Dirty Deeds Cyclocross

Cherub Rock

2012-01-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to point out that the World Cyclocross Champs are on this weekend over in Belgium and amidst the flying sand and slippery mud there are a couple of things well worth noting:

Australia will have it's first entrant for quite a number of years (I have heard there was someone who entered in the 90s - confirm/deny?) Lewis has been having more and more fun, and in his last race he felt pretty good. I can say that it's been really awesome seeing his australia skin suit get moment so screen time on the replays I"ve caught. While in all honesty he doesn't stand much chance of a podium finish, simply getting a start and mixing it up with the likes of Nys, Albert, Stybar and Pauwels has to be a life highlight.

This looks to be the first worlds where technical skills will come to the fore for a while. That, combined with Koksijde's very sandy course and a lack of frozen ground will mean that the podium may well be a little different from the past couple of years. May being the operative word...

My tips (for whatever it's worth as this is 'cross and it can all go very wrong in a second):
Womens - You'd be a fool to bet against Marianne Vos. Her form coming up this race has been exemplary, she has solid technical skills and power, power, power. If anyone might have had a chance it would have been Katie F Compton. Traditionally the course really plays to her technical strengths, and if this was last year I'd have had no hesitation putting her as my favourite, but this year she just hasn't been able to hit it full gas at the starts and elsewhere and has had a few equipment issues that have cost her valuable time and missed key selections. I do hope this is her day to shine as it would be amazing. Far outside chance: Daphny Van Der Brand - she retires at the end of this season and it would be great to see her go out with the rainbow jersey.

Mens - My pick - The Cannibal from Baal. Sven Nys came back from back spasms to win arguably the only race that comes close to the World Champs, the Belgian National Champs, and this course suits his technical power and smart head. Look for his now-trademark crap start and then for him to sit in slowly blow any group off his wheel with well timed attacks and surges. He has had some ups'n'downs in the past couple of years and its been a while since he wore the rainbow stripes. I think he really wants this to avenge some mishaps that kept his out of the World Cup champions jersey. But personal bias aside, if Niels Albert wakes up on the right side of bed i'm picking he will play a big role in the race. When he has been on this year, he has shown signs of the talent that earn his national and world champs stripes on his jersey, and he has a history with the course. But he has had days where he was definitely not firing (much like a certain playboy countryman cyclist with whom he is often mentioned in the same sentence). Of course you can't talk about the men's race without mentioning the proverbial fly in the belgian embro - Z.Stybar. Currently riding what is arguable the loudest bike in the group and showing that you can ride a full road season and back up for podium positions he is definitely a threat to the men in the yellow/red/black. But my gut feeling is that he doesn't have the finesse for a tight battle of skills with an in-form Nys/Albert, of course if it goes for a bunch kick I'd keep an eye on him. Far outside chance: Pauwels - he seems to be shining on the flatter, faster courses which the course doesn't seem to be this year.

I reserve the right to be completely wrong with the above...

But where to watch it all?

Try here, here and here.

CXMagazine will be streaming live updates for the Men's and Women's races here

Races are (AEST):
Juniors: Saturday, 28th Jan. 9pm
U23s: Sunday, 29th Jan. 1am

Womens: Sunday, 29th Jan. 9pm

Mens: Monday, 30th Jan. 1am

Thank You Space Expert

2012-01-19T01:29:00.000-08:00

As we enter a new year, and the 'cross season on the other side of the world reaches it's frenetic peak the last few weeks have been full of high stakes races on a national and series level.

Our ever-supportive (and national news/current affairs star) Wade @ Cyclingtips has been running some great Euro season updates. These feature a very complete compendium of race footage links. So if you are just coming back after some summer excess or want to start early on your cross prep for this season you should fire up youtube and get watching.

With the massive rise of 'cross in the land of stars and stripes there was no shortage of footage from the recent Nationals there.

There's really too much to cover, but between cyclingdirts amazing coverage (as always) and cxmagazine's many men and woman on the ground there are a lot of great highlights. No matter what you think of J-Pow his emotion when crossing the line is a great example of passion for a sport.

But I'd also like to draw your attention another great supporter/generator of cross footage. Mr Bill Scheiken. His site 'In The Cross Hairs' is excellent as resource for those racing in the Mid-atlantic region and as a course designer i've stolen a few ideas based on his numerous course previews.

His highlights of both the men's and women's Elite races at the US Nationals are top quality as always. Buy a tshirt or some socks from the guy! (and tell him Nik from Australia sent you)

So with the World's rapidly approaching and Styby riding a bizarrely coloured bike (why pink?) I leave you with the aforementioned videos.

U.S. National Cyclocross Championship 2012 (Elite Men) from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

2012 U.S. National Cyclocross Championships (Elite Women) from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

Darling, Leave a Light On For Me

2012-01-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

While the weather heres is easily above thirty degrees, and the local trails slowly recover from a holiday onslaught worse than taking thirds for dessert there have been a raft of interesting posts out there in the cyclocross world.Lewis has had a couple of races over with the big kids, and is making progress and getting new sponsors.

Meanwhile CX blogger and junkie MudAndCowbells has posted some great content.First is a great short film about 'Cross on the Colorado Front Range (featuring Boulder "Where they take cyclocross seriously")

The next is his annual 'Best Of' list which features some solid advice and musings on his race and riding world as it intersects with products and experiences. My only thought is just how many pairs of the hi-vis yellow mavic furys will we see at the start line this year?

Merry CXmas everyone!

2011-12-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Radio Friendly Unit Shifter

2011-12-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

One of the stars of Dirty Deeds CX for the past two years has been Lewis Rattray and now he is looking to use the 'cross skills honed in the mud of Melbourne's inner north to take on the world's best (literally).

He flies out today to 'the motherland' and has been offered a spot in the Heusden-Zolder World Cup on Boxing Day making him (to my knowledge) one of the first Aussies in a while to race that series.

From what I've been reading in newcomer Jeremy "sausage man" Durrin's blog it's some fast and furious racing no matter where you are in the pack, and on some crazy courses.

We here at DDCX wish him all the best as he bangs elbows with the best in the game in the muddy fields and hills of battle. Please high-five J-Pow! and bring us back some of these:

Moon Pix

2011-12-20T18:46:00.000-08:00

With proper cross weather now in full effect in the lowlands the photos and video emerging is amazing. There was some great muddy and technical racing over the weekend.

(courtesy CXMagazine)

The US season is on something of a hiatus after a great finale to the USGP series. Combating any threat of less excitement with the absence of Tre-Boom, old team-mates Powers and Johnson lit up the first race, and then Powers brought it home in a champion fashion for the second race. Sam MacGregor's sideburn inspiration, Geoff Kabush celebrated his new team with some great results. I'm hoping we will see more of his low-key demeanour and dry humour at races next year thanks to a new and arguably bigger program.

(courtesy PodiumInsight)

Crossing over between both cross continental families was the formerly troubled racer Ben Berden.

With one of his sponsors being the talented lensman Chris Milliman it's not surprising there has been some great visuals accumulating of his time in the US.

It looks like he took to racing in the US pretty well... and I suspect got on pretty well with his frame builder too.

I Don't Do Well In Social Situations

2011-11-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

Like the mud that has finally arrived in Europe I welcome the return of my second favourite CX video series.

Viola, C'est PetitesReines!

3ème manche CDM cyclo-cross - Koksijde 2011/2012 from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

Like the similar style of musical accompaniment it employs, it's focus is also on the behind the scenes of CX racing something that all the sporza.be videos with their shouting flemish commentary can't match.

Any thoughts that the women's racing isn't as hard. or a lesser event (yes, I"m looking at you GVA and Superprestige series) is quashed with their post-race scenes.

The World Champs will be held at the same location and from the footage here and from the men's race it's going to be a serious battle of skills and willpower (and maybe an upset in the Women's race?).

The Youngest Was The Most Loved

2011-11-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

A slew of interesting articles are sitting in my browser as I ponder a thread to sew them all together... and then this veritable onslaught of amazing imagery emerges from the SSCXWC (Single Speed Cyclo Cross World Champs) held last weekend in SF.

Ladies and Gentlemen... your new winners of the "Golden Speedo/Bikini" and prize tattoo.

Chris Jones

Julie Krasniak

Yes, they are both UCI-level CX pros but by all reports (and photos) they fully embraced the spirit of the event. For a better example of what the event is about check out the video of the mens start

In the midst of that race you have several world cup level MTB racers and domestic road pros. In the women's race (first full field at a SSCXWC) they had a number of national champions lining up. Many of whom came to enjoy the race as much as

There are more links on the Event home page if you want to see more of the high jinx racing that went down.

Next year is Santa Cruz... and I'll admit to being very tempted.

The Last Pale Light In the West

2011-11-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

Greetings Cross Fans...
We have had a letter arrive in our inbox that might apply to some of you out there...
"I am writing a story about unusual sports and was wondering if you knew of any cyclocross competitors from the Western Suburbs, particularly Broadmeadows, Craigieburn, Tullamarine, Werribee, Macedon Ranges, Sunbury or Melton."

If you can help please contact: Laura Little from The Weekly.

In thanks I give you a shot from the amazing Zonhoven Superprestige course of a couple of weeks ago.

Sandy mayhem!

(click to embiggen)

The In Sound From Way Out!

2011-11-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you need to throw some fireworks in the fire to get people talking about why they feel so strongly about something...

The excellent hands/brain behind INRNG did something similar with this post, and in doing so (successfully) sparked up some lively discussion in his own comments, as well as spawning these replies.

Yes, given my involvement with 'cross and the fact I'm even typing this it's pretty easy to know what side of the barrier I fall on, but even having said that I think it's great to see it laid out on screen. It's not a discipline that suits everyone in a sport that doesnt interest even more, but there's a lot of fuss/buzz/noise aorund CX right now and for some the 'What gives?' question is a valid one. Even moreso becuase it has become such an entry vector into competitve cycling, and in some cases competitive sports, for people.

For those that have been embracing an embrocation-scented, mud-covered lifestyle for a while it's also good to reflect on what was, what we now have and what we might hope for...

For others it's just neat to see cross talked about with passion... and remind them of the good times that are had playing in the mud.

Cuts Across the Land

2011-10-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to say about the course for Zonhoven at the recent Superprestige race.

Take a moment to reflect on how destroyed your legs and drivetrain would be after racing it...

Or for the more gravity inspired rider... CX goes downhill

More DePalma, Less Fellini

2011-10-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

Ahoy!

A quick reminder that this is on SUNDAY.

The last round had arguably the best course of the series with a sweet run-up and descent plus more BMX track to carve up.

In other news I highly recommend pavepavepave's excellent Cyclocross Power Rankings for those who are following the goings on on the other side of the planet. While not as 'entertaining' as cyclingdirt's weekly ranking they are more digestible and very helpful for the time-poor amongst us.

Is anyone else looking forward to a showdown between Styby and Boom? Oh, and I agree, don't write Nys/Johnson off yet... both have been around far too long to let a couple of middling results hold them back.

Ease Your Feet into the Sea

2011-10-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

Some bad news hit the inbox this morning...

