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The 5th Annual DCR Open House (Amsterdam Edition): December 1st, 2018

It’s that time of year again!

Time for you to start planning your trek to the 5th annual DCR Cave Open House!  Yup, it’s gonna be the fifth open house already – how time flies! Here were the first, second, and third, and fourth DCR Open Houses.

But this year’s is different.

Quite a bit different. First, the Cave is now a staggering 30x larger than before (yes, really), and more importantly: It’s now in Amsterdam.  This will be the first chance for folks to check out the new DCR Amsterdam Cave in person! Construction is wrapping up later this week and I’ll be moving into it after I get back home. By the time you arrive it should be running at full steam!

The open house is annually on a Saturday evening for folks that want to come check out the DCR cave, and just in general have fun chatting about sports and sports technology (and wine, cheese, and cupcakes).  Oh, and we give away a bunch of free stuff.  GPS watches, gift certificates, apparel, and a few random other things I had floating around.  Clever Training is awesome for helping out on that front (they supply all the tech goodness!).

DSC_6528 DSC_6532

About 50 folks came the last few years, and it’s definitely been good times!  Plus, we’ve had a Christmas tree full of prizes to give away!

DSC_6557 DSC_6536

Of course, the evening of the Open House I’ll have plenty of devices around should folks want to play with the latest and greatest stuff.  Anything that’s been announced will be available and fair game for tinkering, including all the newest trainers and watches.  Anything!

Of course, there’s also the DCR group run on Saturday morning, which is a blast.  It’ll be new this year since the ‘old’ Paris route is no longer applicable. I’ve got some good ideas, and there’s a reasonably good chance I won’t get you lost either (The Girl is also leading a run group too!).

Beyond DCR things, there’s plenty of stuff to do in the city of Amsterdam if you’re coming from out of town (which a number do each year for the Open House). And, there’s even stuff beyond all the things that’ll get you in trouble in Amsterdam. Whether it be museums, boat rides, windmills, or just good food – there’s plenty of all that. We’ve been finding some really good foodie type spots as well, so if you’re elsewhere in Europe and looking for a good weekend trip, swing on over!

Specifics:

For the Open House:

Date: Saturday, December 1st, 2018– Starting around 7PM.
Address: Location sent via e-mail a few days ahead, but near the VU Medisch Centrum (VU University Medical Center/Hospital) in Amsterdam Zuid
Closest Tram Stop: VU Medisch Centrum – Tram Line #24 (2-minute walk)
Food: We’ll have various appetizer & dessert items…and lots of beer and wine!
Price: Free of course!

For the DCR Run:

Date: Saturday, December 1st, 2018 – 9:30AM
Address: We’ll start somewhere more central Amsterdam, likely from a café near Vondelpark.

In past years we’ve started from the DCR Cave, but it’s likely going to be easier to start the run from somewhere more central in Amsterdam and save the Cave for the evening. We’ll divide into two groups on a route that’s approximately 10KM. The Girl will lead one group, and I’ll lead another. We’ll have secure bag/clothing storage for you, so it’ll be easy to leave stuff nearby.

Upon return, we’ll have some goodies to help you replenish your nutrition for a few hours.  And of course – we get a big group picture either at the start or finish of it all!

Sign-up!

For the open house simply use the form below to sign-up (just so I can figure out how much cheese, beer, and wine to buy…and cupcakes to make!).

[Update – October 16th 2018: Registration is now at capacity. However, you can add yourself to the waiting list. In general about 20-25% of people tend to cancel – so there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll be able to accommodate more folks.  I’ll do that one at a time as people cancel, in the order of people on the waiting list. To add yourself to the waiting list, click here and fill out the form. Good luck!]

[Waitlist Update – November 14th, 2018: Good news, I’ve been able to clear about half of the waitlist to confirmed attendees! Anyone who joined the waitlist up through October 28th should have received an e-mail with further details. I expect to be able to confirm more people as we get closer and people’s plans change. Hang tight!

Waitlist Update: November 17th, 2018: I’ve been able to clear a small pile of folks onto the confirmed list, for all waitlist entrants up to November 5th.

Waitlist Update: Nov 25th, 2018: Woot – I’ve cleared everyone from the waitlist!!! The waitlist is still open for new people to come aboard, and I suspect I’ll be able to clear anyone new that comes aboard based on last minute cancellations. So if you’d like to come and are able, put your name on the list and I’ll probably clear you the same day.]

