Improving Classic Dirt

[DJRacing]

I guess it goes without saying that if someone knows of a venue which has:

A natural, MA licenced, natural terrain grasstrack MX with track watering capability
Full Camping Facilities on site
Cheap Food Vendors available
Ample power on site
Lots of accomodation nearby
Closeish to a major city

We may possibly consider it (Not asking for much are we?)

A winery in the Hunter or Barossa valleys would be interesting...

P.S. Just so as we don't get bombarded by suggestions for Barrabool, Barrabool currently does not meet these requirements, otherwise we already would have gone back there.

It has to be said............  ANYWHERE IN NEW ZEALAND

If you Aussie blokes charter a plane,...... we'll find the golf course      

[VMX247]

YSS 9 months to get organised thats spot on,
wonder if Hooney & co have a calender    

[vmx42]

So if I am reading this correctly, our Classic Dirt Wish List includes visiting a venue just down the road from each of us. Including:
Rockhampton, Connondale, Lake Eyre, Raymond Terrace, Picton, Canberra, a mythical rural property, Wineries, somewhere on the south coast of NSW, Broadford, Barrabool [whoops, sorry can't camp there], Wyalla and now New Zealand and everything in between.

The answer is now obvious, an annual 12 round Classic Dirt Series. Coming to a venue just up the road from you!!!!

I'm going to start my retirement plans right now, buy the Winnebago and follow the circuit. The best thing is we can charge each of the venues a premium when we break the drought in their local areas.

It is going to make Ben Hur look like an epic!!!! I wonder if Suzuki can find enough Ex-World Champions to attend each round?

Whooo Hooo, now where are my VMX gumboots.
VMX42

[AjayVMX]

So if I am reading this correctly, our Classic Dirt Wish List includes visiting a venue just down the road from each of us. Including:
Rockhampton, Connondale, Lake Eyre, Raymond Terrace, Picton, Canberra, a mythical rural property, Wineries, somewhere on the south coast of NSW, Broadford, Barrabool [whoops, sorry can't camp there], Wyalla and now New Zealand and everything in between.

The answer is now obvious, an annual 12 round Classic Dirt Series. Coming to a venue just up the road from you!!!!

I'm going to start my retirement plans right now, buy the Winnebago and follow the circuit. The best thing is we can charge each of the venues a premium when we break the drought in their local areas.

It is going to make Ben Hur look like an epic!!!! I wonder if Suzuki can find enough Ex-World Champions to attend each round?

Whooo Hooo, now where are my VMX gumboots.
VMX42

Sounds like a plan...

[AjayVMX]

Surely one of the biggest criateria would have to be FUN and Ravenswood sure is that! A city a stones-throw away, plenty of room to camp, picturesque undulating track, very vintage friendly. I know we've had all but one CD in Vic but hey, we are the VMX meca of Oz.....

You know, I have to say that every time someone says that Victoria is the centre of the VMX universe (even if it is in jest), it just creates an unnecessary situation where there is the potential for bad blood to be let.  So why do it?  It certainly is not helpful. 

There are just as passionate VMX people in Tassie, WA, QLD, SA, NSW and even NT as there are in Victoria. 

Sure FUN is one important aspect of CD, but people can have fun anywhere if they really want to (within reason). 

[Doc]

I don't think it really matters where it is there will always be some who cannot make the trek. To have it on a long weekend is ideal but to run it any longer would also cause issues for some as not everyone can get holidays to coincide with the extra time needed. Dodgee and I did CD5 in three days but the friday was a marathon 30+ hours without sleep and little food. wasn't too bad but if you had the cheese and kisses and billy lids tagging along then there'd be some very cranky scenes. 3 day is great, the venue was quite central to the east coast and I loved it. My only gripe was something entirely out of anyones control..the weather 

[Wombat]

I'd like consideration for the issue of arriving and leaving the CD venue.
It's just an observation and a thought so pls read as such - no attitude intended, OK?

We all appreciate the need for the Organisers to set-up the three day event; to be left alone to weave their magic without being bothered by the sweaty hoardes.
However, given the massive road trip for many punters we can't all arrive at 'gates open' on the Friday.
I drove from Brissie and arrived at 1130pm friday night to find the gates locked and two other vehicles waiting. No biggie, I was expecting to sleep in the car all weekend.
But to time it, to get to the venue on time to experience Day one means I'd leave home at midnight thursday. Drowsy drivers die I think the saying goes, and that's not meant to be dramatic but it's possible following a day at work and little sleep prior to midnight.

The rules also stated 'all out by 6.00pm Sunday' (or words to that effect) but this also seems a tad harsh if a days riding in the sun is to be followed by a ten hour drive. I noticed a few campers remained on sunday eve but I believe they sought permission and were an exception to the rule.

That's enough - you get my point.
I'm throwing this in for discussion; I'm not sure of a solution for the arrival issue, but I think being allowed to camp the last night and leave after a good sleep makes absolute sense.

[VMX247]

I agree Wombat but if you are travelling 40 km or 4000km the rules are rules and thats that.Its the venues/organizers choice of whom and when they open the main gate.
If ya on the committeee then ya have more pull,so to speak.
cheers

[AjayVMX]

I'd like consideration for the issue of arriving and leaving the CD venue.
It's just an observation and a thought so pls read as such - no attitude intended, OK?