The cyclocross component of this has been cancelled. For more information see here and here.

However to offset this here is a picture of Zach McDonald doing a wheelie across the line after yet another U23 victory.

What's The Scenario

2011-10-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

Friend of DDCX, quality blogger and fast racer Wade Wallace asked us to put the word out about a little event he is putting together for the Arthur's Seat stage of the Herald Sun tour this Saturday.

He is hoping to get a bit of the excitement and enthusiasm that we saw at our series this year.

================================================
"CyclingTips and Rapha will be hosting the biggest party Australia has ever seen on "Alp d'Arthurs" this Saturday, Oct 15 to cheer on the riders of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. We invite every single one of you to come along to enjoy the race and create an atmosphere here in our backyard that rivals anything you've ever seen in Europe.

This will be a HUGE! Bigger and rowdier than Dutch Corner. We're bringing Bay 13 from the MGC to Arthurs Seat. There will be food vendors (The BeatBox Kitchen and Taco Truck), coffee, music, and a sea of pink so you cannot miss it. We'll award everyone who wears something pink with a Rapha prize (until we run out). Bring your Aussie flags, noisemakers, BYOB (to keep hydrated of course) and whatever else you need to be seen and heard. This will be broadcast live on SBS2 and we don't want it to look like the Tour of Beijing, do we?

I've reserved Franklin Point, or Bay 13 as we're calling it, which sits a couple kilometers up the road (see map). It features an amazing view of Mornington Peninsula and is the steepest part of Arthurs Seat (16%). When the riders attack, this is the place they'll be launching their fireworks. This is the place the Sun Tour will be won or lost. Matty Lloyd wants this one bad and we can give him the roar he needs to take victory and show Omega Pharma Lotto what they missed out on.

Times
Recommended time to get to Bay 13 is 11am.

The Women's Race begins from Sorrento at 10:30am and they'll hit the climb at about 11:30 (finishing at about 12pm).

The Men's Race begins from Sorrento at 1pm and ends at approximately 5pm (doing 3 laps around Arthurs Seat and finishing at the summit). They'll be hitting Alp d'Arthurs at about 1:30pm.

If you want to drive down to Arthurs Seat, the road up the hill will be closed to cars but there will be shuttle busses brining people up from the base. It's not that far of a walk up to Bay 13, so bring your running shoes and come on up.
================================================

Wade loves cycling and knows PRO, so having been to a couple of his events before I can be sure it will be a great day out.

See The Sky About To Rain

2011-10-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm still here... and given that 'cross season is now in full swing there should be no shortage of posts appearing in the coming weeks.

This has been sitting in my browser since it appeared in my RSS feed.

"Behind The Barriers" Season II Episode 2 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.

Things to note:

Bad jokes (We here at Dirty Deeds like 'dad jokes')
Bart Wellen's ridiculously fast barrier transition @ 8:00
Reverence for old school metallica... (and yes Trebon just jumped a few points higher in my estimation)
Ben Berden is awesome.

Even if I still think Sven Nys is my favourite euro cross racer doing laps, Bart Wellens has won me over a bit with his funny interviews and good attitude.

Bart Wellens - Off the Record from cycloWHAT? on Vimeo.

The Last Last One.

2011-10-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

Folks, I'm out. Running the DDCX series has been an honour and a privilege over the last two years, but I gotta concentrate on my own racing. If you wanna keep up with my hilarious thoughts on the universe, they are generally available here. In the meantime, I believe Nik will continue to run the blog. I wish him and all the rest of the DDCX crew all the best.

Still Waiting For The Punchline

2011-10-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

So life caught up with me and I still havent finished the report on the road-trip to (r)Adelaide. But let me tell you, sprained ankles aside, it was a damn fun trip.

A quick recap of the 3rd Round of 'Cross Melburn' 2 sundays ago...
Hot! Fast!

The weather was its warmest yet (making bottle handups very helpful).

I missed the Opens races, and in doing so missed the chance to provide support to DDCX Junior Girls champ (and DDCX podium star) Emily Hughes. This was entirely unfair as her voice cheered me heartily in my race... all whilst she took laps on the pump track!

Photos from her dad can be found here, and the following is his report of the race:
"In the Junior boys the Trailmix guys had a clean sweep, with Sam Wilson and Liam Jeffries battling it out for 1st and 2nd respectively

In the open class Junior girls, Emily and Georgia rode closely with the lead changing several times and it was looking like a close finish until Georgia Wilson (Trailmix) crashed out on the last lap leaving Brunswick cycling club’s own Emily Hughes (red kit) to lead the junior women home. We hope Georgia is back for the final round on the 23rd October"

Despite a reduced turnout that meant all Cx categories were run as a single race, on what was arguably the best course that Cross Melburn has had. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for tricky run-ups and remounts... After a rubbish start I did battle with perennial DDCX Juniors threat/U15 MTB champ Liam Jeffries all race. Meanwhile up the pointy end of the race Allan Iacone quickly separated himself and set out on his own. Simon Carey (raing sans Cycling Edge support crew) and James 'No Onesie for Me' Grover filled out the podium. I also heard talk of Snozza being tormented by one of his quite junior team mates until a wily last section kick got him over the line first.

Thanks to the previously mentioned sprained ankle Mr Blakey was once again on duty as my mechanic/bidon hand-up guy. But this time he was also recruited into service by Snozza for prize hand-ups.

Photos of the sunglasses and lube he passed out via his nifty hand-up stick can be found here.

There are no photos of the eye-searing 'skittles' colourway specialized cross bike that were 'on show' and being raced, but if you want to be noticed you should look into them!

Ain't No Valley Low Enough.

2011-09-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

And while Nik is reminding you of CX races around the countryside, let me do the same! I can't make much sense of this whole festival thing, but it seems there is a CX race happening here. Ballarat, once again positing itself as the home of Australian cycling.

Expression Eraser

2011-09-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

A reminder that Trailmix are up to their usual games out at Lysterfield this weekend with the next round of Cross Melburn.

Rumour had it that it was to be in the near-urban wilds of Westgate but some 'issues' have them back at their spiritual home of Lysterfield.

I'll be out there with my personal mechanic/pit guy, but look out for his handups mid-race as I understand he may be up to some fun tricks.

With the rain we have had/is forecast there may be another taste of mud for all racers! Here's hoping... (well I am as I don't want to have to change my tyres over again). It'd be nice if the wind held off too while I'm making a wish-list.

It's been a month since many of you have raced... I'm sure the itch is starting to tickle a bit.

More info can now be found here.

You Are (The Government)

2011-09-18T05:16:00.000-07:00

Landing neatly in the DDCX inbox is the following flyer from our West for another late season race. Click the flyer to embiggen.

The location in the map is here:

View Larger Map

As always, supporting new races and promoters is a great way to see cyclocross develop as a community and a sport.

Coming off the back of a awesome weekend in Adelaide racing with some enthusiastic and committed crew I can assure you there are some great experiences to be had out there both between the tape and off the course. A full report will follow... and maybe some shots from Andrew 'Tangles' Blakey.

Mars Needs Guitars

2011-09-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

An update from the North...
The Wangaratta CX race this Saturday is starting at 2 (registration from 1).

More information can be found here.

Some of DDCX HQ qill heading heading east to the dry lands of (R)Adelaide to see how they do this 'cyclocross' thing people are getting excited about. I'm sure a full (and rambling) report will follow, but it will be accompanied by excellent photos so don't fret.

Photo Courtesy of Rapha

In other news the North American CX season is now underway and if you want a great rundown of both the US Domestic and International races I can highly recommend the wise sages at pavepavepave. Smart, succinct and often witty.

Photo by Dave Roth, http://www.dmroth.com/cycling.html

Hardly Recognize Simple Things Any More.

2011-09-11T03:29:00.000-07:00

Hey, here are the results from today's Cycling Victoria CX Open! So quick!

As if the results themselves don't show it, Munners put on a bit of a show today. It's not my place to write a report, but the boy has some skills, that's for sure.

Also, someone left some sweet sunglasses at the venue. If they're yours, just call up Kipp at the CV office, he'll sort you out.

Electravision Mantra

2011-09-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Following on from Brendan's flurry of posts about the CVCX here are some tips for spectators this weekend from the online champions of the TheHandUp:

Some history
Some alternatives from the recent Tour Of Utah

Tour of Utah - Queen Stage - Wacky Food Hand Ups from Roots Culture Connect on Vimeo.

The key is to offer not force the hand-up, as you dont know if the person is a militant anti-capitalist when you are offing the cash. Well that and being creative... I'd be pretty stoked with a damper and golden syrup hand-up mid race!

***EDIT***
More awesome handups and mud craziness

2010 Monkey Cross Race 2 - Category A Men from Hans Kellner on Vimeo.

And then something for the more 'serious racer'
What to do before you race

It's Time To Meet Your Maker.

2011-09-08T00:27:00.000-07:00

With no pressure on us whatsoever to tell anyone off at the Victorian Cyclocross Open on Sunday (or, as I'm trying to start everyone calling it, the #CVCX), the Commentary Commissariat are getting a bit excited about the possibilities. Hamish is stockpiling casks of Fruity Lexia and I'm hunting for a TAB that will allow me to put some money down on my boy Munners (not to mention the Bombers V Carlton game happening the same time). Blakey is going to retrieve the lagerphone, Nik will likely provide enough lung butter to turn the DISC parking lot into a cesspool and Nath isn't going to be there at all! We're all pretty stoked on our newfound irresponsibility. You should come down and check it out. It's going to get messy.

Tonight! Tonight! Everyone Dances Or Nobody Dances!

2011-09-07T03:42:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I'm starting to fall in love with those guys from iRide. Firstly, Ross loves Public Enemy, which means he and I are immediately best friends. And secondly, they write reports like this. Sure, it wasn't one of our races, but we don't care! We just love the Cross!

You know who else I love? Fitzroy Revolution. But you knew that already. Hell, I got enough love to go around. Check out my fellow Revolutionary Duncan's race report on the Lysterfield action.

The Business Interests Of The Corperate Owned Media.

2011-09-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

This just in...

Andy Rogers of Fame & Spear fame (?) has a photo exhibition of this year's DDCX series at Human Powered Cycles. I'm pretty sure I saw a picture of you there. As well as being a supporter of Andy and DDCX, HPC are a rad little bike shop with an equally rad cafe attached. Head down there and check it out. If Val is there, tell him I say hi. And make sure you tell him a joke or something - the guy has the best damn laugh I've ever heard.

And, once again, Hamish and I from the DDCX Commentary Commissariat will be providing "insights", "humour" and "commentary" at the CV Cyclocross Open on Sunday. The weather is supposedly going to be atrocious. Which sounds like a lot of fun. I believe you can sign up on the day, but you might want to check my facts on that one. If you're keen to help out, head down to John Cain Memorial Park around 9 and ask for Kipp.

I also heard a rumour that there's a DDCX expose in this month's Treadlie magazine. Anyone wanna confirm or deny that for me?

