So You Signed Up For DKWTS...
DKWTS FAQs
Who can participate in DKWTS?
ANYone
What bike can I ride?
ANY bike (e-bikes are allowed as long as they are pedal-assist)
Where can I ride?
ANYwhere...literally (outside, inside, the gym, your basement, at work, wherever!)
When can I ride?
ANYtime (morning, afternoon, evening, middle of the night, etc)
So what is DKWTS?
DKWTS is a fun, diy/virtual training challenge that provides motivation, community, and friendly- competition during the winter for anyone and everyone. You can ride ANY bike, ANY where, ANY time! DKWTS is not a super-serious, competitive, training program for fancy, professional riders. There will be daily, weekly, and monthly challenges; virtual group rides; live streams, activities, and group chats; friendly competitions; prizes; and other general shenanigans!
How long does it last?
DKWTS 2025 will run for 9 weeks (January 6-March 9, 2025) with an optional “Prologue” period available the week before (December 30th - January 5th) and an IRL DKWTS Finale Ride in Frederick, MD on March 9, 2025 (details TBA).
What does “DIY/Virtual” mean?
The DKWTS is a “diy/virtual” event which means participation is done “on your own” either outside or inside/virtually and recorded through our custom leaderboard app (designed by Dirty Kitten Chief Technical Officer: Chris). This allows participants to pick the time, place, bike, and style of ride they want to do.
How do I join the challenge?
REGISTRATION:
Registration opened on December 1, 2024 and closes mid-January 2025
Starting at $35 (on 12/1/24)
Price increases on Dec 2nd ($40), Dec 9th ($45), and Jan 1st ($50)
Junior riders (under 18) receive a $10 discount
Can I participate in DKWTS if I already have a winter training program or am part of another winter challenge?
Yes! DKWTS is called a "training series" but really it's just a fun, friendly, semi-competitive challenge that aims to provide motivation and build community throughout the winter. Since it's part DIY, participants can choose their own adventure.
Any and every ride and activity counts towards something no matter where and when or what type of bike you ride; we host virtual group rides on Zwift and live chats on Discord; you can engage with other participants and Dirty Kitten members in our private social media groups; the daily, weekly, and monthly challenges are a great way to stay motivated through the winter; and there are opportunities to win fun prizes & giveaways from our sponsors and event partners! Click HERE for more info.
Will there be different categories and fields for participants?
This year, we are changing things up a bit. During registration, there are no gender or age-based category/field options listed. All participants register together either in the "Anyone & Everyone" category, "Party Purrito" category, or "Junior" category. Separate categories & fields will be created on the DKWTS challenge leaderboard once the series begins (TBA).
Categories will be fluid (and at times totally random) and may change based on participation, performance, etc throughout the series. Some examples of possible groupings are...
Gender - Women, Men, Non-Binary
Age (ex. Under 18, 25-29, 33-37, 40+, 55+, 63-69, 75.5+)
Metrics - Time, Distance, Elevation (ex. weekly average)
Party Purritos - just doin' it for the shenanigans!
Why are we using a custom website and leaderboard app instead of BikeReg to post challenge info and friendly-competition results?
Three simple reasons:
It requires less work on the participant's part throughout the series to load different activity data and keep it up-to-date (ride, run, swim, ski, row, yogasize, whatever!)
It's more flexible than the existing BikeReg leaderboard which only has a limited set of data available (we aren't knocking BikeReg, we love them, but ours is better).
It's way more fun! The custom app allows us to create more interesting challenges throughout the event aside from the standard time/distance/elevation metrics.
How do I score DKWTS “Purrito” Points?
DKWTS consists of various challenges that allow participants to gain points (Purrito Points!) throughout the series: Tours (main challenges that last multiple weeks), Stages (smaller challenges that last up to 1 week), and Bonuses (random challenges that last different lengths of time).
SCORING: The points breakdown is TBA and will be available on the DKWTS website. Participants will receive points for various challenges and activities.
TOUR CHALLENGES: Tour Challenges are based on a rider’s progress for time, distance, and elevation metrics over a multi-week period. Purrito Points will be assigned for rider participation each Tour.
Time Challenge
Distance Challenges
Elevation Challenges
Bonus Challenges
STAGE CHALLENGES: Stage Challenges are weekly challenges that give riders the opportunity to earn points. Some stages may be "competitive" (i.e. Longest ride of the week) with points awarded to the Top riders in each designated category and field. Other stages are "participatory" (i.e. Do a ride on 5 different days this week) with points awarded to all who complete the challenge. NOTE: Some of the challenges may have separate scoring for virtual and outdoor rides.
BONUS & POP-UP CHALLENGES: Bonus & Pop-Up Challenges are announced throughout the competition as fun ways for riders to earn additional points and interact with other participants. Bonus Challenges are usually announced at the beginning of each week or Stage. Pop-Up Challenges are surprise challenges announced randomly throughout the series.
What do my points mean (i.e. What can I win)?
BRAGGING RIGHTS & PRIZES/GIVEAWAYS!! Various prizes & giveaways will be awarded during the series based on Purrito Points and at random. Prizes may include Dirty Kitten merchandise items, sponsor giveaways, partner event entries, and more!
How do I join the virtual DKWTS Zwift Club Rides?
You must be a registered Zwift user and a member of the DirtyKittenGravel Zwift Club…
Register with Zwift
Download the Zwift Companion App
Join the DirtyKittenGravel Zwift Club
Select “Going” for any of the ride events listed on the club page
Check that the ride is listed in your upcoming events
Be on your bike and ready to go at least 15 minutes before the ride starts
Join our Discord chat if you want to talk live with ride leaders and other participants
*Please DO NOT change the DKWTS Zwift Club Ride name as our system may not recognize it and you won’t be awarded challenge points for the ride. If you want more general info about Zwift activities, club events, and group rides follow this link:
How will this year's DKWTS be affected by the new Strava API policy?
Click HERE to read our updated Strava API information.
If I register after the series begins, will my previous rides count?
YES! All rides count starting January 6, 2025 no matter when you register (as long as it’s before reg closed on January 19th). Simply follow the registration process, link your ride data to our custom leaderboard, and everything will load automatically. You can still earn series points, but you will miss out on the bonus challenge points previously awarded.
I have a friend who wants to participate in the series, can they still register?
Yes. Registration is open through January 19th @11:59pm. Don't forget to give them your referral code to use when they register. For every 5 referrals logged, you will receive 1 FREE entry to giveaway! In addition, we will credit you back your DKWTS entry to use toward another Dirty Kitten event. It's a win, win, win for everyone! Spread the love...
Where can I register and find more information about DKWTS?
Additional DKWTS information can all be found in the event notes section of our registration page: www.bikereg.com/dirty-kitten-winter-training-series
Alex & Chris Howell
DIRTY KITTEN PRODUCTIONS
Comments