It’s that time of year again — time to ride up a bunch of short but steep hills, all in the name of fun! That’s right, the Melbourne Dirty Dozen is back and in 2018 it returns to Dromana.
This will be the seventh edition of the Melbourne Dirty Dozen, a tough, recreational challenge ride that draws inspiration from a similar ride held in Pittsburgh, USA since the 1980s. The format is pretty simple: we draw up a course that strings together a baker’s dozen of climbs and you join us in riding it. It’s a hard day out — the climbs are steep — but it’s that difficulty that makes it so memorable.
The Melbourne Dirty Dozen was held in the Dandenong Ranges for its first three years (2012-14), before it headed to Warburton for in 2015 and 2016. Last year, we headed down to Dromana for a whole new set of challenging climbs, and in 2018, we’re back on the Mornington Peninsula for more great bayside climbing (and descending!).
We’ve changed up the course a little this year — we’re introducing a handful of new climbs that, we think, will make the ride tougher (and hopefully more rewarding) than last year. There’ll also be a little bit more gravel than there was last year (but it’ll still be more than rideable on a road bike).
We’re working hard behind the scenes at the moment to get everything organised for the ride, but for now, here are the basics:
Date: Sunday September 30, 2018
Time: 7:30am – 1pm
Location: Dromana, Victoria
Cost: $25
Buy tickets: LINK
Event page: LINK
Facebook event page: LINK
If you’re keen to learn more about the ride and what you can expect, check out these reports from previous editions:
– DD17: The 2017 Melbourne Dirty Dozen (Dromana)
– DD16: The 2016 Melbourne Dirty Dozen (Warburton)
– DD15: The 2015 Melbourne Dirty Dozen (Warburton)
– DD14: The 2014 Melbourne Dirty Dozen (Dandenongs)
– DD13: The 2013 Melbourne Dirty Dozen (Dandenongs)
– The inaugural Melbourne Dirty Dozen (Dandenongs)
I’ll be revealing the day’s 13 climbs in the days and weeks ahead so be sure to stay posted to the event page and Facebook page (see links above). In the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below or on the Facebook page, or send me an email.
I hope to see you out there on Sunday September 30!