The Girl With The Cowbell Tattoo from Cyclocross Magazine has been spectacularly supportive of our series, and has once again kerplunked our little series on the front page. She's been emailing me all week about the beginning of the US Cross Season. I don't wanna sound like Nik Cee or anything, but hot damn, if I had some frequent flyer miles and a bike box, you know where I'd be heading.

And that's about it from DDCXHQ. If you're riding the CV Open on Sunday, come say hi. I'll be significantly more relaxed than at our events - not being responsible for anything other than vocal shenanigans will do that to a guy.

New York is Giving Me the Creeps

2011-09-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

As Brendan mentioned in the previous post I ventured out in the outer regions of urban life (into what he refers to as 'bad latte country') to race the 2nd Round of the Cross Melburn series.

After securing a lift with DDCX CX champion Lewis Rattray and getting to ogle his newly built ride (lightest complete CX bike I've handled? Maybe... It certainly was one hell of a bike [RIP]) we talked CX and it's associated characters on our way out to Lysterfield.

After a week and a half with the cold/flu/hacking cough that seems to have afflicted everyone I know, I was sure I wasnt going to scare the frontrunners, but felt like a good race-pace hitout and skills test. What I wasn't looking forward to was the predicted rain and thunderstorms 'raining' on my slow return to health! We were. however, greeted with irregularly gloomy skies and unseasonably warm temps. Right! Pack those armwarmers back in the bag and skip the embro!

The course was very similar to the last round, but this time the super boggy back grass stretch was dry and bumpy. The organisers had been kind enough to add a little more BMX track and some well-placed gravel mounds as well as some mini-barriers. All in all it made for a faster and marginally more technical course, with those lovely stairs and a tight-run up to benefit those with deeper CX skills.

We arrived just as the Open classes were starting so I cant comment too much on them but I watched Liam Jeffries lose a CX race which coming after he came 2nd in the earlier Open Juniors race was a bit of a shock to the crowd. Fair play to his DDCX bridesmaid (and Trailmix teammate) Sam Wilson who toppled him on both occasions.

In the B-class there was a bit of controversy as the the Omara boys demoted themselves from A-grade (after a mid-pack finish in the last round) to go out and dominate their race. In the lower places there were some excellent battles going on with places swapping as tiredness and crashes took their toll and re-arranged the riders. Some familiar faces from DDCX showed their faces and toed the line in unfamiliar surrounds. The two ladies who entered barely saw each other but each fought very hard to ensure a good placing and some valuable practice for this week's CSV Open.

And then it was time for the main event... with much of the field all knowing each other from various MTB/DDCX/road events there was some light-hearted heckling as we rode a warm-up pre-race lap and staged for our start. Winner of the last round of DDCX, Casey Munro had asked for gears and was looking focussed, Lewis had a shiny new whip and Dan Moore was talking the talk and had a posse of iRide team mates by his side. The sun had dipped its intensity and it was feeling more like Cx weather than a summer's day. Everyone eyed each other off and we lightly jostled for position at the start. A word from Snozza (who was sitting this race out) and we were off. I saw Lewis, Casey and an iRide skinsuit (Dan i think) bolt up the track as the rest of us rumbled after them in a cloud of dust. The first few corners of the BMX track were 'exciting' as riders squeezed into gaps and moved others off their pre-planned lines, but by the time we had hit the first tight u-turn in the grass the field had begun to settle into a line and you could hear the grunts of your following riders rather than a blur of sounds around you.

As always I only remember fragments of the race, Leigh DL yelling at me to 'let my wheel slide' as i wound through some loose gravel, sneaking past a rider on a climb only to be bested on the descent, trying to stick my sunglasses in my helmet/on my face while negotiating a bumpy grass section, getting cheered for a fast transition in the stair section that won me a place back, sitting on my rear wheel after my front wheel slipped out on an overly aggressive turn in the grass.

I do remember hearing that Lewis and Casey were battling hard up the front and then hearing he had gone down hard. It always sucks hearing that in the middle of a race... especially knowing how scary that gravel is to me (as a non-native MTBer).

Casey came steaming past on the flat gravel TT section late in the race and it was obvious the class of his riding (I've been passed by the best in the series and he, Lewis and some others have a definite edge in their riding).

All too soon/after too long (in the race it felt like forever, but now it seems like it was so short) we got the bell and the battle I had been having with NB now had a conclusion in sight. We had been swapping comments on/off through the race (all light-hearted) and our differing skills meant that depending on the part of the course each of us had an advantage. I dug deep on the final climb to try and pass him but he held me off and I threw everything I had at him on the beach and final stair transition to no avail. His superior strength/fitness maintained the gap on the final flat section and I had nothing left to counter. Having spent several races this year riding by myself it was great to have a race that was a battle (tactical, skills and fitness) all the way through.

After catching my breath and trying to stem my hacking cough I found Lewis and saw the large pad of gauze on his elbow and hip and heard about his crash (I had clipped the same pothole mid-race but thanks to going slower and having both hands on the bar had only given myself a bit of a scare). He was surprisingly chipper, but disappointed to have bowed out so catastrophically. He did look pretty pale... his bike looked worse and belied the violence of the crash. He ended up in hospital that night having surgery on his elbow, and looks likely to miss this Sundays event (but competitors should be wary as he might get some time on the mic with our trusty DDCX announcers).

All in all another chance to go spelunking in the 'pain cave' in the name of cyclocross racing and good times on the bike.

Thanks again to the racers and organisers and volunteers. The next round is at Westgate so the more urban dwelling of you readers should come out and try a different flavour of course, or come and make some noise for us who are digging ourselves into a new suffer-hole.

I'll add some pictures as they emerge

It's Not Your Fault.

2011-09-05T03:52:00.000-07:00

I asked Nik to write up a report of the weekend's Cross Melburn action, but while we're waiting for him to do so, here's the lowdown from our mates at Cycling Edge. I'm pretty sure Munro's Rapha-Condor-Sharp skinsuit isn't registered with Cycling Victoria, so I'm going to try to convince him to show his true colours and wear a Brunswick skinsuit. He's welcome to borrow mine. It's totally clean.

The Black Sheep.

2011-09-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hey! Cross Melburn is on tomorrow! Get your ass out to Lysterfield!

In other news, I just spoke to our chief commissaire. He's been up in the Mallee keeping track of the National Road Series, and so has had little time to sort out the full results. As you may well guess, with 178 riders, it's a tough job. But he assures me they'll be here in the next week or so. Befriend us on Twitter (@dirtydeedscx) and you'll be the first to know.

Can't Let Go

2011-08-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

I should be writing an essay but thinking about cyclocross is much more fun. The essay is about cycling and women's mobility in Melbourne and Montreal so I am not straying too far off topic (she says not fooling anyone but herself). Back to CX ...

Spring is upon us and even though I am excited about the prospect of warmer weather, leaving winter behind also means that my Melbourne cyclocross season is almost over. I could venture to Lysterfield or out of the state with the DDCX contingency heading to Adelaide but the reality of a looming thesis deadline means the Victorian Cyclocross Open will be my last race of the season. Bummer.

I just don't feel ready to hang up the pink flames until next year. There are a few reasons for this:

I missed DDCX round 2 on account of being in Montreal (see above) so I don't feel I filled my fun quota for the season,
The North American CX season is kicking off and I am getting inspired all over again by Heidi Swift's excellent blog Grit & Glimmer,
The "enabler" has been at it again and I have a new cross frame on the way. Squeel!

I imagine I will not be alone in experiencing the post-cross blues that is due to set in around October. A few people have already expressed their interest in some spring/summer/autumn training so they are ready to go once the 2012 season kicks off. Now that's the spirit!

So if you, like me, are unwilling to let go or if you were watching from the sidelines in 2011 and want to get amongst it in 2012, get in touch. We could arrange some group rides, skills sessions - whatever you like. But not before I get the evil thesis monkey off my back at the end of October. If you would like to do something before then I can put you in touch with other keen beans. Email me: katelansell@gmail.com

OK, back to work (read watching Lucinda Williams on you tube).

Super Disco Breakin'

2011-08-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

EDIT: Now with the correct day!

Word from the north of the state:

THE WANGARATTA CYCLO CROSS will happen on Sunday September 17 at the club rooms, (Shanley St, Wangaratta.)

It is more of a trial, to see if an event will be supported around here, if successful then there will be a series with perhaps 2 races in wangaratta, one in albury, and one in bright/mt beauty.

The course is basic, fast and flat. It's a bit boggy in places.But can ridden on a 42 chainring.

There are no sponsors, so prize money will be dependent on entrys.

Consider yourselves all invited... unfortunately the 'cross racing component of DDCX HQ will be inter-state seeing how the croweaters run their races, (apparently with less mud).

In other updates this summarises why I like riding my cross bike with fast friends on the weekends rather than racing on the road (for now). I also predict it will also spur Brendan to tease me about it as well.

Joey.

2011-08-26T16:32:00.001-07:00

And, while I have your attention, the 4th ever Melbourne Gravel Grinder is taking place tomorrow. That's a windy part of the world right there. Dirt road echelons, anyone? Perfect base miles for the next Cross Melburn race, or the CX Open mentioned below.

Samantha.

2011-08-26T03:55:00.001-07:00

Win a Dirty Deeds race and you get a fair amount of glory, notoriety with your peers and an envelope from Blakey with fifty bucks in it. Win the first ever Victorian Cyclocross Open and you will win copious amounts of glory, notoriety with your peers and three hundred bucks! That's awesome!

I've heard a couple of key things about this race. The first is that the starting grid will be based on your ranking in the Dirty Deeds Aggregate, just like a UCI Cyclocross World Cup event. That's right, we play like the big boys.

And the second is that this race is a precursor to a Victorian Cyclocross Championship, so get out there and support it. Because once we have a Victorian Cyclocross Championship, we're ready to have a National Championship. You get the picture. We love our little races, and we love how anyone can enter and have bucketloads of fun, but just imagine if riding your bike through mud for an hour could result in you wearing the green and gold stripes. For Real. And then... wait for it... go to the Cyclocross World Champs.

Oh man, that's full on. Seriously. I'm having trouble believing that this little community, that started on a hot February night with Matty Bowen drawing lines on the ground around the Hawthorn Crit circuit, is turning into something this big. I gotta say, I'm proud of my part in it. And I'm proud of all of you, for making it as awesome as it is.

I think I'm blushing.

Clear Expansive Skies.

2011-08-25T02:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, the full results are coming soon. But in the meantime, here's another link to some guys who just seem to get it.

Oh, and here's another report from our kindred spirits across the border.

Read, Dummy!

2011-08-23T05:22:00.001-07:00

As you may have noticed, I'm a wordy individual. So it should come as no surprise that I like people's race reports as much - if not more - than all the photos. They're starting to come in, like this one from Ross, or this one from Greg. Incidentally, Greg's booboo represents our first broken bone. I'll check with Blakey, but I think we may have a couple of spare musettes - if we do, Greg, you just earned yourself one.

If you've written up a report, send it in!

Check! Check!

2011-08-22T16:46:00.001-07:00

Some issues with the blog at the moment. We're working on it. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Edit: The problem seems to be with Internet Explorer. Please use a different vehicle for enhanced Dirty Deeds viewing pleasure.

Think I Was Born In New Jersey.