We all appreciate the need for the Organisers to set-up the three day event; to be left alone to weave their magic without being bothered by the sweaty hoardes.
However, given the massive road trip for many punters we can't all arrive at 'gates open' on the Friday.
I drove from Brissie and arrived at 1130pm friday night to find the gates locked and two other vehicles waiting. No biggie, I was expecting to sleep in the car all weekend.
But to time it, to get to the venue on time to experience Day one means I'd leave home at midnight thursday. Drowsy drivers die I think the saying goes, and that's not meant to be dramatic but it's possible following a day at work and little sleep prior to midnight.

The rules also stated 'all out by 6.00pm Sunday' (or words to that effect) but this also seems a tad harsh if a days riding in the sun is to be followed by a ten hour drive. I noticed a few campers remained on sunday eve but I believe they sought permission and were an exception to the rule.

That's enough - you get my point.
I'm throwing this in for discussion; I'm not sure of a solution for the arrival issue, but I think being allowed to camp the last night and leave after a good sleep makes absolute sense.

Wombat,

While I understand that the gates open/closed issue may seem harsh, the reality is that there do have to be limits on camping time at the venue and also restrictions on access out of hours.  The reality is that is it unrealistic and uneconomic to have people manning the gate 24/7, just to allow people to arrive whenever they choose to do so.

On the inwards trip, it was always the case that Friday would be the "arrival day" and not a full day of Classic Dirt.  The intention therefore was for people to travel during the day on Friday and arrive in the afternoon.  Thus an early start from Brissy or Melbourne would have you arriving in the mid afternoon Friday.  If you wanted to arrive early Friday, there is of course always the option to drive to closer location, stay somewhere overnight and then do a shorter trip on Friday morning.  We even suggested it on this forum, prior to the event.

Similarly, we deliberately scheduled the event to come to a completion at about 3pm on Sunday, to allow people to begin their homeware journey in daylight and then, if necessary make an overnight stop before completeing the journey the next day.  But there was never any mention of camping being available on Sunday night.

At the end of the day, both these things could be fixed for the few, at the expense of many, by simply increasing the camping fees to cover the extra venue hire period and manning the gate 24/7.  I for one, would prefer that not to be necessary and just rely on everyone to take into account the gate open/closing times and organise their trip arrival, departure and return accordingly.

[Wombat]

While I understand that the gates open/closed issue may seem harsh, the reality is that there do have to be limits on camping time at the venue and also restrictions on access out of hours.  The reality is that is it unrealistic and uneconomic to have people manning the gate 24/7, just to allow people to arrive whenever they choose to do so.

On the inwards trip, it was always the case that Friday would be the "arrival day" and not a full day of Classic Dirt.  The intention therefore was for people to travel during the day on Friday and arrive in the afternoon.  Thus an early start from Brissy or Melbourne would have you arriving in the mid afternoon Friday.  If you wanted to arrive early Friday, there is of course always the option to drive to closer location, stay somewhere overnight and then do a shorter trip on Friday morning.  We even suggested it on this forum, prior to the event.

Similarly, we deliberately scheduled the event to come to a completion at about 3pm on Sunday, to allow people to begin their homeware journey in daylight and then, if necessary make an overnight stop before completeing the journey the next day.  But there was never any mention of camping being available on Sunday night.

At the end of the day, both these things could be fixed for the few, at the expense of many, by simply increasing the camping fees to cover the extra venue hire period and manning the gate 24/7.  I for one, would prefer that not to be necessary and just rely on everyone to take into account the gate open/closing times and organise their trip arrival, departure and return accordingly.

No, I didn't think the locked gate upon entry was harsh - but it was a surprise. and I don't for a moment expect a manning of the gate 24/7.
Waking to the news of the stolen Husky only confirmed it's not a bad idea to lock the place up.
Your reasoning makes some sense but my original decision not to stay at a Motel or sleep on the side of the road was based on a fear my bike or tools or gear could be easily lifted from the trailer by any roaming grub.
I'm happy to concede on the entry/day one but I maintain a good sleep in situ following the event is a safer travel option.

Like I said, it's an observation/suggestion and not a critisism.

[AjayVMX]

OK, no worries.

Having said all of that however, manning the gate Friday and Saturday nights is something we would consider in future.  Even when the gate was closed and locked at about 8pm on Friday, there was a period where people came into CD5 without having to pay.  Fortunately, some were honest enough to let us know in the morning, but in reality we shouldn't have to reply on someone's honesty.

So in that respect you are correct - improvement in the gate control is a subject worth mentioning.

[Gerard De Ruyter (Twistandshout)]

ajay, you guys would still be in the recovery phase from cd5, so i hope you realise its just our obsessive keenness for cd-style vmx events that has us relentlessly pushing out ideas/requests/ suggestions at you. 

so just in case this has meant we've moved on a bit too quickly from just reliving how good cd5 was, i'll remind you - i had a blast, and you and all your people did an absolutely fabulous job that put smiles on hundreds of faces for lots of day and gave us some treasured memories too. 

so keep up the pats on each other's back for a while yet before you put the planner's hat back on.

[AjayVMX]

Hey, it's not a problem - and we do immediately think of CD6 immediately after CD5 as well.  The planning really does start now, albeit in a low key way.

All constructive criticism offered here is welcome and considered seriously, although we do filter the personal preferences from the general improvement suggestions. 

Naturally we want CD to improve each time, even if its only possible to do slightly better.

[VMX247]

Does that wee little yellow suzuki caravan still attend the CD events.
or has it retired to be used as a chook pen.

[AjayVMX]

Ah, the Yellow caravan was only a figment of Jeff's imagination.  It seems to have gone the way of the Dodo now.  :'(