Melburn Roobaix : 24th of June 2012

The  Paris Roubaix or the  Hell of the North,  the greatest one day race of them all,  has inspired many cyclist's drive and passion. The Paris Roubaix is one of the toughest and longest (260km) races on the annual cycling calendar. It covers some roads that are centuries old and built with pave or cobblestones. Competitors ride on relatively standard road bikes with longer wheelbases for stability and larger tyres for bump absorption and grip. In the wet, these sections are like riding over a partially dried up creek bed, with the moss on the rocks functioning like grease when wet providing riders with almost zero traction. 

Some cobbles. 

This event has affected many cyclists over the years, both professional and amateur alike. I'm one of those amateurs, many of my rides have been spent out on rough roads in less than ideal conditions and I always catch myself imagining being at the Paris Roubaix duking it out over the cobbles. Another rider who has been affected is Andrew White of Fyxomatosis fame,  Andy has taken this passion to another level, scouting around Melbourne finding all the back alleys and lanes that have been paved with cobbles. To determine the course of his yearly "Melburn Roobaix". Andy takes the best of the cobbled sections and links them together with a route through the city of Melbourne Each year the event gets bigger and better, 2012’s event had 2012 registrants signing up to brave the cobblestones. 

My day started with me riding my Cyclocross bike over to the Hawthorn Velodrome from home, a good 40 kilometres to warm up. By the time I got to the velodrome there was a good crowd filling the infield queuing up for their registration pack.  

A blending of the tribes....

In my opinion the Melburn Roobaix is easily one of the most inclusive of all cycling events. There are roadies, mountain bikers, casual commuters, BMX riders, unicyclists, tandem riders, cyclocross riders and pretty much everything in between. The atmosphere and camaraderie is fantastic. Everyone is willing to lend a helping hand when needed and no one is racing - we are all just enjoying being on a bike, of any description.

At registration riders are given the course map which highlights each sector of cobbles, but the way you choose to get from one to the other is entirely up to each rider. This leads to some interesting moments where you feel confident you are going the right way until you see a group of riders coming the other way down the same road. "Do I change direction and follow those guys or stick to my guns and keep pushing on?"

Map check time, where do we go now?

   

One of the early sectors.

 

An early uphill sector of cobbles.

In between each sector of cobbles, we get the chance to choose our own adventure on the way to the next sector. Sometimes this provides an oppurtunity for a quick stop for coffee and a snack or just a chance to regroup and tell our stories of nearly falling on that last sector, or how much fun was had (mostly the later). These sections were mostly done on bike paths, a great chance to catch your breath, have a friendly chat and enjoy some of Melbourne's beautiful scenery.

Riding along the Yarra between sectors.

The Capital City Trail.

Towards the end of the day, you come upon the "The Koppenberg", a reasonably long sector of cobbles that, like it's namesake is almost all uphill - a tough sector. You need to hold your speed to stay up on top of the cobbles, as soon as you slow down, the ride becomes much rougher as you fall down into all the gaps between the stones. So trying to maintain enough speed to make the ride easier is quite difficult to do while also going uphill. I LOVE this sector! This year I turned around and rode it again two more times. It is a challenge but also a great atmosphere as there is always a good crowd along the climb to cheer you on.

The Koppenberg, (Melburn Roobaix style).

The actual Koppenberg, Belgium.

After the Koppenberg, there are a few more sectors that we string together to make it to the Brunswick Velodrome. With each passing sector though the realisation that the day is coming to an end comes creeps up on you. There were more than a few of us who were suggesting, somewhat tongue in cheek, that we might go back for another lap. But that would have meant missing out on the party that was happening at the finish so we pressed on after going back for one more lap of the last couple of sectors.

The finish was at Brunswick velodrome, by the time I got there, there was a reasonable crowd gathering waiting to cheer on everyone else that was still finishing. The music was pumping, the food was being devoured and the beer was tasting GOOD.

At the finish, Brunswick velodrome.

At the finish, Brunswick velodrome.