2011-08-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

In a shock turn of events, 2010 series champion Lewis Rattray has had the 2011 Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross series wrestled from his hands, being defeated in the third and final race by Red Shift Racing’s Andrew Blair.

Blair had once again flown down from Canberra for Sunday’s race, and seemed eager to make amends for his below-average showings in the first and second rounds. And as the sun shone bright on Brunswick’s Harrison Street Velodrome he was finally able to display the form that has taken him to podium places in mountain bike races across the globe.

He didn’t have it all his own way, however. Two riders from IRide bikes were keen to make an impression in the first few laps, and gapped the field before the first trip through the mudpit. Perhaps keen to get some impressive footage for his helmet-cam, iRide’s Mikkeli Godfree seemed to dig himself into a sizable hole in the first ten minutes, staying away for the first lap before fading to a mid-pack finish. When he was eventually reeled in it was by a blue-ribbon group containing Blair, Rapha-Condor-Sharp’s Casey Munro, Kosdown Racing’s Cam MacKenzie and former Australian Road Race Champion Alan Iacone. Eventually Rattray was able to latch on to this group, pulling My Mountain’s Mat Gray with him, but expending a great deal of energy in the process.

As Blair stretched the elastic it was only Munro and MacKenzie who were able to go with him. The pair, both riding borrowed bikes from Melbourne Cycling Edge, swapped places a number of times, with MacKenzie able to gap Munro on the paved sections due to the latter’s lack of gears, but Munro making up ground through the stickier mud sections of the course.

In the final ten minutes of the race Blair skipped away from his two pursuers, making the race his own and throwing the battle for the series title into disarray. Behind him Munro and MacKenzie continued to trade blows until the bitter end, with former the former Brunswick Cycling Club clinic kid Munro using his experience on the velodrome to pip MacKenzie at the post. Iacone continued to improve his placings with a fourth, with Rattray sprinting to get around Gray for fifth.

Organizers and spectators alike were downright stoked to have a number of women racing in A grade, and they did not disappoint, fighting heroically through the mud and slush, and giving a number of their male counterparts a run for their meagre monies. Amy Bradley took out her second CX race for the season, eventually stealing the win from Nadine Le Mescam in emphatic style.

Former source of hilarity Tom “The Man In White” Coltrain took the final Dirty Deeds race much more seriously this time around, and in the process took the win from a fine B grade field. Previously known for wallowing in the mudpit sans bike, Coltrain proved that his CX talent is no laughing matter with an emphatic victory from Jason Butler, with Brunswick Cycling Club’s own Andrew Blake coming home third.

In the women’s B grade Diane Nelson once again proved too strong for her fellow competitors, arm-wrestling Port-Adelaide’s Gemma Kernich and local favourite Laura Choong into submission. Diane’s demoralizing win has surely earned her an A Grade start when the muddy season starts again next year.

The Boy’s race saw some of the closest racing of the whole series, with Liam Jeffries and Sam “the 35-Year-Old-Teenager” Wilson, both representing Trailmix, clinging to each other like limpets throughout the entire fifteen minutes. Taking a significant lead from the field early, the two duked it out until finally Liam emerged triumphant, with Sam resigned to second. Adam Blazevic, a number of years their junior, flew into third place.

In the Girl’s race Brunswick Cycling Club’s Emily Hughes once again proved both her mettle and her good sense, flying off the front of the bunch in the first lap, but wearing a pair of gumboots to avoid ruining her good cycling shoes. The irrepressible Georgia Wilson kept the dancing to a minimum but still smiled her way into second place, with Bairnsdale Cycling Club’s Emily Jackson taking out third.

Merida Flight Centre’s Adrian Jackson had been equal leader of the series aggregate going into this race, and a win in the Open Men’s Category (no bike restrictions) guaranteed that he would be standing on the aggregate podium come presentation time. And win he did, lapping almost everyone else in the field. When the news finally came that Lewis had finished fifth in the CX category AJ, with three straight wins, realized that he had clinched the series, without ever racing the bloke who came second. Such are the quirks particular to Dirty Deeds. Behind him Stuart Brown and James Deane watched each other for the whole thirty minutes, until Stuart finally muscled his way into second, relegating James into third.

And, finally, Amity McSwann clinched the Women’s Aggregate with another dominant performance through the mud and slush. Amity shot off from the whistle, and was rarely seen again by the other competitors. Behind her, however, it was a slogfest, with Erica Gunner and Nicole Whitburn trading places like Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd. Eventually Erica emerged triumphant, with Nicole awarded third after the dust had settled (and the confusion cleared).

As the sun sets on another Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series Melbourne’s new cyclocross can begin to look further afield for their racing, to Lysterfield’s Cross Melburn series, and even interstate, to Port Adelaide’s CX and the City or races in New South Wales and Queensland.

Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Brunswick Velodrome Round 3 from Kathryn Feldmaier on Vimeo.

Cam McKenzie impressed all and sundry with his ability to both hold on to Casey Munro and take puffs from his asthma pump mid-race

Andy Blair made a number of excellent decisions on the day, but this may be evidence of the best decision of all - to be ignored by the Hell Krew.

Adrian Jackson once again took the Open Category, lapping everyone except second place. Somebody buy that guy a CX bike!

Crowd favourite Dylan McDylan proves that he is the most photogenic man on the course, if not the quickest. He was rewarded for the latter, however, by taking out DFL.

Jess Steger was better served this time around due to a bike that actually fit, but still looked a little concerned about the amount of mud on the course.

Jeremy Soawyer made that skinsuit himself. No kidding. And even better, he stole the fabric from a dragon. Again, no kidding. Email me for the details - I don't want to get Jez in trouble.

Jacob the Flipster could've won a prize for the smallest cyclocross bike - and it's a singlespeed!

Brunswick's Emily Hughes took out the Girls' race and the Girls' aggregate with a commanding win. Given her familiarity with the track her odds would've been short from the start.

Lewis Rattray had a hard day at the office, eventually falling to fifth place.

Brunswick Cycling Club's own Casey Munro rode a cyclocross bike for the first time, and may have even taken out the race if Cycling Edge had given him one with gears.

Port Adelaide's Gemma Kernich drove all the way from Adelaide to ride, and certainly seemed to think it was worth it.

Nick Lett was nominated for an attitude award because he was just so damn helpful when we were packing up after round one in Darebin Parklands. When we drew the raffle his name came out. The bloke looked stoked! As an aside, Nick was a former English National derny race champion, and spent more time sucking wheel throughout the series than anyone else I saw.

The iRide boys smashed it from the very beginning, perhaps mostly in order to get some the fantastic video footage you see above.

Photos used without permission, but are available here, here, here, here, here, here ,a little Adelaide bias here, here, here, here, here and here. As per usual, you may need to log into facebook to see some of them. More videos available here. I'll post more as they come in.

Once again, thanks.

Better Get A Lawyer, Son.

2011-08-21T03:32:00.000-07:00

Well, that's the season. As per usual, we're all totally wrecked. Reports, results, and a full comprehensive list of where you can find pictures of yourself coming soon.

Actually, I just got the barebones results from Nath. These will also be appearing in the papers tomorrow morning, you know, should you want to show off to your parents. We did stuff up a bit at presentations - we usually do, and it's usually my fault - but these ones are correct.

Open Men (30 minutes)



1. Adrian JACKSON

2. Stuart BROWN

3. James DEANE



Open Women (30 minutes)



1. Amity MCSWANN

2. Erica GUNNER

3. Nicole WHITBURN



U15 Boys (15 minutes)



1. Liam JEFFRIES

2. Sam WILSON

3. Adam BLAZEVIC



U15 Girls (15 minutes)



1. Emily HUGHES

2. Georgia WILSON

3. Emily JACKSON



B Grade Men (30 minutes)



1. Thomas COLTRAIN

2. Jason BUTLER

3. Andrew BLAKE



B Grade Women (30 minutes)



1. Diane NELSON

2. Gemma KERNICH

3. Laura CHOONG



A Grade Men (40 minutes)



1. Andrew BLAIR

2. Casey MUNRO

3. Cameron MCKENZIE



A Grade Women (40 minutes)



1. Amy BRADLEY

2. Nadine LE MESCAM

I Hear Payback.

2011-08-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Two nights before race three and things at DDCXHQ are kicking into overdrive. Hamish is neglecting his job at the ABC in order to purchase icepacks for your booboos. Blakey is running around getting your prize packages ready. Nath is writing out our out-of-towners pre-registration list. I'm writing in the blog and building a ginger-beer flavoured lagerphone. And Nik, well, Nik is somewhere being Nik.

So, here's a rundown of what we've discovered in the last two days.

The good people at Cycling Edge are not only providing a bike for a certain Brunswick member who also happens to ride for Rapha-Condor-Sharp, but they're also kicking in $50 per race for the person with the best barrier leap. They're not official sponsors, but after a quick read of their blog they certainly seem to get it. Check it out here.

When it comes to sob stories it's difficult to beat a brush with terminal illness, so it's no surprise to hear that Heavy Metal Jono took out the Fitzroy Revolution "Random Rider" competition. Check out the Revolution's facebook page for his entry. I've heard that Jono will be welcomed to his first ever Cyclocross race with numerous showers of beer, which bodes badly for anyone else wearing Revolution kit, given no one knows what Jono looks like.

The weather report for Sunday says early fog, then sunny and 19 degrees. Our Chief Commissaire, however, informs me that both mudpits (that's right, there are two) will continue to be most wretched on the day, regardless of the sunshine. Bring your gumboots, bring your rubber chicken, bring your skinsuits, bring your bike, bring your mud tyres, bring your goddamn drumkits, bring your voice, bring the noise!

Brenda.

2011-08-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

Jeez, it didn't take long for something else to come up. Such is the life of DDCXHQ in the week before a race...

One of our major sponsors, the Fitzroy Revolution, have come up with a most righteous plan. Each sponsor gets two compo rider spots, and the Revolution have one spare. Instead of letting this free ride go wanting, they have decided to offer it to the general public in a Random Rider competition*. And, to sweeten the deal, the chosen rider will also receive a Revolution kit, and be treated to all the benefits of a supported rider on the day (which mostly entails some bike prep, patting DC's dog, and being abused by Sean The Man).

All you have to do in order to be thusly rewarded is head over to the Fitzroy Revolution Facebook Page and post on their wall the biggest soppiest most pathetic reasons why you should be nominated for their free spot. Imaginary dead grandparents (or hell, real dead grandparents), fires and floods and sweeping rains, being trapped in your parents' house in Sydney for ten hours with a fake bomb strapped around your neck... it's all fair game. The Random Rider will be chosen at 5pm on Thursday, and will have to swing by the store to get all kitted out on Friday. So, put on your favourite Dirty Three record and get sobbing.

The Revolution will also be bringing down a version of the bike they are giving away for the "Attitude Award". I kinda want to win this. I got heaps of attitude! It says so on every single one of my school report cards!

*You still need to either have or purchase your own Cycling Victoria licence.

Take It Or Leave It. Do Both. Do Both If You Choose.

2011-08-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Five days to go, so we got some housekeeping!

