Melbourne Gravel Grinders #5: Night Grinder

You know that our Southern Hemisphere brethren are enjoying the heights of summer about now and gravel grinding is happening again Down Under.

News has reached us here at GGN about the next Melbourne Gravel Grinder, which will take place entirely under the cover of darkness. Here's the description of the ride as it was sent in to GGN.

Starting at 1am, riding all night on undulating
gravel roads and finishing as the sun rises. Thanks to some very  enthusiastic strangers we have also secured a checkpoint just after a  12% climb, where riders can restock on water, coffee, food and dry off
in case of rain.

Check out the site for more details and start charging those lights! 

Trans Iowa V8 Registration To Start

Friday, November 25th, marks the opening round of Trans Iowa V8 registration. The "opening round" will only include folks who have finished a Trans Iowa version in the past. Folks that have entered into, but not finished a Trans Iowa, and new folks to the ride, will be allowed a chance at registering after December 2nd, 2011.

According to the Trans Iowa site, "Finishers" will have their names published in the "Race Details and Registration" portion of the site, and if any of those folks want one of the 100 roster spots up for grabs, they simply have to e-mail the director to claim a spot.

Once registration kicks in for "Veterans" and "Rookies" the process will be by post card requiring some specific info. Roster spots will be evenly divided between Rookies and Veterans from whatever spots the Finishers do not claim.

Look for more updates on Trans Iowa soon....

Barry Roubaix Announces Registration for 2012 Event

Barry-Roubaix, the Michigan gravel grinder event that saw around a thousand riders take the start this past March, has announced the date for registration opening for its 2012 running. The registration will begin at noon on December 3rd, 2011.

Registration details will be posted on their site and Facebook page. Participation will be limited to 1500 this year, and the way this event has grown, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it fills up rather quickly.

Barry-Roubaix is scheduled to take place march 24th, 2012.

XXC Mag Announces New T-Shirt Design

Boneshaker T

Jason from XXC Mag got a hold of me the other day and pointed out a new design for a t-shirt that he has for sale on his site here.

The new design features a cool, vintage 1880's style ordinary and a font to go with it. You can pick one up for $16.50, plus shipping, and Jason will throw in a free digital download of an XXC issue and two free stickers.

There are a few other cool shirt designs, and of course, issues of XXC Mag to be had on his site, so go support a dude that supports gravel riding!

Updates For The Dirty Kanza 200

A press release has gone out which details some of the events concerning the 2012 running of the Dirty Kanza 200.

Event Director Jim Cummins says that the plans are going well for next years 7th running of the Flint Hills based event. Riders will sign in at Emporia, Kansas historic Granada Theater, located in downtown Emporia, on Friday, June 1st. The 200 mile event will start the next day in front of the same theater  at 6:00am sharp.

Riders interested in signing up for this gravel grinder can do so on-line starting January 14th at 6:00am CST at www.bikereg.com.

The Dirty Kanza 200 will offer the following classifications: 

• Open Women (all ages)
• Open Men (39 & under)
• Veteran Men (40-49)    (This class new for 2012.)
• Master Men (50 +)
• Single Speed
• Tandem
• Two-Person Relay*

Note: Jim Cummins explains the the "Two-Person Relay"  is a "non-competitive" event classification, intended to serve as a low-key "introduction" to ultra-endurance cycling.  No racers.  No DK200 Veterans.  No podium prizes.  Finishing Teams will, however, receive a special Finishers award for their efforts.

There ya have it! For more Dirty Kanza goings on, see their site, http://www.dirtykanza200.com , or go to Facebook and search for "Dirty Kanza 200" and find their page there.