and organization: it builds race calendars, runs the events, and publishes results. The site frames the organization as a "trusted partner" that works to ensure each event succeeds.

The events span several disciplines:

• Cross Country (XC) — traditional lap-based mountain bike racing
• Endurance — longer-format off-road races
• Gravel — gravel bike events
• Short Track (ST) and Time Trial (TT) — appear as add-on races at specific weekends

Who the events are for

The stated audience is unusually broad: ages 3 to 60-plus, and skill levels from "Experts to Enthusiasts." That means there are categories for young juniors, casual riders, and serious racers at the same events. If you've never raced before, the entry point exists — you don't need a pro-level fitness base to sign up.

The race series it runs

Gone Riding organizes state championship series rather than one-off races. From the site's upcoming series list:

A season is a points-based series across multiple venues, so riders accumulate standings over several race weekends rather than competing in a single event.

What a race weekend looks like

Events are typically held at trail systems and parks, and many weekends combine multiple race types. Examples from the posted calendar:

• West Palm Beach, FL — Cross Country #1 plus Short Track, two days
• Deerfield Beach, FL — FSC #3 plus Coconut Cup #2
• Ocala, FL — FSC #4 plus Team Time Trial
• Lakeland, FL — FSC #5 plus Short Track and Coconut Cup
• Hialeah, FL — Coconut Cup #4 plus FSC makeup, with TT and XC registration options
• Chattanooga, TN and Jackson, GA — Georgia series stops at Enterprise South Nature Trails and Dauset Trails

Each event listing includes a registration link, so sign-up happens per race, not through a single season pass on the page.

USA Cycling membership and licensing

Gone Riding events connect to USA Cycling membership. The site notes that riders may need to get or renew a USA Cycling membership, and it previously offered a discount code (GR2023, $25 off) valid on Junior, Junior+, Race, Race+, Collegiate, and Collegiate+ licenses, with an expiration of 12/31/23. That specific code is expired — treat it as an example of the kind of discount the promoter has offered, not a current offer. Check the site or USA Cycling directly for present pricing and codes.

How to decide if it's relevant to you

Gone Riding is a good fit if:

• You ride mountain bikes or gravel in Florida, Georgia, or the Southeast
• You want a structured race series with season standings rather than scattered events
• You're a beginner or junior rider looking for age- and skill-appropriate categories
• You want multi-race weekends (XC + ST + TT) at one venue

It's probably not what you need if:

• You're looking for group rides, coaching, or bike sales
• You ride outside the Southeastern US
• You want a single standalone event with no series commitment

Where to start

Go to goneriding.com and use the "Upcoming Events" section for the current calendar, or the "all events" link for the full list. Each race has its own registration link. Results, a blog ("The Latest Dirt"), sponsor info, and an archive are also on the site. Before registering, confirm the current USA Cycling membership requirement and any active discount code, since the posted code has expired.