We've heard rumours that folks are coming from out of state to ride. We don't want these folks to miss out on rego. That would suck. So out of state folks, if you could take a photo of your licence and email it to dirtydeedscx@gmail.com, along with your name and what grade you would like to ride, we'll make sure you don't miss out. However, you must do this by 5pm Friday. If you're not that organized, well, you take your chances with everyone else. Rego opens at 12. If you don't have a licence, you can buy one from us on the day, but there will be no pre-registration available. Just get there early. Those who help us set up will be looked upon very favourably.

Also, I've just received notice that the Brunswick Kiosk will be in full effect on Sunday, with hot dogs, party pies and sausage rolls, as well as the usual assortment of fizzy drinks, powerade, esoteric candy and sesame snaps. Save your pennies!

Matty Melways will also be down at Harrison Street on Sunday with his high pressure washer. I believe it'll be a gold coin donation to have your bike free of the Merri Creek stench before you take it back home to your white carpets.

That's it from me, until I think of something else. It's been a long time since the last race, and I'm starting to feel the buzz. Bring it.

Alison.

2011-08-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

So, this time next week I'll be back at our ancestral homelands, the Harrison Street Velodrome in the deep bursting heart of the People's Republic of Brunswick, banging in stakes and shaking hands. And you, you'll be getting your kit together, making sure you have your skinsuit, your shoes, your helmet, your sixpack. You and me both will be a little bit excited, because we know that it's the last one. For you, that means there's a little bit more at stake - it's the last one, your last chance for the little bit of glory, either by winning or by doing something hilarious on camera. And for me, well, it means that I don't have to write any more race reports. Win-win!

There's other reasons to be excited about the last round, of course. For one, this year's aggregate winners will receive sashes, with which they can pretend to be Miss Universe for the rest of their lives. That's what I do with the sash I won for coming fourth place in the "Novice Toss" category in the sheaf toss at the 2009 Stawell Show (I couldn't make this stuff up).

Secondly, photographer spectacular Timothy Arch will be inhabiting the Brunswick Clubrooms all week, setting up an exhibition of the photos he has taken over two years of Dirty Deeds. The presentations will be taking place in the clubrooms, so this will give you something cool to look at while we try to figure out which prizes should go to whom. I believe after Sunday is over he'll be moving the exhibition to a different location, which I'll let you know when I know.

Thirdly, this is your last chance to be extra-super helpful and thus find yourself nominated for the Attitude Award. Nominees are usually decided after the races has finished, and are based on you being a decent person. The winner of this award will take home a sweet Specialized Crux, courtesy of The Fitzroy Revolution.

And last of all, for the rumour file... while we couldn't quite convince Cadel to stick around for an extra week and a bit, just to ride a CX race, certain DDCX organizers have been in the ear of a Rapha Condor Sharp rider who has been known to appear in races around town from time to time. Here's hoping he shows up and gives Lewis Rattray a run for his money!

The Devil Snapping At My Heels.

2011-08-02T01:15:00.000-07:00

Omg, shit just got real.

The long-awaited Cycling Victoria Cyclocross Open has just been made official. It's happening, people. This is the closest thing we currently have to a UCI-standard state championships. It's a big deal. You should be excited.

One note to temper your excitement, however: When entering Cycling Victoria events, it pays to read the fine print. Trust me, you don't want to rock up in your Hell Krew kit only to find you have to wear it inside out because they're not a registered sponsor.

(Sure, that's the rule on the internet, but will they make you get changed in real life? Probably not. But do you want to risk it? Probably not. Bring a spare plain (or registered club) jersey just in case)

I Got Your Note, I'm On My Way...

2011-08-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

On Sunday various folks associated with Dirty Deeds headed out to Lysterfield for the first round of the Cross Melburn series.

We saw a number of familiar faces in amongst the various categories and enjoyed a different course design (in that I didn't have to do it, and it was able to use a BMX track, stairs, tan bark mounds, a beach and a creek crossing).

In the Kids racing Liam Jeffries has added to both his bike and subsequently trophy stable with wins in both the Open and Cross categories. Under CA rules we can't make him race with the big kids, but I'd bet a few of his competitors wish we could.

In B-grade the Avanti boys look like they might be getting an upgrade in this series as well after a strong performance off the front. Back in the 'bronze' position there was a lot of shuffling of riders as the course and tiredness claimed people, only to have the bounce back. Andrew 'Pink Flame' Blakey manage to crash three times (once due to the shock of finding himself leading) and switch/steal a front wheel due to a flat, before TT'ing himself into a 3rd place.

The battle at the top end of Elite was as fierce as always (after Lewis broke away) and some new faces got on the podium. With a smaller field, and a more 'technical' course gaps would form and then riders would rubber-band back into sight (sometimes also due to mechanicals and crashes). First place went deservedly to Lewis Rattray (we are consulting the UCI about suitable handicaps), followed by Matt 'BIGRINGRIDING' Gray and then Allan Iacuone. Cam 'Borrowed Moots, 2nd Hand Skinsuit' McKenzie did well in his 2nd cross race to squeeze 4th from the fast deflating rear tyre of Snozza (who was also the race organiser). Jeremy Soawyer kept the Hell Krew dream alive with his 6th (a podium place thanks to Snozza passing his prizes on).

There are some great photos (and a recap) from the boys @ CyclingEdge here. I just wish they wouldn't keep bringing that PsychloX with them. It's too distracting...

The next rounds of this four race series can be found here, if you haven't been to Lysterfield this is a great chance to go check it out. There's no reason why you can't go sneak some trail riding in before you race.

Like A Stone.

2011-07-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

Some news on the publicity front: Firstly DDCX has finally cracked the tight jeans and raybans market with an article in three thousand. Our good friend Reuben does a good job of making us not look like backwoods hillbillies. However, I destroy all of his excellent work by ranting like a hepped-up conspiracy theorist in an article with The Wheeler, which you will actually have to go to a bike store and pick up. But don't worry, it's free!

In other news, Cross Melburn is this weekend and I won't be riding, partially because I'm sick and partially because I fear that all the teasing I do on the microphone will, at some point, come back to haunt me. But it looks like a seriously fun day, and will likely be a blast for all concerned.

And, finally, our last race is a mere three weeks away. We had to schedule this one back a bit because our commissaire is currently dealing with some slick-tyre style guys down in Gippsland, and wasn't going to make it back in time, but really, isn't it nice to have a bit of extra rest? The last one is back in our ancestral homelands, the Harrison St Velodrome. Be warned that the course will bear next to no resemblance to either of the courses we schemed up last year. Heading down there to do practice laps will be of no help to you at all. You hear me, Genie?

See The Sky About To Rain

2011-07-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

And while DDCX is more than half way through and post-Tour depression slowly drifts away it's worth noting that 'The Big Show' begins in a few short months... so this post on the venerable Embrocation Magazine (who apparel we gave away thanks to Northside Wheelers) is oh-so-timely.

HUP! HUP!

I'm A Loner Dottie, A Rebel

2011-07-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

As promised the sweet flyer for this weekend's race out at Lysterfield.

Races are $15/$20 (Open/Cross) and MTBA day licenses are $20 (annual licenses are $110 or a lesser upgrade on your CA license I believe).

Daily Operation

2011-07-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

Trailmix out at Lysterfield have come through with their long awaited 'Cross Melburn' series and it kicks off next Sunday out there.

For more info go here.

I'll try and get a post of their sweet flyer that they were handing out at DDCX#2 as well.

It'll Be Alright.

2011-07-18T23:22:00.000-07:00

Lewis Rattray has continued his dominance of the Dirty Deeds Cyclocross Series, taking out the second race at Jackson Reserve on Sunday.

My Mountain’s Mat Gray led for the first lap, but Rattray was on his wheel from the get-go, and stole the lead from Mat on his second journey down the finishing straight. After his valiant effort Gray faded quickly through the pack, eventually coming home 4th. Newcomer Michael Crosbie from Swim-Bike_run, fresh from his scolding at the hands of the officials, caused a pile up when he tripped over the first barrier on the first lap, but rode strongly to take second place, with the recently promoted from B-Grade Simon Carey from Cycling Edge taking out third. Rattray’s second consecutive win means that he has placed a lock on the overall CX prize – he merely needs to show up and the coveted blue sash will be his.

In the women’s race, Emma Caddy was nowhere to be seen as Amy Bradley and Nadine Le Mescan battled it out for first place. The number one position changed hands a number of times during the race, but eventually Bradley took it out, with Le Mescan eventually fading to third as a strong finishing Diane Nelson blazed into second place. Jess Steger showed her spirit in this race, fighting her way around the course on a bike that Erle Pavlis dragged out of hard rubbish and threw together, and earning a one-year subscription to Treadlie for her trouble.

The support races were once again a close fought affair. In the B-Grade Cyclocross class it was a battle of the master’s trackies, with Bairnsdale’s Sprint Champion Gary Jennings taking the goodies for first place. Noted track-endurance specialist Steven Young came second and Neville Bird came third. Also in this race was Tim Nexus, who organizers later agreed was awarded the attitude award for the day, putting him in the running for a sweet Specialized Crux, courtesy of the Fitzroy Revolution.

In the Open Categories – for those without Cyclocross bikes – Merida Flight Centre’s Adrian Jackson took an early lead and didn’t let it go, despite being chased heroically by Kosdown’s Cam McKenzie. Sam Beck made his return on a weird BMX tandem which his mate Lunchbox broke on the second remount – they did, however, each win a one-year subscription to Treadlie for their trouble. Brunswick’s own Michael Sparke seemed to have stolen a bike from a ten year old girl, donned a devil outfit (complete with trident), and made a decision to ride today, perhaps showing the representatives of the crowd up on the hill what being satanic was really about. Eitherway, he took out the coveted CX ridiculousness award, winning a frame from Larry’s Custom Cycles. Jarrod Kohlan placed third. And in the women’s open category Amity McSwann once again proved herself the one to beat, taking an easy win from Catherine Fraser-Smith, with Lisa Jackson third.

The one-two punch from Trailmix again took out the boy’s rac, with the placings being reversed – Liam Jeffries took it out, with Sam Wilson, who appears too old for this category, coming home second in good humour. Adam Blazevic placed third.

In the girl’s class Brunswick’s own Emily Hughes, who only last year defeated Commonwealth Games Keirin gold medallist Josiah Ng in a roller race, continued her successful run by taking out first. This created an awkward situation as she was also the podium girl, and had to present herself a prize. The absent Hannah Campbell took second, and the extremely excitable Georgia Wilson danced her way to third place.

