We are less than two weeks from the start of the 2022 East Bay Dirt Classic! The course is set and covers very little of the prior two years’ courses. I rode it on a hardtail with 100 mm fork and Diamond rode it on an Open with gravel tires and we both agreed having 1) some suspension makes parts of the course more comfortable and 2) having a sizeable granny gear will make certain segments more manageable. The summary description of this year’s course is “steep and bumpy”. There is some technical singletrack this year, including Cinderella in Joaquin Miller (not a timed segment) and a technical descent down West Ridge in Redwood Park (not a timed segment). Both of these sections are heavily rutted and at times rocky. Please be very careful on these sections and dismount and walk if unsure.

This year’s course is 24 miles with 4,000′ of climbing. Click here to preview it in Strava. As in years past, there are five timed segments (listed below), four of which are climbing, one of which is more rolling singletrack. Please observe proper trail etiquette at all times – slow speed and yield to hikers, come to a complete stop for equestrians and call out when passing.

2022 East Bay Dirt Classic Segments

1. Lone Wolf’s Walk – Mostly gradual uphill on fire road through Chabot on the Grass Valley trail. It starts just as you turn left onto Grass Valley and ends prior to the cattle gate. It’s a good warm up. Badger would probably call it an amuse-bouche.
2. Pants’ Party – All blame for this one (and most other things) should be directed to Donger. For those who remember fondly Snake’s Slither from last year, you should appreciate this segment as well. Very steep at the start, it mellows out a bit after the first quarter. It starts at the turn off Redwood Road onto Montiero Trail, turns left onto Dunn and then continues onto Graham all the way to Redwood Bowl.
3. Badger’s Bump – This segment follows the Sinawik Loop Trail in Joaquin Miller. It starts with a short, steep, loose climb and then settles into a fairly short singletrack section. Be aware of your speed, as there is a drop off to the right. Near the end there is a steep descent which can be loose, so please be careful of your speed. At the bottom of the descent it merges with Sinawik trail, so caution and attention are advised as other hikers and cyclists may be on the Sinawik trail. The segment ends just before the sharp left up to the sharp glass at the observation point. Take a drink and take in the view. You’re over halfway done.
4. Angry Ray’s Revenge – Angry Ray has been seeking revenge for some time and the cows have finally come home to roost. This section starts a bit steep and technical with some roots and tight switchbacks as it climbs upper Palos Colorado. Watch out for cyclists descending. At the final switchback it’s important to stay right (as opposed to continuing on to the end of Upper Palos) and exit at the confluence of Palos, Sequoia Bayview and Big Trees. But don’t stop yet. Continue straight onto Big Trees (remaining on the longer Big Trees course – staying left midway through) until the top at the parking area. The segment finishes just before the parking area.
5. Diamond’s Downfall – Diamond doesn’t like steep climbs. Said so himself on Saturday. Could have fooled me. Anyway, this steep short climb starts at the trailhead of Macdonald and ends once the trail levels out. You don’t need to hammer all the way to the land bridge. Spin it out and rest the legs across the flats and the land bridge to Parkridge Drive.

The registration site will be live this week and opening day is Saturday October 1st. All net proceeds from the registration and our fundraising around the EBDC go to our friends at the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Thanks to all of you who have participated and given so generously over the years. We hope to see you again this year!

The time is quickly approaching. The 2022 East Bay Dirt Classic kicks off the morning of Saturday October 1st, and the 2 week window to ride the course will close on Saturday October 15th at 1 pm.

We have been tinkering with this year’s course and I plan to ride it Saturday morning and will post it this weekend. A little preview of what we’re thinking: we’re anticipating roughly 25-30 miles of mostly dirt, encompassing parts of Chabot, Redwood and this year for the first time, Joaquin Miller. We will have 4-5 segments ranging from rolling to climbing, with two of them in Joaquin Miller to mix things up a bit. The route and registration link for the EBDC will be up and ready beginning next week.

What’s that? You like beer? It does tend to mix well with dirt riding. We’re stoked to announce prize donations from local brewery East Brothers Brewing as well as a keg they’re donating for the party on October 15th. We have already had generous prize donations from Capo cycling and Sports Basement and are anticipating new prizes from other sponsors this week.

Finally, straight out of West Texas, we have two custom 2022 East Bay Dirt Classic belt buckles for one male and one female competitor (see last year’s edition below). More to come this weekend!

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Save the Date!

Summer is still alive and well, but cool crisp nights, closeout sales on Star Wars Trapper Keepers and Pumpkin Spice lattes (and Oreos!?!!) are right around the corner. The arrival of all of these things reminds us that the East Bay Dirt Classic is nearly upon us. Last year we decided to stick with the format born from deep within Covid times and set up an asynchronous enduro format with 5 Strava segments entirely in Chabot Park. Thankfully last year also saw the return of the close-out party and presentation of awards:

Our trail minions are working feverishly on this year’s course and we anticipate a similar enduro format as prior years but on some new trails, but we wanted to get our dates out to everyone as Fall is fast approaching. The 2022 East Bay Dirt Classic will have an open window to compete from Saturday October 1st through Saturday October 15th, with the post-ride party and presentation of awards taking place on Saturday October 15th at 2 pm.