Well earned

"Blue Edge"

This is easily some of the most fun I have ever had on a bike, I did this event for the first time last year and promised myself to never miss another one. I had a couple of friends with me this year and it was even more fun so hopefully next year you can all come to join me too.

A big thank you to Andy White for organising this event, I can't wait till next year.

- Brad.

Dirty Deeds Cyclocross 2012 Prologue : 15th of June

In all of my years of riding and racing bicycles, the one type of cycling that has spoken to me the most has been cyclocross. Cyclocoss is a derivate type of cycling created as a form of winter training for professional cyclists to stay fit in their off-season.


Check this video out to see what cyclocross looks like in living colour: 

I have been following cyclocross since I first heard about it in the early nineties, but couldn’t get a bike of my own until 2009.

This turned out to be perfect timing. In 2010, the  inaugural Dirty Deeds Cyclocross series commenced - the first of it’s kind in this country. I raced all of the 2010 and 2011 series along with the Cross Melburn series and Australia’s first National Cyclocross Championships.

Now, in 2012, we have the first National Cyclocross Series. With each series, I have been slowly improving my results, but this year I wanted to really put in an effort to get more competitive, so I made some solid plans to do some running training.,..

All of my best laid plans to put in some running training amounted to exactly ZERO running training. I did manage to practice my dismounts and remounts, but running? None.

It quickly became time to see whether all of this extra riding did me any good. The first race this year was the Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Prologue, at the Brunswick velodrome.

The racing started at 7:00pm - dark and cold as you can imagine, but the organisers were able to light up the field. Cyclocross at night. Very cool.

 

First race

The night didn't start well for me; stuck in traffic after a late-running appointment meant I was running late to the velodrome, but I.made it just in time.

I lined up and got all the way to the second person from the desk when they announced that the event was sold out! With a little bit of pleading, the crew gave me a number and allowed me to race. Thanks Dirty Deeds Crew!

Now I had a number and was going to get to race but but running late meant that I had no practice time. When my race came around, I had just managed to get myself ready and on my way to the start area.

The night’s racing format would be two short races each both lasting about five minutes. It sounds very short and easy but these races are like doing a full on sprint from start to finish. It is enough to destroy you.

To give you an idea of how intense an effort it is, I regularly ride Beach Road on a Saturday morning. When I get into an all out sprint, I get my heart rate up to about 85% of my maximum heart rate. But during the race, I got to 95% at about two hundred metres in and 85% was my lowest heart rate which I got down to recovering on the bitumen section.

The course was very well designed as usual by the Dirty Deeds Crew, managing to pack quite a bit of course into a relatively small area.

"The Circle of Death"

So, I was punched in the face by the effort required to stay up the front of the field. I came up on the first barrier of the course and the lack of run training quickly took it's toll. I was holding my position but riders behind me were gaining on me while I attempted to run. Back on the bike; I tried to put some distance between me and the riders coming up from behind.

This took even more out of my cold legs and I quickly dropped back behind and finished about fourth last. The first race was a scratch race and the results of this race determined the starting position you got for the second race; a handicap. This meant I was fourth rider from the start and meant that I was able to take the lead and stay there for the first lap and a half only to be overtaken by the fitter riders starting behind me.

It was still was good to see the view from the front for a change. I ended up finishing about sixth or so for this second race. “Not too bad”, I thought, “Top ten”.

 Footage from the night.

After my races, I stuck around to see how the other riders were faring. I got a good spot on the fence line of the velodrome and settled in with a well earned beer.

A big part of cyclocross is the party atmosphere that is generated at almost every event. Beer and frites (Belgian fries) are a big part of the culture so it is always worth sticking around to cheer on your fellow racers.

There was an awesome crowd at the prologue and it really felt like a party where a bike race just happened to break out.

The Dirty Deeds Series is for everyone from, roadie to mountain biker to fixie kid to BMXer to spectators laughing at us silly cyclocrossers slipping and sliding in the mud. A great night for all.

More information here.

Brad.