Sunday, April 05, 2020

Gravel Grinder News: The Dirty Kanza Postpones

It's the old logo. I like it WAY better than the new one, so there!
The Dirty Kanza Postpones Until September 10th-13th:

About a week ago the DK Promotions folks said that they were giving things until May 1st to make a call on whether or not they would be putting on their events on the days they had intended to, which all fall in late May for 2020. It was painfully obvious, almost immediately after the announcement, that there was no really good reason to try to push through with their original dates.

I expected that something- postponing or cancellation for 2020- would be happening. My thoughts were that by postponing they would have to push into Fall, because any other earlier date would be inappropriate to the pandemic and possible restrictions being lifted, plus it would be hotter than hell in Kansas in August anyway. My thoughts were that they would shoot for an October date.

But they didn't do that. They went for the weekend after Labor Day, starting on September 10th, and concluding on the 13th. Uggh.... I see how they want to have something, since this pandemic is basically pushing out now where we probably won't have any Spring, and possibly many Summer events now, but sheesh! Talk about goofy. Labor Day weekend marks the start of many public school sessions, colleges are back in session, and as far as sports go, if we can do that then, you'll have a lot of football conflicts as well.

Not to mention other cycling events. Cyclo-cross kicks into high gear in September, and there are a lot of other gravel events already scheduled around that time. It's a big, big, event that is pushing into an area where no one thought they'd have to compete with such a beast.

In my opinion, it would have been a lot better had this event postponed till 2021. To the DK Promotions credit though, they are offering you three ways to go as far as the event participation goes. You can stick with them and go ride in September. You can defer your entry to 2021. Or you can get a refund up until May 15th. 

More details and a FAQ on the situation can be seen here: https://dirtykanza.com/dirty-kanza-postponement-details-and-faq/

3 comments:

blooddoc23 said...

The days will be getting short and it can start raining that time of year too.

Ari said...

I think the back to school thing will be the biggest hindrance for many people. Specially parents that have to move in college students, if that happens. Looks like the fall is going to be nuts if everything goes back to some normalacy.
Ari

S.Fuller said...

While the crossover might be small, I'd like to think that they were thinking of other established events when figuring out a date. Dakota-50 is traditionally on Labor Day weekend. I am happy to see that they are giving options for deferral or refunds with no penalty.