I’ll use the e-mail provided to send the final details (and a reminder) as we get closer to the date.  We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there!

See ya then!

Note: Folks from various sports tech companies are of course more than welcome! Just be sure to bring enough devices for everyone. Kidding! Or not.

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46 Comments

  1. Kris

    Will be joining for the morning ride, oh wait there isn’t any 🙁

    • You can ride to the run, like all good Dutch peoples. 🙂

      I considered a ride as part of the program, but I didn’t want folks to bring bikes and then have horrendous weather and cancel. I suppose with all the trainers I have I probably could have done a giant indoor ride…

    • Giles

      Yes, I’d love a ride as well. I know that’s quite a bit harder to organise though. Perhaps share some strava routes of good rides around the area – the ones with all the windmills for example!

    • Giles have you seen the area? If you can find a route without windmills and canals you win a million dollars 😉

  2. Hubert

    Thanks for bringing this up Ray, looking forward to meet you and the family

  3. Steve

    Sad times … I was hoping with it being Amsterdam this year I could coordinate a work trip I always have to make around that time of the year. Alas, I have a trail race that weekend already booked in on the south coast of the UK. Maybe next year!

    No doubt all of you who can make it will have a fab time. Bravo Ray for being so open with your readers!

  4. Blacky

    What a shame… I’ll have 5 hours between my flights on the Sunday (2nd December)morning. I suppose you won’t be doing “after party morning run?” 🙂
    Enjoy.

  5. Raymond

    Hope registration went ok … phone keeps freezing when I push sign me up

    • Hi Raymond-

      Yup – you’re good to go! Show you as all registered. Only 12 times, but I think it’ll do. 😉

      Cheers.

    • Erwin

      Can you check my registration as well? Had the same issue on an iPad

    • Hi Erwin,

      Yup, you’re good to go. Looks like it went through twice. I deleted one of the duplicates. Let me know if perhaps that was incorrect (if you’re bringing someone).

      Cheers!

    • In that case I’m registered at least 15 times. Sorry bout that :-p

    • Nah, only twice in your case. 😉

      Actually, I just sent all folks that had duplicate entries (where all fields matched) an e-mail to confirm before I clean up those duplicates.

      For folks that had different names/e-mails/etc (such as registering for a partner/friend), no immediate email yet.

      For future open houses I’d probably use a different registration engine, but honestly the numbers were only a fraction of what they are here – so it wasn’t a big issue.

    • Hans

      Will be exciting to see if I made the cut ?. Thanks anyways

    • Yup, everyone who has signed up thus far has made the cut. And I think I’ve cleared out all duplicates now. My guess is we’ll close registrations to new entrants on Friday, and then people who register after that will have to go on the waiting list.

      I expect to send out a confirmation email to everyone in the following days.

  6. Tracy Q

    Mr Ray, what set-up have you got goin’ in the photo?

  7. Benjamin

    I wanted to join for years. The year you move to amsterdam, I move to the US… (I guess it would have been more ironic to move to Paris this year…).

    Oh well…

  8. Shaun Moran

    Would love to attend but its a bit far from Brisbane, Australia:-)

  9. FrankJ

    Signed up! I don’t run, so won’t be joining the morning run.

  10. Bas

    My office is 100m from vondelpark entrance. We could gather there. Coffee on me!

  11. André Oost

    finally, some how around the corner 🙂
    Wonderfull to meet you, and see how you test things and chat with other gearfreaks 😀

  12. Mircea G

    I think I’m signed up. ? Pressing the “Sign me up” button does not give any indication that it processed the form.

  13. Peter Wassink

    I signed up! Form didn’t give a response though so hoping it went through alright!

  14. Manfred

    Signed up, following your blogposts for years, finally a chance to see the famous cave (and you and ‘The Girl’

  15. Can I also make a vlog of the Open House and/or the run?
    Then I will take my videocamera with me!
    Peter (https://projectleven.nl)

  16. Frankie

    Hey Ray – you planning any comms to registered folk – reassurance we’ve made the cut would be great. Look forward to seeing you and your toys 😉

    Cheers

    • Yup!

      Within the next couple days. Just want to clear out the duplicates first. But, everyone who has registered to this point is definitely in.

      We’re just trying to figure out how many spots we have once we remove some duplicates. But, I don’t envision us being able to hold it open beyond the end of the week unless the sign-up rate dramatically slows down. Simply put we won’t have that much room for any more.