We hope to see all of you back out there this Fall, giving everything to unseat the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic King and Queen: Fun Ghi and Maddy G! More information and registration forthcoming.

Thank goodness for this much needed rain. And thank goodness the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic ended last weekend…

Thanks to everyone who participated this year, we were able to help raise nearly $40,000 through registrations, generous additional donations and associated fundraising by the C510 team members.

This year’s event ended with Maddy G taking the top honors in the female competitor category with a smoking fast overall time of 48:27 which also made her 16th overall just ahead of…well, me. Great ride Maddy! Maddy takes home the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic belt buckle and also won the top junior contest and will be receiving a custom Jakroo EBDC jersey (being made to size as I write this). Rounding out the top three female competitors were Ekaterina Rakhmatulina with a time of 53:27 and Teri G with a time of 59:07. Ekaterina and Teri both received gift certificates to Mikes Bikes.

On the men’s side, Fun Ghi took top honors yet again, taking home the belt buckle with a time of 37:13 and showing us all that age is only a mindset. Fun Ghi ended up more than 3 minutes ahead of Nick Downs, our top junior for the event. Nick rode the course the day of the barbecue, notching into 2nd with a time of 40:27, bumping John G, who had held the top podium spot until the day before, into 3rd with a time of 41:19. Nick and John both received gift certificates to Mikes Bikes. Nick will also receive the custom Jakroo EBDC jersey for top junior in the event.

In all we had 112 riders register and 77 riders upload rides (some multiple rides) with 42 people riding the course the day of the barbecue. The weather was perfect for the barbecue, which capped off the event. Many thanks to Chad and Kerryn who opened their beautiful home to host the barbecue (some images from the barbecue below).

Enjoy the cross (or off) season and we hope to see you out on the road or trails!

– Your friends at C510

This Saturday we will host a barbecue to toast the end of the 2 week open window of the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic. We welcome all vaccinated competitors to join us. There will be burgers (meat and veggie), hot dogs, good beer and non-alcoholic beverages served. There is a pool as well so please bring a towel and swim suit if so inclined as the temperatures will be in the low 80s.

We will be presenting prizes from our sponsors to top finishers and raffle winners (raffle tickets are available to those who contributed money in addition to their registration fee). We will also be handing out the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic t-shirts to those on site (for those unable to attend, we will send out a further message about where to pick them up).

All rides need to be completed by 1 pm on Saturday October 16th to be added to the leaderboard and considered for prizes.

Barbecue Details:

Address: 5656 Weaver Place, Oakland, CA, 94619 (This is close to the official start and end of the course). Please park along Skyline Blvd, NOT on Weaver Place.

Time: Doors open for barbecue at 12 PM. Food beginning between 12:30/1. Prize announcements at 2 pm. (For those riding the course this Saturday, there will be no one available at the barbecue site the morning of the event unlike in prior years with mass starts).

Enjoy the final days of riding! We look forward to seeing you all this Saturday.

With beautiful weather this past weekend there was little surprise that folks came out to test their mettle on the new course. For unknown reasons (everyone competing at Sea Otter or watching the Falcons top the Jets at Tottenham Hotspur?) no one logged a ride on Sunday October 10th. But on Friday the 8th, John G turned out a blistering time of 41:19 to take the top step from Kenny G by over a minute. On Saturday Tom Bliska turned out an impressive ride to notch into 3rd overall. There were a few more rides today including Ian Myjer’s which notched him into 6th overall. With less than one week to go, I predict a few Sea Otter competitors will be taking a swing in the next few days and some will be going for a second attempt having ridden the course once now.

On the QOM side, Bay Area favorite Clarice Sayle went for it on a single speed (whaaaaaaaat?)… For anyone who has ridden Snake’s Slither, they can attest to just how brutal that would be. But as those fortunate enough to know Clarence can tell you, there is no challenge too great for her. She held the sole (soul?) spot on the female podium until today when Maddy Gill blazed the course in 48:27 which placed her into 1st in the QOM hunt and 9th overall.

Check the standings here for KOM, QOM and most recent rides!

The junior podium is still wide open (or as far as I know it is) as none of the young guns have taken a whack at the course as of yet. Which means the custom Jakroo jerseys are still up for grabs. We may need to make the junior category “under 50” this year.

One final note, many have had trouble losing their way on the course which has been a perennial problem. Fortunately, as long as competitors can keep on course for the segments, their times should not be negatively effected. I would encourage all to preview the course on Strava closely and some successful riders have told me they downloaded the course and “starred” the segments and then used “Strava Live Segments” to help ensure they were on course. I hope that helps.

