Two weeks to go....really?

Yep. As I was being beaten to a bloody pulp in a pinch and punch epidemic this morning it dawned on me that the first Dirty Deeds even of 2012 is just two weeks away. It's true. Just look at the dates to your right.
Time to make sure you're ready for the prologue at the Harrison Street Velodrome.
Don't worry it's crept up on us too

Time to get muddy

The DDCX team will be back at Darebin Parklands this Saturday, May 26, to help brush up on those cyclocross skills.

Guys and gals of all ages and abilities are encouraged to meet at the rangers shed at 10am for a 2 hour session that will cover everything from barrier jumping to bike shouldering.

Once again Lewis Rattray will be on hand to offer some PRO tips.

Don't let the gloomy forecast put you off. Wet conditions will put your bike handling skills to the test.

Direct your queries to katelansell at gmail dot com.

Hydrogen Slush

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I'm glad to finally announce the details for the upcoming DDCX Season Opener Prologue!

Much like last year it will be situated within the confines of the Harrison St Velodrome in the lush environs of East Brunswick. 

Registration is from 6-7pm

Racing will start at 7pm (and will be finished by 9:30)

Entry is $5 adults/$2 kids

We will be running multiple Kids, Open, Womens, B and A Grade races with smaller fields and shorter race lengths (~10-15mins) to maximise the fun and increase everyone's chance to watch racing, check out new bikes and get into the cross spirit. Everyone will get to race more than once (assuming you aren't having too much fun on the sidelines and forget to head back out). 

The Kids races will be run earlier so don't be late if your kids have spent the summer learning how to clear barriers that are almost their height. 

Beatbox Kitchen will have their truck on site providing the all important frites (as well as Burgers). The Club Canteen will keep your sugar levels high and Coffee Supreme will be there to ensure you dont fall asleep mid-race!

If you don't have a current CA/MTBA/BMXA licence you will need to buy a Cyclocross race permit in advance or on the night. This will be good for all the DDCX races, DONT LOSE IT!

We ask that if you are driving you consider both the north as well as the south side of Harrison St for parking. There will be very minimal parking inside the gates and sponsors and officials will be prioritised.

All photos courtesy of the ever-friendly Fame&Spear

The Phone Works Both Ways

Spy shots of the Dirty Deeds t-shirts courtesy of our friends @ Creux Cycling.

The samples turned out amazing!

These are not your normal 'commemorative' t-shirts. 

Available at a race this year! (in both Mens and Womens sizes)

Paul Revere

For those not so connected on the social media universe yesterday saw the long-rumoured formal announcement of the 'Pilot National Series'

The dates are as follows:

R1: 14 July -  Trailmix  - Melbourne, VIC
R2: 15 July  - Brunswick Cycling Club  Melbourne, VIC (That's us!)
R3: 11 August - Port Adelaide Cycling Club South Australia
R4: 12 August - Port Adelaide Cycling Club South Australia
R5: 29 September  - Manly Warringah CC Sydney, NSW
R6:  30 September  -Manly Warringah CC Sydney, NSW

Course venues will be confirmed shortly..

This is a huge step for Australian cyclocross... alongside the announcement of these dates was also the publication of draft technical regulations (read: rules) for CX racing in Australia. Both of which are key steps towards a National Championships next year.

But what does this mean for DDCX? Basically for Round 2 you will see a few strange faces as 'cross fiends from across the various borders are provided an extra incentive to come race, plus we will need to be a bit more formal in the A grade race (proper call ups, etc). You will also see a few changes to accommodate some of the new rules (largely around course design/features). Yes, this year we will have a proper pit for those of you who have asked previously!  None which will impact what we know is a fun DDCX race experience and will hopefully mean more cx races and more racers in the future.

In other more local news we are pleased to announce two new sponsors in the form of Treadlie Magazine and Schwalbe/BikeBox. Both of whom have come onboard with some very interesting ideas for prizes and non-traditional categories. Schwalbe will also be offering 'spot' prizes on the day so even if you can't race you could still win prizes. Treadlie have a feature on cyclocross in the next (June) issue and their cargo bike always shows up with some great goodies (Their Emma and Tom's bars kept me going through a long and cold day @ Jackson Reserve last year).

Definitely move your eyes to the right and check out all of those companies who help us out with prizes and support to make sure the races can happen...

It's A Shame About Ray

I didn't have a shot to go with this post, but I think this shot of Lewis with his Mr Dirty Deeds sash from last year is hilarious.

One of the questions we have had about the upcoming season is around pre-registration. There have been some furrowed brows as we discussed the various options out there.

The end point of it is that we won't be offering pre-registration for the each race, but instead will be opening the registration desk 30mins earlier to allow for riders to get signed up and get some pre-riding done on the course.

This combined with larger field sizes and some changes to how we set up the registration and licensing tables should allow for a faster process.

BUT!

If you are coming from more than THREE hours away please let us know via email and we will make sure you have a spot in the race. You will need to provide us with a scanned shot of your race licence to secure your spot. You will also still be required to sign-on before the registration desk closes.

We know there are those out there that would prefer to show up for their race and then go home/off to other activities. Unfortunately we like the atmosphere that is created when people participate outside of their race, and encouraging people to spectate/cheer for other racers is a great way of ensuring this. There are of course a number of other reasons why we decided not to offer pre-reg and we'd be happy to explain them more in person.

In other news, look for some updates around the National Series, licensing, sponsors and locations coming very soon. As the trails get muddier, it's definitely getting busy around here.