  17. Jim Robertson

    This is really for THE GIRL

    Just finished reading the latest newsletter. My wife and I have accumulated oodles of miles, and I actually considered a weekend jaunt to Amsterdam, but, HEY, if I can’t even get a recipe in exchange, you’ll just have to party without us.

    Seriously: two reasons for my comment: first, I agree about the nonsensical nature of trying to listen to your tunes from a speaker so small even the earpiece of an old black hard rubber Bell System phone (I’m talking depression-era, here) would produce more recognizable output. Your objections, of course, come from a totally different, scarier perspective. Safe to say, I doubt this product will captivate the market.

    Second, I’m contemplating replacing the “Peloton” trainer — consumed (along with most of the rest of our current stuff and photographic memories) by the Sonoma County, CA firestorm just a day or two shy of a year ago, with a Wahoo Kickr Core and a subscription to an augmented-reality training publisher. I’ve read Ray’s reviews, and I’ve watched the floating platform on which he cycles (picture in the newsletter’s opening shot).

    WHAT IS THAT? Is it a one-off? Does somebody sell it? Why? (How does it enhance the experience/diminish the boredom of sprinting in your kitchen? I tried rollers once long ago; that was NOT boring, but not a happy experience, either).


    Jim
    __o
    _-\<,_
    (*)/ (*)
    “““““““““““““““““““““““““““`
    My other car is an S-Works Roubaix SL5
    now with auto transmission: Dura Ace Di2
    and NOW with carbon wheels and hydraulic discs

  18. Bart Cooymans

    Hi Ray,

    Somehow I missed this post for the open house. Anyway, I would be really interested in joining on December 1st. Do you have an estimation for when the waiting list will be up? Then I’ll make sure I’m on time for that.

    Please let me know.

    Kind regards,

    Bart

  19. Hessel

    Hi Ray, I signed up (a month ago) but haven’t received a confirmation e-mail yet, so was wondering if my registration got through..

    See you December 1st! Cheers.

  20. Hey folks!

    Just a quick update to let those on the waitlist know that I just cleared about half of you off the list as confirmed attendees! Woot!

    Anyone who added themselves to the waitlist through October 28th is now confirmed. For those of you that were after that, hang tight – I’m hoping as we get closer I’ll be able to sneak ya on!

    For those that did clear the waitlist, you should have received an e-mail about 60 seconds ago that you need to click on so that I know you’re still interested in going.

    Cheers!
    -Ray

    • Hey Folks!

      Just to let some waitlist peeps know I just cleared another handful of folks, up to those added to the waitlist through November 5th, 2018. If you were in that group I just sent you an e-mail to confirm that you still want to come, and the link to get all signed up.

      Cheers!

  21. Tim

    I wish I had seen this earlier, guessing I’m pretty far down the waitlist :'(

    Seeing as I live in Amsterdam, I’ll keep my eyes peeled for any more cancellations!

    • I’ll be clearing a few more people this afternoon when I have a chance. I think there’s only a handful left that aren’t cleared yet to be honest.

      I’ll be sending out a ‘One week to go’ e-mail on Friday or Saturday, and I expect a few more cancellations then as peoples plans have shifted. I’m hoping to be able to get everyone off the waiting list by the end of the weekend!

    • Tim

      Awesome, Looking forward to (hopefully) seeing everyone on Saturday!

  22. Waitlist Update time!

    I’ve just cleared everyone from the waitlist!!! The waitlist above is still open for new people to come aboard, and I suspect I’ll be able to clear anyone new that comes aboard based on last minute cancellations. So if you’d like to come and are able, put your name on the list and I’ll probably clear you the same day.

    If you’ve added yourself to a waitlist and for some reason didn’t get an e-mail to confirm your spot, drop a comment here and I’ll reply back and get you all settled up.

    As for everyone else, we’ll likely be sending out the final details on Monday (addresses and such). We’re just finalizing the exact cafe/spot to meet at for the run (so people can store their bags). We think we’ve got that all confirmed, but are waiting till Monday to validate it 100%.

    • Jeroen Ransijn

      Hi I just registered on the waiting list. Hope I get a confirmation if there is space left! Best, Jeroen

    • Hi Jeroen-

      Super sorry I missed this. When it came in it was less than 90 minutes to opening time and I was mostly running around like crazy trying to finish some final tasks. I didn’t have a chance to check e-mail/etc till well after midnight.

      Sorry!