Dirty Deeds #1 : 15th of July 2012

Time for round two of the National Cyclocross Series, this was kind of like a Cyclocross stage race, two races in two days. I could get used to this very easily, in America and Europe this is just about the norm. Round two was hosted by the fine people from Dirty Deeds, at the  Darebin Parklands.

A grade field lining up.

We really are starting to hit the big time, SBS's Cycling Central had a crew out filming the weekends action. I am no longer alone in my cyclocross passion, woohoo!

Officially big time!

As usual the Dirty Deeds Crew out did themselves with a course design that was even better than yesterdays. Some fantastic use of the available space and some mean course design by taking the course down next to the pond in the middle of the Darebin Parklands, probably the muddiest section of the park. Thanks for that guys.

One side of the course.

Another "Circle of Death", this is starting to become a Dirty Deeds trademark.

They also included another circle of death, this looks awesome in motion full of riders seemingly going every which way. Absolute chaos, fun chaos.

Not quite full here but it gives you the idea.

After the "Circle of Death", there was a little drop down a bank that sent you flying into a hairpin turn at 30+ km/h only to come to almost a dead stop when you hit the mud at the bottom. Then grind your way around the corner and try to accelerate for the climb up the other side only to have to get off half way up and jump a barrier. Good fun. 

This section was tough to hold any speed through.

You can see from this guy's rear tyre just how far down your tyres sank.

Barrier jumping.

After this section we got a little bit of respite as we turned back down the hill and onto a section of bike path. It felt so good to get back onto a surface more appropriate to ride a bike on. Strange that.

After the bike path section they sent us back up the hill again into a tight right hand hairpin that increased in gradient as the turn decreased in radius. This was tough to stay on your bike through but paid dividends if you were able to. 

Tough section to ride.

We then went down to ride beside the pond, right beside the pond, VERY SOGGY. Another tough section to ride even though we had gravity on our side to get through it.

See? Very soggy.

Going down to the pond.

Nice little puddle.

After the pond section, just for a change of pace, they sent us through another mud patch. What a surprise.

More mud, yay.

This led us into the final straight and the finish line ready for yet another lap. What an awesome course. If it wasn't so hard to ride I could have kept going for hours, top fun.

Finishing straight.

As far as my performance on the day goes, I think the less said about that the better. Not too well basically. But huge buckets of fun were had so that is the main thing, (that is exactly what all the back markers tell themselves I am sure). Basically mid field so not too bad but not the best either.

Muddy bicycle.

Thanks again to the Dirty Deeds crew for another awesome event and a fantastic start to the  National Cyclocross Series.

- Brad.

Cross Melburn #1 : 14th of July 2012

Cyclocross is getting pretty big here in Australia, only two years ago there was nothing to sate a hungry crossers appetite. You could ride a cross bike in an MTB event or put slicks on and do a road race but nothing truly "cross like". Now, in 2012 we have the inaugural National Cyclocross Series. A six round series taking in the cross scene from Melbourne,  Adelaide and Sydney. We are starting to get a few followers of this crazy cross thing, cool.

The first two rounds of the series were in Melbourne, Saturday and round #1 would be "Cross Melburn". This was held at the Melbourne Go Cart Centre in Port Melbourne organised by the fine folk at Trailmix and Full Gas Promotions. This was a brand new location for Cyclocross in Melbourne, held on and off the go kart track, it made for a fun and tough course.

Now THAT looks fun.

Cyclocross is meant to be a tough sport, it was originally intended as a form of cross training for professional cyclists to stay fit in their off season. So all cyclocross courses are a challenge , not only physically but technically and mentally as well. You really do need to be a good all rounder to do well at this sport. Seeing as how this course was around a motor racing track they really made the most of the terrain available. At the end of a fast straight on a track like this they have gravel traps to slow the cars down in the event of an off track excursion. So of course they sent the track through as many of these gravel traps as possible.... The gravel in these traps was like pea gravel, almost round, this meant that there was never a firm line through it. The gravel would simply slide back down to fill the divot  your tyre had just made, this made riding through it almost impossible. 

Gravel trap

It became clear quite quickly that running these sections was faster than riding them. 

At the end of the main straight they sent us off track and onto the grass leading into a right hand berm. Good fun. If you took a high enough line through here you could build some momentum for the following gravel trap.

Nice little berm

The fast line through here was up next to the billboard, on the other side of the tyres in the middle of the shot above. You could use gravity to get your speed up and bypass half of the gravel trap usually gaining a couple of positions in the process. This was a very cool course, very different to what I had gotten used to.

 Being the first round of the National series they also set a pit up, very Pro.

Practice

There were some obligatory muddy patches.

Yep, muddy.

Line choice.

A lot of the corners were like this one, two line choices. The inside line on the grass is shorter but much tougher while the outside line on the track is longer but much faster.

So, after struggling through the race with a heart rate above 85% of my maximum for 40 minutes or so I ended up finishing in 7th place. Not too shabby, one down from the last race but over a longer duration so at least I didn't lose any positions during the longer race. Lots of fun was had though so that is, as always, the main thing.

I finished the day sore, happy and excited for round two the next day.