Full Results:

(Placing / Number / Name / # of Laps)

A Grade : 40 minutes
1. 2 Lewis RATTRAY 10 Laps
2. 48 Michael CROSBIE 10
3. 29 Simon CAREY 10
4. 28 Matt GRAY 10
5. 49 Andrew BLAIR 10
6. 43 Gary WEARMOUTH 10
7. 47 Steven WAITE 10
8. 38 Allan IACUORE 10
9. 19 Nicholas EDWARDS 10
10. 1 Warrack LEACH 10
11. 46 Daniel MACMUNN 10
12. 23 Adam TREWIN 10
13. 8 Kristjan SNORRASON 10
14. 55 Cam MCKENZIE 10
15. 40 Leigh DE LUCA 9
16. 3 Jeremy SOAWYER 9
17. 6 Mark HESTER 9
18. 4 Malachi MOXON 9
19. 41 Huw VELLACOTT 9
20. 42 Chris CARR 9
21. 9 Nicholas COTTERELL 9
22. 36 Ashley HAYAT 9
23. 5 James KENT 9
24. 14 Llewellyn THOMAS 9
25. 44 William GEAR 9
26. 18 Ken MOORE 9
27. 17 Karl PAVEY 9
28. 7 Justin MATTHEWS 9
29. 54 Sam MCGREGOR 8
30. 27 Troy MCKINNA 8
31. 21 Hugh WATSON 8
32. 26 Ben ENGLISH 8
33. 50 Mikelee GODFREE 8
34. 24 Joshua MCDOUGAL 8
35. 10 Gene MILLS 8
36. 15 Ross WILKINSON 8
37. 39 Dwayne MEREDITA 8
38. 35 Stewart HOWELL 8
39. 34 Alistair MCDONALD 8
40. 20 Grant EDMONDS 8
41. 45 Alex GEERS 8
42. 31 James ROYCE 8

dnf 12 Ben VLASS 7
dnf 51 Tim MCGRATH 5
dnf 30 Craig TOWERS 4
dnf 16 Richard KEMP 3
dnf 52 Hayden KERR 3
dnf 22 Daniel STRAUSS 2

B Grade : 30 Minutes
1. 156 Gary JACKSON 7 Laps
2. 132 Steven YOUNG 7
3. 139 Neville BIRD 7
4. 141 Nick GROSSO 7
5. 150 Chris MURPHY 7
6. 146 Chris RAYMENT 7
7. 134 Thomas COLTRAIN 7
8. 105 Andrew SPENCER 7
9. 124 Che DUNGEY 7
10. 126 Andrew BLAKE 7
11. 176 Jason BUTLER 7
12. 138 Rik BLAZEVIC 7
13. 108 Jason FLAHERTY 7
14. 101 Lloyd DONOVAN 7
15. 113 Patrick OLIVER 7
16. 149 Piers MORGAN 7
17. 103 William HARTNELL 7
18. 161 Reuben RUITER 7
19. 153 Duncan MACGREGOR 7
20. 160 Damian HODGES 6
21. 102 Justin HOPKINS 6
22. 168 Chris BLACK 6
23. 144 John ROY 6
24. 173 James JURIVECH 6
25. 107 Kristan BAKER 6
26. 106 Michael DANN 6
27. 162 Jonathan GUNN 6
28. 118 Paul LARKIN 6
29. 142 Amy BRADLEY 6
30. 172 Tristan BRETHERTON 6
31. 109 Diane NELSON 6
32. 104 Nadine LE MESCAM 6
33. 151 Damion DE SOTO 6
34. 155 Simon WADE 6
35. 123 Brent WEJENDORP 6
36. 145 Nicholas BARK 6
37. 116 Mik EFFORD 6
38. 170 Thomas KURKA 6
39. 174 Jon STANLEY 6
40. 147 Nick LETT 6
41. 166 Brad CLARK 6
42. 130 Kirk RATCLIFF 6
43. 127 Laura CHOONG 6
44. 167 Silvio DI COCCO 6
45. 164 Ash SCOTT 5
46. 133 Shane FORD 5
47. 129 Emma CADDY 5
48. 157 Tate HEISKANEN 5
49. 140 Bryan HESTER 5
50. 148 Dylan WARNE 5
51. 175 Jessica STEGER 5
52. 171 Emily WHITE 5
53. 121 Wendy REITER 5
54. 115 Justine CLEAR 5
55. 128 Ann GREENWOOD 4
56. 137 Anthony BURNS 4
57. 165 Holly LUSHER 4

dnf 159 Tim RODRIGO 4
dnf 125 Murray MCKENNY 1

dns 152 Bronwen BAULCH 0

U15 Juniors : 15 Minutes
1. 319 Liam JEFFRIES 3 Laps
2. 331 Sam WILSON 3
3. 305 Adam BLAZEVIC 3
4. 326 Ryan SCHILT 3
5. 329 Paddy BUTLER 2
6. 323 Corral MURPHY 2
7. 322 Emily HUGHES 2
8. 327 Hannah CAMPBELL 2
9. 330 Georgia WILSON 2
10. 320 Otis WILSON 2
11. 314 Adam BOYD 2
12. 318 Darcy GUILIANI 2
13. 321 Bella SOCCIO 2
14. 325 Jake NELSON 2
15. 315 Daniel JACKSON 2
16. 317 Wiliam DEANE 2
17. 316 Emily JACKSON 1
18. 328 Mia SPENCER 1

Open (No bike restrictions) : 30 Minutes
1. 102 Adrian JACKSON 6 Laps
2. 134 Cameron MCKENZIE 6
3. 140 Jarad KOHLAN 6
4. 123 Duncan MURRAY 6
5. 136 Lee FLOYD 6
6. 129 Joshua MCDOUGALL 6
7. 141 Adam MITCHELL 6
8. 108 James DEANE 6
9. 126 Anthony FEWSTER 6
10. 113 Nick CARTER 5
11. 124 Amity MCSWAN 5
12. 109 Jeremiah VELLA 5
13. 103 Pearse ELTON 5
14. 135 Anthony NETKOW 5
15. 151 Michael HOLDER 5
16. 138 Brett MATSON 5
17. 101 David TYNNON 5
18. 122 Chris SMITH 5
19. 146 Hamish SMITH 5
20. 121 Nazceno GOUISLOW 5
21. 144 Aaron CAMPBELL 5
22. 131 Michael CYACH 5
23. 139 Darragh O’DONOVAN 5
24. 130 David SHACKLEFORD 5
25. 120 Chris WILSON 5
26. 137 Mal DOREIAN 5
27. 152 Mike CLAYTOR 5
28. 118 Giovanni MANCINI 5
29. 104 Adam HODGER 4
30. 125 Matt THOMAS 4
31. 110 Dylan WARNER 4
32. 142 J. LAMSHED / S. BACH 4
33. 150 Sam MURPHY 4
34. 128 Michael SPARKE 4
35. 111 Timothy FINDLAY 4
36. 148 Ben WALKERDEN 4
37. 127 Catherine FRASER-SMITH 4
38. 117 Phil ALACH 3
39. 114 Lisa JACKSON 3
40. 154 Dylan REILLY 2

dnf 149 Mark EDMONDSON 4
dnf 145 Michael SPENCER 1

dns 116 Glyn EDMUNDS 0
dns 119 Simone SCOTT 0

Aggregate Standings:

(The formatting here came out kind of screwy. If you need more coherent results, please see Brunswick Cycling Club.)

Dirty Deeds CX Aggregate after Round 2. Points are awarded as follows:

* 1 point for starting a round.
* 5 points for a 1st place.
* 3 points for a 2nd place.
* 2 points for a 3rd place.

Juniors
Rider Start R1 R2 R3 Total
Sam WILSON 2 5 3 10 pts
Emily HUGHES 2 5 3 10
Adam BLAZEVIC 2 3 2 7
Corral MURPHY 1 5 6
Liam JEFFRIES 1 5 6
Georgia WILSON 2 3 5
Ben WALKERDEN 2 2 4
Hannah CAMPBELL 1 2 3
Sunday CARTER 1 2 3
Daniel JACKSON 2 2
Jacob VAN ROOIJ 2 2
Mia SPENCER 2 2
Otis WILSON 2 2
Patrick BUTLER 2 2
Adam BOYD 1 1
Ari DONNENFIELD 1 1
Ashur BROWNLIE 1 1
Bella SOCCIO 1 1
Darcy GUILIANI 1 1
Emily JACKSON 1 1
Jake NELSON 1 1
Ryan SCHILT 1 1
Tim BUTLER 1 1
Wiliam DEANE 1 1

