Dirt Bag Dash Series Final Report

I received this report from "Mr. Dirt Bag " himself, James Lang,  and here it is in its entirety. Enjoy!

The Dirt Bag Dash road race series has been put to bed for 2011.  The series final at the Dream River Ranch had 64 riders come together to battle it out in the foothills of the Danskin Mountains.   Rain on the course the night before made it look like the cross bikes were going to have the advantage, but 2 hours before the start the sun came out and a steady wind dried the course out. 

The riders lined up to take on a 35 mile figure 8 course that featured lots of short, sharp climbs and only one mile of paved road.  A couple of pros from Team Exergy showed up to see what all the fuss was about and had a thoroughly good time playing in the dirt with the other riders.  The racing was fast over mostly dry roads and the majority categories were taken by standard road bikes with 23mm tires.

Dirt Bag Dash Belt Buckle

Brown's Creek Road

During the post race awards ceremony folks enjoyed the stew provided by the crew of Dream River Ranch with refreshments provided by Miller Highlife and Ninkasi.  A tie for the top spot in the Cat 3 series championship was decided in true dirt bag fashion, arm wrestling, and John Yarnell was named “Ultimate Dirt Bag”. 

"The Ultimate Dirt Bag", John Yarnell

The Cat 3 "Tier-Breaker" Contest

Check out our you tube movie of the race: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgdXCgtDEtY

Huge thanks to all the sponsors and volunteers who made this event possible:

Thomson, Wobble Naught, Dream River Ranch, Joyride Cycles, Lactic Acid Cycling,

Miller Highlife, Ninkasi.

See you next year,

Mr. Dirt Bag

(James Lang)

Melbourne Gravel Grinders: #3 Bump 'n' Grind

The Australians have caught gravel grinding fever, or so it would seem. Even though they are headed into winter down there, (seems like we just escaped Winter's grasp here!), the hope is that gravel grinding will stay popular.

Here's what Andrew Scott, one of the gravel grinder instigators down there, had to say concerning the last Melbourne Gravel Grinder, (Finest Grind), and what the future may hold for gravel grinding there....

"Our last one drew about 60 people and most everyone had fun, despite the hills. Gravel Grinders are really taking off down here! We’re approaching winter so it’ll be interesting to see if we can keep the numbers up over the cooler months. Cyclocross is taking off in a big way down here too (2011 season starts in June, yesssssss) so I think there’s a lot of crossover – a lot of people with cx bikes looking for different places to ride. It’s a great time to be a cyclist in Melbourne!"

It's a great time to ride a bicycle anytime, and gravel makes it even more fun. Check out this event if you are anywhere near, and keep on riding!

For more on the #3 Bump 'n' Grind, see this link.

NCC-HAC Gravel Metric Promo Video

The Gravel Metric -- More Gravel from Seth Deming on Vimeo.


Nuff Said!

The SFCA "Wolfy 100"

Certain cycling aficionados in the Illinois area have taken it upon themselves to form together into a loosely held together union they like to call "The Slender Fungus Cycling Association".

Well, that's another story, but let's focus on a ride these cats are putting on called the "Wolfy 100". They are heading out on a "mixed terrain" deal and you may see some things that you never thought existed. Or maybe not.

Sound interesting? Check into this site, leave a comment there, and let the road take you where it may lead........

A Dirty Kanza 200 Primer

  Hey, there is a Dirty Kanza "practice" ride going on May 15th. Check out what the site says about this right here:

John Williams is hosting this "must do" gravel grinder. Take it from someone with experience, if you want to finish you got to train on what you are going to be racing on. This is a great opportunity to test your rig, experiment on the food that you will be consuming and lastly test your body.

The ride will start at the Council Grove middle school, 706 East Main Street Council Grove, KS 66846-1126. There are 3 places to fill up on supplies, Alma mile 40ish, Eskridge mile 65, and Americus mile around 90ish

Feel free to just come and for fun, but keep in mind, this is pretty tough terrain!