Thanks to the guys at Trailmix and Full Gas Promotions for organising this series, you should come along to compete or just to watch the next one. I have been told that it is a great day as a spectator as well. If you are keen to try this out you can follow the above links to enter the next rounds.

- Brad.

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.

Dirty Gran Fondo : 20th of May 2012

Hello again, three weeks later and it was time to punish myself on a new type of event for me. Similar to the Gravel Grinder but all on fire roads rather than dirt and paved roads, 90 kilometers and over 2000 meters vertical, OUCH!

A few weeks before this event I watched a video of Trent Lowe pre riding the course, this was a bad idea. If Trent Lowe says that this will be a challenging course then this is going to be an absolute killer of a course for someone like me.

The day started VERY early, all the usual pre-ride preparations but at a ridiculous hour of the day. I found that I was at the start a bit too early, damn you Google maps. I started getting ready after picking up my number and some zip ties. Lots of extra embrocation needed today, very cold morning and looking like it will stay that way for a while yet.

Chilly start to the day.

Start time rolled around eventually, with all of my waiting though I ended up starting the ride with numb toes and fingers. I had heard people saying that the first few kilometers were going to be tough for the cyclocross riders and this proved to be very true. I had elected to use a semi-slick tyre on my rear wheel to ease rolling resistance but this was proving to be a bad choice given the slimy conditions we were faced with for the first climb. I was getting zero traction on the rear and not much more on the front as the knobs on that tyre were quickly filled with mud anyway, homemade slick anyone?

I could see the guys I had started with just ahead of me, they seemed to making better progress through the mud on their mountain bikes than I was. I looked up to notice that they were stopped just in front of me, I figured that they were struggling through the mud like the rest of us and had simply stopped to dab a foot. I decided to keep on going thinking that if I stopped now I would not be able to re-start. Little did I know that they had fallen victim to a large gash to one of their tyres, ouch, sorry guys.

My Garmin told me that this section was a 24% gradient before I got off to walk as well.

These cheeky little signs were strewn throughout the course.

OUCH

!

Checkpoint number one.

I eventually made it to the top of the first climb to come across the first checkpoint of the day. Some welcome sugar refuelling and as I went to refill my water bottle I realised that I hadn’t actually drank anything yet. Not the best way to start a ride like this one, whoops. After waiting at the first checkpoint to let the guys catch up for a while I came to the conclusion that they might not be coming and I wanted to stay close to the people I had started riding with so back into it. These guys were a bit faster than me so I really was going over my head to keep up with them, another bad decision. 

Climbing into the mist.

In the mist now.

We climbed into the mist together for a little while until I blew up and was spectacularly dropped. This gave me the chance to take the camera out though and catch some of these cool misty images. Time to settle in and try to find a rhythm of my own, making sure to keep drinking!

Gratuitous shop name shot.

After some spectacular descending we came across the next checkpoint where I got a chance to eat more, catch my breath and shake my sore hands out (from all the braking on the descent).

While doing this I noticed a couple of riders I had been riding with earlier come in to the rest stop and start unloading their pannier bags. I noticed a couple of baguettes sticking out of the top of one of the bags and was getting rather curious as to what was going on here. They said they were hungry and seeing as how this was the “Dirty Gran Fondue” they had better get their fondue fired up and get stuck into their lunch, followed by a question of “Where is your fondue?”

Very cool I think, this was a tough ride and to make it even tougher by carrying all that extra weight was a very fair effort. Kudos.

“Dirty Gran Fondue”

At this checkpoint I was overhearing a lot of people struggling with the decision of, “Do we keep going on for the ninety kilometres or do we cut the ride short and make the turn for the sixty nine kilometre option instead”.

I opted to keep on going, a decision  that I would later regret.

There was a nice long and fast downhill from here but all that meant was that I would need to regain all of that lost elevation again. The longer I was descending the more I was getting worried.

I was really starting to feel it from my earlier efforts to stick with faster riders than me.

Before long the descent ran out and the climbing began again. Gorgeous scenery but that didn’t help with the pain in the legs, “Shut Up Legs!”.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Yummy

MMMMMMMMMM Dirty

MMMMMMMM Yummy

This sign was on one of the bigger final climbs, nice.

Lots of us out here today.

I was starting to go to some very dark places on the last few climbs, wondering why I was out here, why I do this to myself, why they had to make this course so hard and why don’t I just go home and relax in front of the heater with a good book. Then I came across the final checkpoint of the day, I was obviously looking destroyed from the volunteers reactions. They were nice enough to tell me that, “It is almost all downhill from here, only one more little climb and your done”.

Four kilometres or so into the third climb after this and I was starting to doubt their honesty.....

It was finally time for the last descent of the day, this was going back down the first climb we did this morning. VERY COOL, lots of large water bars that just launched you into the air whether you wanted to or not followed by some very rough rutted out sections that really required your utmost attention to stay upright on. Attention that was sadly lacking when I slid into one of these ruts and “supermaned” into a mud puddle, what a lovely way to end the ride.

So after this descent it was a nice flat cruise to the finish line and then a sprint (in the car) to the local fish and chips shop for some well earned fatty food.

Even though I went through some dark places on this ride I still had an absolute blast and would like to thank the crew at Big Hill Events for a fantastic day on the bike, looking forward to the next one.

Route Map

Join me at the next one?

- Brad.