Seniors
Rider Start R1 R2 R3 Total
Adrian JACKSON 2 5 5 12 pts
Amity MCSWAN 2 5 5 12
Lewis RATTRAY 2 5 5 12
Cameron MCKENZIE 2 3 3 8
Diane NELSON 2 3 3 8
Emma CADDY 2 5 7
Gary JACKSON 2 5 7
Simon CAREY 2 3 2 7
Warrack LEACH 2 5 7
Amy BRADLEY 1 5 6
Andrew BLAIR 2 3 5
Daniel MACMUNN 2 2 4
Catherine FRASER-SMITH 1 3 4
Erica GUNNER 1 3 4
Michael CROSBIE 1 3 4
Steven YOUNG 1 3 4
Craig MCLEAN 1 2 3
Jade FORSYTH 1 2 3
Jarad KOHLAN 1 2 3
Kate LANSELL 1 2 3
Lisa JACKSON 1 2 3
Nadine LE MESCAM 1 2 3
Neville BIRD 1 2 3
Thomas CROWLER 1 2 3
Adam TREWIN 2 2
Alex GEERS 2 2
Allan IACUORE 2 2
Alistair MCDONALD 2 2
Andrew BLAKE 2 2
Ann-Michel GREENWOOD 2 2
Andrew SPENCER 2 2
Ashley HAYAT 2 2
Ash SCOTT 2 2
Ben VLASS 2 2
Bronwen BAULCH 2 2
Brent WEJENDORP 2 2
Che DUNGEY 2 2
Chris MURPHY 2 2
Chris RAYMENT 2 2
Chris WILSON 2 2
Craig TOWERS 2 2
Damian HODGES 2 2
Damion DE SOTO 2 2
Daniel STRAUSS 2 2
David TYNNON 2 2
Duncan MACGREGOR 2 2
Duncan MURRAY 2 2
Dylan REILLY 2 2
Dylan WARNER 2 2
Gary WEARMOUTH 2 2
Giovanni MANCINI 2 2
Grant EDMONDS 2 2
Hayden KERR 2 2
Hamish SMITH 2 2
Huw VELLACOTT 2 2
Jason FLAHERTY 2 2
James KENT 2 2
Jeremy SOAWYER 2 2
Jeremiah VELLA 2 2
Jonathan GUNN 2 2
Joshua MCDOUGALL 2 2
John ROY 2 2
Jon STANLEY 2 2
Justine CLEAR 2 2
Justin HOPKINS 2 2
Justin MATTHEWS 2 2
Karl PAVEY 2 2
Ken MOORE 2 2
Kirk RATCLIFF 2 2
Kristan BAKER 2 2
Kristian SNORRASON 2 2
Laura CHOONG 2 2
Leigh DE LUCA 2 2
Mark EDMONDSON 2 2
Matthew GRAY 2 2
Mark HESTER 2 2
Malachi MOXON 2 2
Matt THOMAS 2 2
Mike CLAYTOR 2 2
Michael DANN 2 2
Mike EFFORD 2 2
Mikkeli GODFREE 2 2
Michael HOLDER 2 2
Murray MCKENNY 2 2
Nicholas BARK 2 2
Nick CARTER 2 2
Nicholas COTTERELL 2 2
Nicholas EDWARDS 2 2
Nick LETT 2 2
Patrick OLIVER 2 2
Phil ALACH 2 2
Piers MORGAN 2 2
Reuben RUITER 2 2
Rik BLAZEVIC 2 2
Richard KEMP 2 2
Ross WILKINSON 2 2
Sam MCGREGOR 2 2
Sam MURPHY 2 2
Shane FORD 2 2
Simone SCOTT 2 2
Simon WADE 2 2
Stewart HOWELL 2 2
Steven WAITE 2 2
Tate HEISKANEN 2 2
Thomas COLTRAIN 2 2
Thomas KURKA 2 2
Tim MCGRATH 2 2
Tristan BRETHERTON 2 2
Troy MCKINNA 2 2
Wendy REITER 2 2
William GEAR 2 2
William HARTNELL 2 2
Aaron CAMPBELL 1 1
Adam HODGER 1 1
Adrian INFANTI 1 1
Adam MITCHELL 1 1
Alistair CRAMERI 1 1
Albert GREENHILL 1 1
Alistair PANE 1 1
Anthony BURNS 1 1
Andrew CARR 1 1
Anthony FEWSTER 1 1
Andrew MCCONNELL 1 1
Anthony NETKOW 1 1
Andrew SCOTT 1 1
Andrew WALKER 1 1
Ben DOWLING 1 1
Ben ENGLISH 1 1
Brad CLARK 1 1
Bryan HESTER 1 1
Brett MATSON 1 1
Campbell TOWNSEND 1 1
Cameron WELLS 1 1
Chris BLACK 1 1
Chris CARR 1 1
Chris SMITH 1 1
Craig EVANS 1 1
David CREXFORD 1 1
Darragh O’DONOVAN 1 1
David MCGRATH 1 1
David SHACKLEFORD 1 1
Donovan LLOYD 1 1
Dominic POWER 1 1
Duane MEREDITH 1 1
Dwayne MEREDITA 1 1
Emily WHITE 1 1
Gareth HEIMANN 1 1
Gene MILLS 1 1
Glyn EDMUNDS 1 1
Hayden NICHOLLS 1 1
Heather HOGGAN 1 1
Holly LUSHER 1 1
Hugh WATSON 1 1
J. LAMSHED / S. BACH 1 1
Jason BUTLER 1 1
James DEANE 1 1
Jaron DENNS 1 1
James ERDMANN 1 1
James JURIVECH 1 1
James MAEBUS 1 1
James ROYCE 1 1
James WALMSLEY 1 1
Jessica MORGAN 1 1
Jed SOUTAR 1 1
Jessica STEGER 1 1
John GRIFFITHS 1 1
Ken FEIST 1 1
Lee FLOYD 1 1
Leigh JEFFRIES 1 1
Lloyd DONOVAN 1 1
Llewellyn THOMAS 1 1
Mal DOREIAN 1 1
Mark JESSEE 1 1
Mathew WYATT 1 1
Michael CYACH 1 1
Michael SPARKE 1 1
Nazceno GOUISLOW 1 1
Nicholas ARNEY 1 1
Nick GROSSO 1 1
Nick READ 1 1
Paul HESKES 1 1
Paul LARKIN 1 1
Paul ZARKIN 1 1
Pearse ELTON 1 1
Phillip CATTON 1 1
Philip GREENWOOD 1 1
Richard KNOWLES 1 1
Rohan DRAPE 1 1
Royce JAMES 1 1
Russell COLLET 1 1
Sean CALDWELL 1 1
Simon BLAGG 1 1
Silvio DI COCCO 1 1
Stuart BROWN 1 1
Steven DUGGAN 1 1
Stu WEIR 1 1
Thomay BASTIAN 1 1
Timothy FINDLAY 1 1
Tim RODRIGO 1 1
Tom MACMANN 1 1
Wade WALLACE 1 1

Sam Beck and the interestingly-named "Lunchbox". No, I can't tell which is which. Interviewing Sam midway through the race he informed me that their welding skills need some work, as the brakes, the seatpost and one of the chainstays had all cracked. They still scored some sweet stuff from Treadlie.

In almost the biggest upset of the day (Nik Cee beating Sam McGregor being the biggest) Michael Sparke dressed up as Satan and kept up the act all day, prodding people with his trident as they attempted the runup. He too scored well - a frame from Larry's Custom Cycles.

Michael Crosbie, perhaps still shaken up by the serve I gave him for riding the wrong way on the course during the kid's race, took a tumble at the first barrier, but recovered to come second.

Our poster boy, Lewis Rattray, putting his best (sexiest?) foot forward.

Lewis' race face. Even the Hell Krew tent was in awe.

Laura Choong looking out with steely determination.

Jess Steger also won a Treadlie prize for riding the worst bike in the race, a Shogun conversion that Erle Pavlis pulled out of hard rubbish. I believe - and this may be untrue - that she was the only member of Hell Krew to finish the B-Grade race.

Sparkie gives Emma Caddy a helping hand up the run-up.

Twitter later informed me that this was Amy Bradley's first ever CX race, and that she had only procured this sweet Colnago CX bike a couple of days before. One race, one win. Not bad!

Amity McSwann again smashed the Girl's Open Category. She's a gun.

And I just threw in this pic of Adam Trewin because it's a sweet pic, and he's a nice guy.

Video:

Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series Round 2 Coburg from Kathryn Feldmaier on Vimeo.

Photos generally used without permission and taken from:

Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
Here
and
Here

You may need log into facebook to see these:

Here
Here
Here
and
Here.

There will likely be more in the coming days, and I'll let you know via twitter (@dirtydeedscx) whenever a new lot comes in. Or you could just check here every day for the next week or so. That'd do it.

Thanks again should go to everyone who turned up, the sponsors, the racers, the riders, the hecklers, the food providers, the guy who brought the toilets, Brunswick Cycling Club, Moreland City Council, and whatever higher being you believe in, for holding the rain off until five minutes after presentations were done. See you all on the 21st, back at our spiritual homeland, the Harrison Street Velodrome.

Back To Reality.

2011-07-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

So, I know I'm tired, I know you're tired, and I know that everyone else who was even in the neighborhood of Jackson Reserve today is tired. So your report and all of your pics and your hilarious commentary will have to wait til tomorrow. For now, though, I want to thank each and every one of you for making each Dirty Deeds race more fun than the last.

Russian Circles

2011-07-13T00:25:00.000-07:00

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, it's all go around the DDCX HQ right now.

The race will be here faster than it takes Blakey to glue a tubular and the updates keep coming...

First of all I'd like to remind people to bring their licences/permits. Last time we had a few 'surprised' people who had forgotten theirs. If you have a CA licence bring it! If you have purchased a CX Season pass/3 ride pass you will need to bring that to prove it. We love and trust each of you who enter our races, but unfortunately we still need proof of your licensed status.

If you are driving to the race we suggest parking on Ronald St in addition to Golf Road. Both are residential streets and so may well fill up quickly. Both provide excellent access to the course. If you are arriving by pedal power, the Merri Creek bike path will get you there (or you can ride more directly via the hills of Murray Road).

We also need 6 course marshalls, so if wearing a bright orange 'MARSHAL' jacket and getting to see all the parts of the course (we have a sweet new system for rotating volunteers around the course) appeals to you, please contact Nath directly by email before Friday evening. You will need to be in attendance at the official briefing at 11:30, but we often like to reward our helpers for their time, plus you can heckle racers with impunity as you are a 'race official'.

Finally...
Our friends at Larry's Custom Cycles (who continue to reward silliness in every race) have a spare bike going this weekend, if you want a bike to ride in the CX class, its a 56, Singular peregrine all ready to go. Just let us know by Saturday night, we will get you the bike on the day.

Why Can't This Be Love?

2011-07-10T02:03:00.000-07:00

Further to Brendan's post below... the race will be held around the area NORTH of where Jackson Reserve is marked on a map.

Think roughly here where the bike path meets the street. (we reserve the right to move the set-up around the green space, but if you start here you are likely to see some part of the course and can work out where to go from there).

Bring on the weekend!

Langston Hughes.

2011-07-09T20:04:00.001-07:00

One week out from round #2 and I got some basic housekeeping for everyone. Jot these facts down quick, folks.

1. There is absolutely nothing at Jackson Reserve (north!). I've spent the week on the phone to blokes named Craig and Bruce and Macka trying to get some toilets arranged, so you may have somewhere to relieve yourself. The Beatbox Kitchen will be in attendance once again, as will the coffee cart from Supreme, a vegan bake sale, and the usual candy from the Brunswick Kiosk. So you'll have some food. But if you want somewhere to sit down, you're on your own there. Bring a chair, or a picnic blanket, or something.

2. There's also not a whole lot of parking around the reserve. If you can park your car at the Table Tennis Club on Murray Road and ride your bike or walk up to the top of Golf Road, that'd be great.

3. Rego will be open at 12, and numbers will be limited. If you can't get there at 12, send a mate along with your licence and some money. Sponsors who are keen to also ride should hit us up at dirtydeedscx@gmail.com.

4. Riders, this course will likely involve a creek crossing, and as such, you will get wet. But as I mentioned above, there are next to no facilities at the reserve. Bring a towel and a change of clothes. We don't want you catching colds now.

5. Anyone keen to help set up the course should come along to the top of the reserve around 10am, and bring a hammer and some gloves. We really appreciate the help - and don't forget, there's an attitude award to be won!

I'm sure there'll be more stuff closer to the date, but that's all I can think of now. We're pretty psyched about the new venue - which has a lot of potential for wickedness. I can't wait!

93 'til Infinity

2011-07-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

So the season has started and you've had a spin around the trails/parks/course and maybe you want to up your 'cross game a bit...

Well the year-round source of CX stoke and nerdery has started a few excellent features that you might want to check out...

Newbie Mondays
plus a tip for all you die-hard roadies who are getting muddy for the first time and finding that the MTBers are leaving you behind off-road.

The new web editor over there is really doing some great work (and the latest mag is top notch).

For the more obsessed there's a whole lot of articles about going tubeless and a Tour De Tire that will (hopefully) help you narrow down your next rubber choice.

I'll leave you with a shot of my favourite bit of 'cross news from the past few months... J-Pow's migration to Rapha-Focus. From the powerhouse 'Green Machine' to the most stylish kit in the grid, this ADD-crazed cross star is setting up for some great battles with former team mates.

Mad Skills

2011-07-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

A few hardy souls ventured out for the women's cyclocross skills session at Darebin Parklands on Sunday. Participants brought along enthusiasm for cross and a genuine desire to hone skills for the upcoming Dirty Deeds events. In about an hour participants made great progress with dismounts, barrier jumping and remounts. Thanks to Nik and Blakey for their help with technique and general encouragement.

Watch out for some ladies with mad skills at the next Dirty Deeds event!

There will be another skills session run between rounds 2 & 3 for those. More details to come.

Humour, Opinion, A Sense Of Compassion.

