9/30 Update!

what a race wednesday! another beautiful sunset over the velodrome, and the stacked fields kept everybody gunning for one more spot from the gun to the flag. the record breaking turnout last week had our dedicated scoring officials spread thin, so more course and longer lap times are the goal for this coming blind date. in addition to providing neutral support, killer prizes, demo bikes, and our handsome race numbers, 21ST avenue bicycles/fat tire farm has stepped up our lighting budget so we can use some more alpenrose real estate. nothing wild, but keep your eyes open for a couple more turns and some longer straights. the battle for the castelli leaders jersey has just begun to get gritty- the points are tight and it's still anyone's game... and if you haven't tried nong's khao man gai, well, you are missing out. we are very fortunate to have nong and her team out there serving delicious meals, so stick around for dinner post race and see what all the buzz is about. track us down if you are a new series leader or you were top 3 in the elite mens or womens field, we have jerseys and money for you. can't wait until wednesday, see you at the dairy for blind date #3! -tony and joe

9/21

thanks to everyone who participated in race 1 of the 2012 blind date! it was a sweet scene last night, whether you were racing, spectating, officiating, or moving stuff around, there were good times had by all and the feeling was right. on today's daylight sweep through the course i found a couple odds and ends: a heart rate strap, the guts to a planet bike flasher, and a round table pizza visor, and a lot of capri sun wrappers. the latter of the two probably aren't from our party, but i'm throwing it out there just in case. though it seemed as if there were an inordinate amount of flats last night, i only found one offending item: a pretty gnarly chunk of pvc left over from the metro project at the top of the hill in the parking lot. it probably got exposed during the race. we'll dig it up and add more dirt to the dips, flat shovel some more ruts, etc. before next week, but all in all i'm happy with the layout. the mens elite field met our payout minimum, so track us down for cash next week and keep your ears on for prizes and primes on race night. we will also be awarding the castelli leaders jerseys on date 2, so winners, be prepared. so rad. -tony and joe

Info

The fourth season of blind date at the dairy is less than two short weeks away! we've been hard at work clearing the course, fixing all the stuff we put away broken last year, and making adjustments here and there so everyone gets the most out of their date. rather than drifting on into the usual nonsensical jabber that i tend to pollute the internet with, i've decided to format this informational post with bullet points. yeah.

A) schedule change! the elite fields will go off WAY earlier this year, just before the SS's, b's and such at 7:20. our talented OBRA scoring team assured us that if we sent everyone off for 50 min they could keep the race sorted and the elite fields (as well as the officials) could get home at a reasonable hour. this also freed up a few minutes to let the mens C and master C race sock it out for a solid 40 minutes. more pain for your racing dollar, gents!

2) stampede! we've added a one lap drag race for misfit bikes. bring your fixie, bmx, dirt jumper, or unicycle out and lett'er rip. it only costs a few bucks and it's a good way to remember that we are really all just out here to goof around on stuff with wheels, after all.

III) as per usual, 21'st ave bicycles has been helping us accumulate a stronghold of prizes... but this year rather than series prizes we are just throwing stuff out all willy nilly. we'll let you know at the start line what's up for grabs, but we'll be sneaking in primes and door prizes here and there as well. paper money for elites based on field sizes, just like before.

four) nong's khao man gai! after many faithful years of support, madison's grill has passed the torch to nong, who will be serving up her critically acclaimed thai dishes. steve will be missed, but we look forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

(V) brad just loaned me TWO chainsaws. i know, the bullet point thing was supposed to keep me on task, but i can't stop thinking about what i'm gonna do with these TWO chainsaws. considering i could probably figure out how to hurt myself with a packing peanut, i'm not sure where this is headed.

okay, more details to come. 21st ave bicycles is working on lining up demo bikes, and will have their lovely and talented bike support specialists on site to help you straighten out whatever you broke. we are hammering out a couple course changes, and our friends at alpenrose are hooking up lights and helping sort the grounds. can't wait to start another rad series! -tony and joe

Rules

The gracious hosts at alpenrose dairy ask us to please follow their few simple rules.

Strictly NO ALCOHOL on the premesis. None. Thanks!

The manicured fields (baseball diamonds, fenced areas, the dairy owners yard (yes they live there, be cool)) are off limits to us. No exploring, just warm up by the course.

Once the sun goes down we need to respect the neighborhood and keep it pretty quiet. being in a residential area, the dairy is under constant scrutiny by the neighbors. they trust us to be mellow after dark.