Author: Adrian Hinman

The last few months have offered promise and hope with California re-opening and opportunities to recreate with friends increasing. We hope you all have weathered the last 18 months and you and your friends and family are healthy and well.

We are excited to announce the East Bay Dirt Classic is back for 2021! This year we will return to some of the original elements while retaining some of the changes from last year. To that end, we will host this year’s edition of the East Bay Dirt Classic on Saturday October 16th, 2021 with a BBQ, pool party and presentation of awards to follow for all participants. We will also offer an open 2-week window for those who want to compete but are unable to participate on the day of the event. This open window will start on October 2nd and close at the end of the event mid-day on October 16th. We have also decided to retain the “enduro” format from last year’s event, with 4-5 timed segments throughout the course. A participant’s composite time from all segments will determine their overall ranking. Participants must ride the entire course, but will only be timed on these segments.

We are currently designing the course for this year’s edition, but expect it to be between 25-30 miles of non-technical dirt with some road intermixed with roughly 4-5,000 feet of climbing. The course will be revealed at least one month prior to the start of the event, with GPX, TCX and Strava files available for review and download prior to the event.

Finally, as in prior years, all proceeds and associated fundraising from this event will go to our friends at the Alameda County Community Food Bank, who need our support this year more than ever, with nearly 1 in 4 Alameda County residents facing food insecurity. To participate in the 2021 edition of the EBDC we ask that you donate $75 to our fundraising efforts. More information on this to follow as we get closer to the date.

We hope to see all of you on October 16th, and for those who cannot make it on the day, we look forward to watching the competition unfold in the 2 weeks leading up to the event!

– Your friends at C510

Final Standings:

QOM:

1. Kristen V: 52:25

2. Ariana Milelli 1:02:04

3. Gabriella Sterne 1:04:04

KOM:

1. Fun Ghi: 45:26

2. Dan English: 48:25

3. Jason Tan: 48:42

Follow these links for the final QOM and KOM standings.

And that’s a wrap! The 2020 edition of the East Bay Dirt Classic has come to a close. Not with a whimper, but with a bang.

There were some incredible rides out there this weekend and some shaking up of the leaderboard on the QOM side. While Kristen V maintained her relatively safe lead atop the women’s leaderboard, Meredith Stowe Christie came out on Sunday and threw down to notch into 3rd only to have another young gun, Ariana Milelli, come back and shave minutes off her first time to notch into second at 1 hour 2 minutes 4 seconds, pushing Gabriella Sterne into 3rd.

On the KOM side, things remained relatively static, though Dan English came back out and gave it another go, turning in another scorching time of 48 min 25 seconds. An incredible effort yet again, but Fun Ghi’s lead was a bridge too far. Rounding out the top 3 is Jason Tang. Only 17 seconds came between Dan and Jason after 5 tough segments. Prizes will be given out to the top three in both the KOM and QOM categories. We will reach out to you each individually. One of the downsides of having so many fast youngins out there (aside from being reminded of the vigor of youth) is we have nowhere to send all of the incredible beer provided by our generous sponsors…

It was a novel approach this year, born of necessity during unconventional times. We have had the opportunity to speak to some who raced this year and so far the comments have all been positive. One universal comment, however, has been the disappointment at missing the post-race barbeque. Rest assured we have every intention of reviving the after-party next year if conditions permit.

Please feel free to reach out with comments about the event, the format or if you registered, donated and rode, but don’t see your name on the leaderboard. Everyone who registered and donated can pick up their limited edition 2020 East Bay Dirt Classic buff at Sports Basement in Berkeley this Sunday October 25th. As a registered participant this year you will also receive an in-store discount on any gear you purchase while there.

Finally, with all of your help and the generous support of many others who donated to our fundraiser this year, we raised over $30,000 to support the Alameda County Community Food Bank. This year in particular these funds will help provide critical support to those residents of Alameda county facing food insecurity.

We loved seeing the spirit of friendly competition as we saw some of you riding past on your way to completing the course. And we enjoyed following the battles atop the leaderboard as the days of the open window elapsed. So thank you. All of you.

Until next year, stay healthy and safe and keep the rubber side down.

Sincerely,

Your friends at C510

There was clearly some pent up energy after folks were blocked from their attempts by the elevated AQI two weekends ago. As predicted, Fun ghi demonstrated why he won in such dominant fashion in 2018 by throwing down a 45 minute composite time to take the lead by 3 minutes (reportedly on a full-squish mountain bike, no less). Jason Tang, another young gun like Dan English, we’re told, went all out to notch into third overall! Two minutes now separate 2nd from 5th place in the KOM hunt. With one weekend left to go, we can anticipate some further attempts and shake up on the leaderboard.

In the QOM hunt, Gabriella Stern had a huge effort to rack up second, while high schooler (and C510jr!) Ella Peterson completed the five segments just 43 seconds slower to drift into 3rd currently. Kristen V continues with her commanding lead in the QOM race and is currently 6th overall! With 1 weekend left of racing, she looks fairly safe on the top podium step.

Every registered participant will receive a limited edition 2020 EBDC buff. Top finishers from both categories will receive prizes from our sponsors. More information to follow on this at the end of this coming weekend.

The weather on tap for the final weekend shows temps in the mid-80s on Saturday with some cooler weather in the mid-70s on Sunday. This is the final showdown. Have fun, be safe and send it!

Thank you!

Your friends at C510