Crystal Diamond Derby Part Deux. Coming in September

[acc]

Oh look. A party. And a scavenger hunt. And excellent vodka-enhanced sangria.

http://www.diamond-derby.com/

*this* is a fantastic party.

Topic

[PotomacCyclist]

Back in March, I did the Open Class/messenger race but not this time. The multilevel course looked like a fun challenge. I’ll sign up again next time. It was pretty wild to watch though. Bikes flying around on all sides of the spectator area. Strange videogame characters come to life. A guy with a gong at one of the turns. What was going on with the Smartcar? I saw everyone getting into the car and closing the door. Racing mushrooms, Super Mario, blinking lights… sensory overload!!!

I didn’t stay too long but I wish I had. I’m awaiting all of the pictures from the event.

The only addition I’d suggest is a large banner above the garage entrance, like the ones that advertise events across the street from the Crystal City Metro station. I think some of the passersby on Crystal Drive were mystified about what was going on in the parking garage. The banner might bring in some non-cyclists to watch. Maybe some of them would eventually start riding themselves and even sign up for the next Diamond Derby.

[Arlingtonrider]

The last thing I want to do is resurrect the helmet debate, but I will point out that Tim’s Teddy was wearing a helmet.

I was much more concerned by riders possibly being blinded by vvill’s shiny silver lame’ pants. 😎

p.s. Great to see so many friends there! I had a blast. There will be more write-ups and/or photos soon, I’m sure.

[PotomacCyclist]

I was actually more concerned that teddy would go flying end over end on one of the obstacles. That’s a brave bear.

Here’s the first photo set that I’ve found, from Revolution Cycles:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151091697738553.438561.148105723552&type=1

[PotomacCyclist]

Their full photo set is on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/revcycles/sets/72157631658488940/

[acc]

It was a terrific evening of bike racing and silly costumes.

Seeing Chris Eatough racing in a Mario costume and bunny hopping hay bales was priceless.

The best part was seeing so many people from the forum.

[KelOnWheels]

Man, I’ve gotta put this on my calendar for next year.

If for nothing else, to come out and see the amazing assortment of PANTS.

[Tim Kelley]

The first of the official event photographer photos are up: http://mudproductions.com/p407699098

[Tim Kelley]

And my favorite shot of the night: http://mudproductions.com/p407699098/h45345990#h45345990

This was on the last turn before the finish line, I took the inside line and boxed out the guy dressed as Wonder Woman using the babyseat. Our team got into 3rd place in that heat!

[acc]

http://mudproductions.com/p407699098/h453438ea#h45345bae

The lights on the frame ran off six DD batteries and the basket was lit with about a dozen AAs.

The skirt came from Toys R Us.

[Dirt]

Someone stole my bike!!!!

[vvill]

Many, many awesome photos of what was an amazingly fun afternoon/night. The spectacle, atmosphere, riders, volunteers, bikes, beer and food were all great. It really didn’t feel like I was in the DC area. It’ll definitely be on my calendar again next time it rolls around. Probably no silver pants though.

@PotomacCyclist 32561 wrote:

What was going on with the Smartcar? I saw everyone getting into the car and closing the door.

There was a guy in the passenger seat who would stamp your manifest. It was worth a point (or two, I forget), but you had to first close the door and honk the horn to get stamped. The blackjack table was interesting – the first time I got there I couldn’t remember how to play blackjack, but I did win a hand later on. I was also having too much fun with the hay bales after my first lap and forgot to stop to pick up a manifest (so I rode a point-less lap). I totally missed the location of the pit crew too! My handlebars came loose before the last few laps which made the downhill turns extra dicey and I stopped a couple times to ask if anyone had hex/allen keys but didn’t realize there was a pit until long after finishing.

@PotomacCyclist 32561 wrote:

The only addition I’d suggest is a large banner above the garage entrance, like the ones that advertise events across the street from the Crystal City Metro station. I think some of the passersby on Crystal Drive were mystified about what was going on in the parking garage. The banner might bring in some non-cyclists to watch. Maybe some of them would eventually start riding themselves and even sign up for the next Diamond Derby.

Agreed. I think it’d also be helpful to post the basic rules of the races beforehand on the website. It was a little hard for me to hear/pay full attention to the announcer and it took me a little while to figure out what a manifest was (I started at the very back of the pack so was one of the last to be handed one).

[Certifried]

What a beautiful lady!

oops, wrong pic, this is better

[mvs202]

Another awesome event. I understand they wanted to shift from the spring to the fall, but why not keep it twice a year?

Got a few pix up on my blog: Diamond Derby Returns to Crystal City

Glad they put gels over the garage’s fluorescent lights, but next year would like to see a section lit up better to make it easier to take photos. Oh, and turn down the speaker volume!

[paytonc]

@vvill 32593 wrote:

Agreed. I think it’d also be helpful to post the basic rules of the races beforehand on the website. It was a little hard for me to hear/pay full attention to the announcer and it took me a little while to figure out what a manifest was (I started at the very back of the pack so was one of the last to be handed one).

Dang, you guys need to get to a few more messenger races. Sheer speed isn’t all there is to life.

I, for one, was a little disappointed that the manifest was so obvious this year — I suspect that my higher rank last year was largely because other racers overlooked a lot of the checkpoints. (Plus, rigid U-locks are much easier to toss than floppy tires.) Remember: one checkpoint visit = one+ full lap, and it’s waaay less work!

[Author]

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