DCG x Veloskin

Fancy riding with the pros? We've partnered with the guys at DonnyChainGang to provide Veloskin Week on their Go Zwift based virtual Chain Gang. If you've never ridden a chain gang before, there's no better place to start than a virtual version. 
All the intensity, less of the stress. It's fast, it's frantic but most of all, it's fun!
Find out more from Matt and Russ below what it's all about!
When Russ & I first talked about getting The Donny Chaingang online on Zwift back in 2019 we never foresaw that it would get overtaken by a pandemic, so when we had run trials with Downing Cycling Virtual clubruns over the 2019/2020 winter we had plans to roll it out for the following September. 
We had a vision of riders going on the chaingang and benefiting from having a regular workout, a reason to get on the bike no matter what the weather was like, a place where the stresses and strains of  life didn’t interfere and the only thing to think about was holding the blob together, riding flat out to the finish when its GoGoGo time, all the while getting exposure & coverage on a Live stream with commentary - we thought we might get 20 or 30 riders if we were lucky…
All that changed in early 2020. The first Lockdown hit and as it started to become clear that both of us would be faced with a dearth of events & income but have much more time on our hands so we accelerated those plans. 
Call us naive but we both set out with no idea of the amount of time we would end up devoting to making the DCG happen every week, we simply knew we wanted to help people at a time when life was increasingly difficult and that to keep it happening never mind improving we might need to spend money on hardware, infrastructure, advice, etc. all at a time when both our income streams virtually disappeared overnight.
The first few Donny Chaingangs starting in early April were 50 rider meet-ups on Zwift & went down really well with Russ leading on the virtual roads and me trying to figure out how we get the consistent quality we both wanted both in the show and behind the scenes.
This led to it quickly being lifted to a 100 rider limit in 2 weeks and an official Zwift event in the first week in May.
Streaming went live from Russ’
Streaming went live from Studio
Continue through summer
Donations Aug / Sept - community
Specials Xmas / New Year
Womens ~Only
The DCG Gang
Partners
Future Plans
Little did we know that by the end of the year the Facebook group would have well in excess of 1500 members, there would be over 70 live shows, that more than 350 people would be riding twice a week, nor that we would have created a dynamic, vibrant and fun community that offers everything from technical, mental and physical support to its members as well as endless encouragement and banter!
We have to say a massive thank you to those of you who damn near forced us to take your donations on an ad-hoc basis from the end of summer then on Paypal later in the Autumn, it has meant we have been able to offset some of the costs.
Many people think that we have sponsors of the DCG but I am afraid that is not the case, we have given exposure on the Youtube broadcast to those companies who have given us prizes for our riders, who have helped with Tech and advice or similar. A few of the companies who have riders on the chaingang have donated in the same way as our riders and again this has been invaluable.
So where do we go from here? Well as true Yorkshiremen we know that you don’t get owt for nowt so we want to make donating simpler, cut the fees that go in admin on donations and give you plenty in return!
The DCG Gang is how we can reward you for supporting us and helping us continue improving whilst still ensuring that the Donny Chaingang rides are kept FEE FREE and the shows are viewable FREE from a paywall imposed by us!
Joining The DCG Gang gives you all this & more:
Access to unique giveaways!
Exclusive The DCG Gang promotions & discount codes from our contacts & supporters in cycling!
Next level opportunities to access riders and celebrities in cycling!
Every link to on line Donny Chaingang Zwift events emailed directly to you your inbox as soon as they are available, no need to enter every ride separately!
You can join for a calendar month or for the whole of 2021 and of course there is a discount for the whole year!
Each calendar month costs £20 with a special rate of £15 for the rest of January or join for the year for £200
Please click here to join The DCG Gang for 2021 https://buytickets.at/fullspeedevents/470121
Or here for a calendar month https://buytickets.at/fullspeedevents/470113
If you have a regular donation set-up then please do transfer this to the new system.
Drop us a message on Insta or Facebook if you need any help - Matt & Russ.
See you there! During Veloskin week there's prizes up for grabs from £50 gift vouchers to skincare bundles, plus everyone gets access to free samples too!
Back to VeloSkin Blog