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!

• 

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!

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

After an ugly weekend for riding resulting from poor air quality, some heavy hitters were back out on the course this week. We saw Dan English (reportedly born AFTER 2004!) take over the top spot on the podium, completing the 5 segments in 48 minutes. Not to be outdone, Taos Ono came back today and gave it another swing, besting his time from his last attempt, coming in at 49 minutes. Incredible effort from these two. On the women’s side, 2018 and 2019 winner Jenny Wong gave it another whack shaving off several minutes and slotting into second. Kristen V, not content with her fairly safe 1st place sent it again to shave off 2 more minutes and go 52 minutes, which puts her 4th overall. Inspiring riding out on the course! Rumor has it that 2018 winner and 3rd place finisher Ryan Gorman and Josh Dapice have registered but not yet ridden the course, so we likely have yet to come to the end of this story.

As of today we are stoked to report that the 2020 version of the East Bay Dirt Classic has raised nearly $27,000 for the Alameda County Community Food Bank thanks to all of our participants and generous donors. We at C510 are incredibly grateful to all of you for helping support the ACCFB at this critical time.

Finally, we have decided to extend the deadline one more week until October 18th, as we know many of you were prevented from making attempts last weekend by the dangerous air quality.

The prizes are rolling in for our top contenders from the likes of Almanac Brewing, Hofkuche, Sports Basement, Capo and Mikes Bikes! Get out there, be safe and have fun!

Your friends at C510

First, thank you all for registering and supporting the Alameda County Community Food Bank. So far we have raised North of $8,500. These contributions go directly to the ACCFB and help them provide critical assistance to those Alameda county residents who face food insecurity daily.

Second, the leaderboard is up and running. Congratulations to Kristen V and Taos Ono for setting the fastest female and male times thus far, both on the opening day. They currently hold the QOM and KOM spots, respectively. There are just under two weeks remaining to get out there and give it your best shot. Prizes are rolling in from our sponsors for the top 3 spots in each category.

Finally, we have heard that some of the segments can be challenging to find or it can be easy to get off course during a segment. We recommend reviewing the segment descriptions (scroll down for these), looking at the Strava post or downloading the GPX or TCX files onto your GPS computer for turn by turn directions and if possible pre-riding some of the sections to get comfortable with the course.

Stay healthy and safe and good luck!

Open Season!

It’s a gorgeous day to start the open two week window for riding the East Bay Dirt Classic 2020 edition. The two week window ends at the end of the day on Sunday October 11th.

Thanks to all who have registered and by doing so have helped support the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

Get out there, have fun, please be safe and track yourself on the 2020 East Bay Dirt Classic leaderboard.

If you have registered and linked your Strava account and don’t see your name and times on the leaderboard, please contact us. 

For more information about the course and segments, please scroll down to the post below.

Send it!

Your friends at C510