Good luck in the closing week and we hope to see as many of you as are able to make it at the post-event barbecue and award presentation this Saturday, October 16th.

Thank you all for working to support the Alameda County Community Food Bank!

The weather was sunny and maybe a little hot for some of the exposed segments on the course. We expected to see decreasing times through the weekend as competitors tried to best the times of their predecessors, but day one found Kenny Owen in the driver seat, throwing down the fastest time of the weekend. Kenny turned out a 42:32 on his full suspension rig. Sunday saw C510’s Jordan Gudebski notching into 2nd with a time of 44:11 and David Beaulieu slotting into 3rd with a composite time of 47:35 despite a missed turn and contending with some oppressive heat.

The thing about a virtual leaderboard is we all know there are some desperados out there biding their time and plotting to storm the course and claim the buckle. Looking forward to sitting back with a cold Almanac or East Brother’s beer and seeing how this all plays out. Speaking of which, both breweries are donating beer to competitors of the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic, so some lucky participants will be in the same position as me in a couple of weeks. And thanks to Jakroo cycling apparel company, the top male and female juniors (18 and under) this year will receive custom East Bay Dirt Classic jerseys! Our sponsors have really gone all out this year in support of the event and ultimately the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

This week will bring cooler temperatures with some clouds and highs in the 60s with sun and low 70s on tap for the weekend. The women’s field is still wide open as we wait with anticipation to see if Kristen V and some of the other podium contenders return to the course.

Good luck out there and thank you!

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Tomorrow marks the opening of the 2 week rolling window of the 2021 edition of the East Bay Dirt Classic. New for 2021 is the limited edition Champion’s Belt Buckle awarded to the top female and male finishers from the two week challenge. Ride the course as many times as you desire during the two week window. Presentation of the belt buckles will be at the post-event barbecue on October 16th. Winners will not need to be present to receive the belt buckle. Good luck and have a great opening weekend!

Only 4 days until the 2 week rolling window opens for this year’s edition of the East Bay Dirt Classic. Same format but new course. The weather looks perfect for a morning attempt on either day with sun and highs near 80 both Saturday and Sunday.

As a recap from last year, in the Men’s Division we had two young guns (high schoolers Dan English and Jason Tan) competing with a seasoned veteran (Fun Ghi) with prior EBDC champ Fun Ghi taking the top honors yet again. In the Women’s division Kristen V was unstoppable despite hard efforts and multiple attempts by Gabriella Sterne and another young gun, high schooler Ariana Milelli.

As in prior years we will be live tracking the competitors on our virtual leaderboard and will post updates as the dirt battles wage on. And we have incredible prizes this year for the overall male and female winners as well as those who have been signed up for the raffle to be drawn on the final day of the event – Saturday October 16th.

Best of luck to all competitors and thank you for supporting the Alameda County Community Food Bank!

• Your friends at C510

The 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic course was released this weekend! The 2021 course climbs 4,000′ over 25 miles on nearly all dirt. This is a mostly non-technical course with majority fire roads and some single track. The format will be the same as last year with a participant’s total time being the sum of 5 defined segments. The segments this year can be found on the EBDC registration page. Once again 4 of the 5 segments are primarily climbing segments with one segment being a sweeet rolling single track segment (Sensei’s Surge). Please remember that there are no trail closures for this event and all participants need to yield to other trail users and obey all trail etiquette. To be included on the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic Leaderboard, a participant needs to register and ride the entire course and complete all 5 segments in order in the same single ride.

The rolling two week window to ride the course and find yourself on the leaderboard opens Saturday October 2nd and closes at 1 pm sharp on Saturday October 16th. Participants can ride the course as many times as they choose during the 2 week open window. Included in this year’s registration will be a limited edition 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic T-Shirt and a post-ride barbeque and pool party on October 16th with presentation of prizes to top finishers. Sponsors of prizes for this year’s event include Specialized, Mikes Bikes, Sports Basement, Capo Cycling Apparel, Jakroo Cycling Apparel, East Brother Beer Company and Almanac Beer Company. All vaccinated competitors are invited to join the barbeque on October 16th regardless of when they ride the course.

As in each prior year, all proceeds from the registration fees and associated fundraising go to our friends at the Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB). The ACCFB is a remarkable local organization that provides food and health education to 1 out of every 5 residents here in Alameda County each year. The need in Alameda County has only increased during the course of the current pandemic. On the registration page, you will see an option to donate in addition to the registration fee. Anyone who donates in addition to their registration fee will be entered into a raffle for prizes from our sponsors to be handed out at the barbeque on October 16th. Participants must be present to win. Anyone who wants to join the C510 team in our fundraising efforts for the ACCFB this year, please email us or visit our GoFundMe page.

Thanks to all of you who contribute to the success of this event and the support of our Alameda County neighbors.

Be safe out there and above all, have fun!

Register for the 2021 East Bay Dirt Classic here!