9/20/09 Updates:

Registration for each race will be in the Velodrome registration booth in Alpenrose. With your OBRA membership card, we hope to have bar code registration.

Noted DJ and bike racing impressario Luciano Bailey will announce the Blind Date races each Wednesday.

Lite-On's Brian Engelen is supplying refelctors to each registering racer as swag. Althought the course is decently lit, with Lite-On's help, you can see how 900 Lumens of blazing white LED light can chase away the shadows. Light On! will have five demo lights available for use on race nights. To reserve a demo light for your race, contact brian@lightonlights.com . Reminder: If you want to race with a light, you need to mount it on your handlebars and to point it down.

High octane Clydesdaler Bob Libby announced he will race single speed at the Blind Date on his 29'er and will take photos of the earlier races. Bob took the cool pictures on our website. Reminder to all photographers, please - no flashes in the dark as they may temporarily blind racers and cause crashes

!Steve and Hirokok Brown from Madison Grill are awarding gift certificates 3 deep for overall series podium finishers in each category. Madison Grill will also set up a food cart with delicious vegitarian chile and non-alcoholic drinks for sale at each race.

Blind Date at the Dairy series Winners in each category will receive speacial Blind Date at the Dairy Winner's shirts. Lucy.com (no relation to Joe's wife) is supplying a couple of gift certificates for women's winners. Sellwood Cycles is also supplying gift certificates for winners. Men's and Women's A winners will receice cash payouts after each race. Challenge tubulars are also on the still-evolving prize list.

Stay tuned to these pages for further updates and smack!

It’s 9/16/09 and we’re one week away from our first race and what may be your first blind date in many years, so here are some general updates. On Monday night, Tony set up a super cool course and Alpenrose had the dairy lit up like a Christmas tree, complete with intricate shadows in all of the critical sections. Our Blind Date test team blasted around the course with ear to ear grins! Several commented that the Blind Date course is better lit in the back corners than Star Crossed. All agreed that the matrix of shadows from Alpenrose’s mixed lighting adds some unique and fun challenges. The course features an asphalt start and finish, a high speed gravel section, packed dirt, a loose dirt run up, switchbacks, grass, meadow, barriers and some deceptively challenging little hills. Note: If it rains, please replace the word“dirt” with “mud!” Alpenrose has spent thousands of dollars on lights and electricians so we can come race our bikes at night! Although Alpenrose asks nothing from us in return, Tony and I request that you buy lots of Alpenrose dairy products and Baskin Robbins ice cream. If your grocer does not carry Alpenrose product, please make a special request or patronize a store that does! Please check our website for the event flyer and more specific information. www.crossseries.com

BLIND DATE at the DAIRY update...

Thanks for all your interest and comments- we are pleased to announce that the logistics for our last minute event are going better than we could have possibly expected. immense support from Alpenrose Dairy and OBRA have allowed us to put on the race we've wanted to see happen for years. the dairy technicians have expanded the electricity and installed several high powered lamps, while the furthest reaches of the course will be well lit by several generators. time restrictions have narrowed the fields slightly (sorry,clydsedales and masters – you’ll need to self-select and slot into a, b or c) and cut into pre-ride time, but we are committed to full length races for each group and keeping the entry fees well below average. the dairy is in a residential area so lighting and noise concerns have somewhat limited our use of the property- but rest assured, there will be no shortage of suffering. our last step is developing a prize list, and we are working with potential sponsors and planning cash payouts for the elite fields based on attendance. we'll keep you posted, and feel free to email Joe or me with any questions, concerns, or proposals. keep the proposals rated G. Thanks, Tony and Joe.