2011-07-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Hey, The Massage Oil Shop have just come on board as a sponsor. When Benedict emailed to say they were interested in getting involved, we fairly jumped up and down. Because I couldn't think of anything better after a hard day's getting muddy, falling down and punishing one's muscles than a sweet rubdown. When Scooter still lived in Australia I used to go see him every week, and back then my body was in the best shape it's ever been in. Now that he's left the country you'll have to rely on someone else, but at least if you win some of these fancy oils you'll be on the right track.

I'm willing to bet Benedict will be keen to award the goods to "Best Stack".

The Day History Stopped Repeating Itself

2011-06-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

From recent podium placer and friend of the DDCX HQ, Kate L is organising a female-only CX skills session :

"Hi all - I hope you can join us next Sunday for a run through some cross basics in preparation for round 2 of Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross.

Cyclocross skills session - Sunday 3rd of July

10.30 - 12.00 at Darebin Parklands - meet at the Ranger Station

Running through dismounts and remounts, barrier jumping, hill running and anything else you would like to focus on.

We will finish up with a short mock race for the giggles.
Nik and Blakey will be on hand to give technical pointers.

Bring any bike - cross ready or not.

Please pass on to anyone I have forgotten or any of your friends may be interested.

Hope to see you there,

Kate.

This is likely to be a lot of fun and as they say in the classics... 'practice makes perfect'. If you are interested, contact Kate through her email address above.

Wait. Wait A Minute.

2011-06-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

I swear, these are the last photos from DDCX#1. Our good friend Andy at Fame + Spear took them though, so we made a special exception for him.

And I'm Not Afraid Of My.

2011-06-23T03:53:00.000-07:00

The Videos keep coming in. This rules! Especially the part where Heavy Metal James gets his ass smacked.

Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Round 1 from Kathryn Feldmaier on Vimeo.

Also, a few write-ups have started to appear. As someone who is obviously fond of the written word, I'm totally keen on reading these. Post your links below.

Recognize.

2011-06-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

Taking out first place in the Women’s Cross category in round one of Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross, Emma Caddy has set the standard for the coming races. Her stamina towards the end of the race proved too much for the rest of the field.

The apprentice bike mechanic raced a single speed mountain bike in last years open events and has used the time in between to build herself a cyclocross bike. She has put a lot of love into the bike, building it up from a new frame and fork and recycled parts from Born Again Cycles. “It's black and blue, so I call it "little Bruiser' like my hip, bottom and knee after last years Dirty Deeds final race, when I crashed on the velodrome bad on a bald rear tyre”.

Quite new to cycle racing, Emma saw cyclocross as a way to get involved. “I've wanted to race all my life. I'd seen cyclocross bikes around and thought they looked great”. Her first race was at the Warburton Cyclefest Cyclocross last year. The chance to race in inner Melbourne in the Dirty Deeds series was another big draw for Emma.

A keen cyclist, Emma uses her commute to St Kilda Cycles as an opportunity to work on her fitness. She also heads out to parks around Melbourne to practice jumping over stuff (a good tip for anyone I think - I have heard others say they will randomly jump on and off their bike on the way to work in preparation for cross races!).

Emma will definitely be in attendance at the next race on July 17th at Jackson Reserve, Coburg North.

Where's My Time?

2011-06-23T02:22:00.000-07:00

Brunswick Cycle Club 2011 from Aaron Maguire Productions on Vimeo.

I Will Not Misplace Priorities.

2011-06-22T03:29:00.001-07:00

I knew someone had a video interview with our Round #1 winners! Featuring Sean "The Man" Hurley's interjections...

That Slowdance Didn't Last Really Long

2011-06-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Still on a high from Sunday's mud-filled riding?
Got some frequent flyer kms or a friend you haven't seen for a while?
Just 'cross-crazy (you aren't alone)?

Why not book a ticket for Brisbane?

This just in from a northern brethren:

Ipswich Cycling Club and Exact Radiology are excited to announce that Cyclocross is back in SEQ for 2011. We're at the same great venue, and we'll have the great atmosphere, frites, cheap beer, cowbells and challenging course you enjoyed last year. The course has been tweaked a little to improve the race for competitors and spectators.

Enter now ! - its cheaper than entering on the day ; )

Our CFO A.Blake went up last year and came home full of stories of tropical race conditions, stair climbs, deceptive grass turns and a high fun factor...

Do yourself a favour!

I'm Not Going To Try And Tell You That I'm Different From All The Rest.

2011-06-21T03:43:00.000-07:00

Eleanor, pictured above, is one of our long time favourites here at Dirty Deeds, and she's on to something good here. If you're a girl, and you've ever ridden one of our events, you should get in touch with her.

This Little Light Of Mine.

2011-06-21T00:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for me this one photo nicely encompasses why we have a kid's race. There's the kid, obviously stoked to pieces, riding like he's about to get grounded and loving the hell out of it, and in the background there's a handful of dads, carefully watching as their offspring get muddy as hell. Apparently this kid - whose mum is a supporter of the series - wrote a sweet story about the race, and I'm doing what I can to get a hold of it so I can post it up here. I hope it's in crayon. I really, really do.

Prove It To Me Now.

2011-06-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

Another sweet video has popped up, and this one has epic slow-motion sequences. I'd recommend listening with the sound down, however.

We Could Have Had It All.

2011-06-20T14:26:00.001-07:00

Sure, I listen to Adele sometimes, what's your problem?

Here's some of the best video of a Dirty Deeds race yet, courtesy once again of Jimmy Maebus.

Do You Feel Alright?

2011-06-20T05:33:00.001-07:00

I forgot to include this! Dirty Deeds favourite and Hell Krew founding member James Kent, stoically accepting his fate.

My Heart Still Hurts From Last Night.

2011-06-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Reigning Champion Lewis Rattray has taken out the first round of the Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series in an impressive display of skills and raw power.

In a field chock-full of cycling talent, including former Australian Road Race Champion Alan Iacone and Mountain Bike World Cup representative Andy Blair, Rattray hit the front from the first lap and did not put a foot wrong for the next forty minutes, lapping nearly the entire field in the process.

With Rattray’s devastating skills in the mudpit, over the barriers and across the grass in full effect, a chase group consisting of Iacone, Blair, Daniel McMunn and former Dirty Deeds race winners Mat Gray and Jeremy Soawyer banded together to attempt to drag Rattray back into the field. This was to no avail, however, and by the third lap this group had begun to fall to pieces as the mammoth task took its toll. A considerable time after Rattray crossed the line to take first, Blair came across to take second with Daniel McMunn holding on for third.

Rattray goes into the second round of the series in impressive form, and there will no doubt be considerable discussion regarding how exactly to catch him.

The support races were no less exciting, with Warrack Leach earning a promotion to Elite in the B grade cyclocross race, after a commanding win over Simon Carey, with Thomas Crowler taking out third. The women’s cyclocross category was also hard-fought, with Emma Caddy and Kate Lansell riding neck and neck for the majority of the race, Caddy snatching the win from Lansell at the last moment, with Laura Choong a surprise third place.

In the Open Category – for those without Cyclocross bikes – Merida Flight Centre’s Adrian Jackson made an appearance and swept all before him, leaving spectators to wonder what would have been with a Blair / Jackson battle in the cyclocross category. Cam MacKenzie held on for second place, with Craig Maclean coming home third. And in the Open Women’s category the Trailmix team proved dominant, with Amity McSwann taking a fine win from her teammate Erica Gunner, with Jade Forsyth third.

And, finally, in the Kid’s races, the Trailmix team once again proved there is something in the water out at Lysterfield, with Sam Wilson crossing the line first, ahead of Brunswick Cycling Club’s own Adam Blazevic. Ben Walkerdon took out third.

The next round of the Dirty Deeds Cyclocross Series will take place at Jackson Reserve, Coburg on July 17th.

A lone Unicyclist came down to race on Sunday, and despite concern on the part of the organizers, actually rode most of the course in the Open Category. Chapeau, Unicycle Guy. Photo by Andrew Bell.

As mentioned above, AJ tore everyone a new one in the Open Category, but Cam MacKenzie showed some bitter determination and rapidly shed clothing in order to hold on for third. Photo by Brian Mangano.

Duncan Murray didn't win, but was still totally stoked after battling the mud in the Open Category. Photo by Brian Mangano.

The Women's Open Category was equally hard fought, with Amity McSwann stealing the win away from Erica Gunner, with Jade Forsythe third. That's Amity in the middle, getting some socks and a sticker for her efforts. Photo by Brian Mangano.

For some reason there's a lack of photos of the Kid's Category this time around, but here are the winners. I swear by this time of the evening that kid in the middle had a five o'clock shadow. Photo by Brian Mangano.

While I'm still a little disappointed that no-one has yet brought along a lagerphone, the cowbells were out in abudance, and made one hell of a racket. Those who didn't have cowbells seemed to have raided their kitchens - folks were banging on teapots, saucepans and frypans. Chaz, however, took it up a notch and used an old set of front bike forks, which were surprisingly effective. Photo by Mik Efford, who also rode in the CX B grade, on his own homemade bamboo bike. That's a multi-talented individual right there.

When the Open Category showed a distinct lack of interest in the "Best Dressed" award, I was worried that we wouldn't have anyone to give a bike frame from Larry's Custom Cycles away to by the end of the day. Boy, was I wrong. This guy here not only dressed entirely in white, but was the talk of the hill, pitching first his bike into the mud pit, and then - in the moment you see above - pitching himself. Problem is, he had gone home by presentation time - perhaps to wash off the stench - and I was proven correct. The frame is sitting in the corner of my house right now, looking pretty nice, I gotta say. Photo by Brian Mangano.

See these guys? Come July they're all riding A grade. Sorry Tom! Photo by Brian Mangano

Jeremy Soawyer represented team Hell Krew and battled well to eventually score sixth place. The rest of Hell Krew fared less well, but were nonetheless still banging their heads at the end of the day. I stole this photo off Jeremy's facebook, and have no idea who took it.

Jimmy Maebus, complete with video camera attached to his helmet, attempted to bunnyhop the mud puddle, but fell drastically short. Or perhaps this was his intention - with all the beer / cider / lemonade sprayed on riders throughout the day, it was probably time for some sweet revenge. Photo by Brian Mangano.

Winner and alledged foot fetishist Lewis Rattray not only took out first place in the A grade race, but also scored the "Lewis Rattray Likes Feet" award put forth by Sean "The Man" Hurley and Cam MacKenzie. This award was for the first person to complete one lap, and Rattray made himself an extra $60 for his efforts.

Strangely there are no photos yet of the A Grade podium, but I think Mikkeli Godfree of Enduro Magazine took some video, which will definitely be added to the new video page whenever it appears.

Some housekeeping:

For the sake of safety we capped the numbers on the day, and will be doing this again in July. CX A grade will be capped at 60 riders, CX B grade will be capped at 80 and Open will be capped at 100. Kids will remain unlimited, especially if they keep turning up on sweet mini CX bikes like that one kid did on Sunday. We'd like to apologise to anyone who missed out on riding, and would subtly nudge them to turn up earlier on the 17th.

Full results are, of course, available here. We probably got some of them wrong, and we'd also like to apologise for that. I'm not going to tally up the aggregate just yet, because I'm tired, but you can figure it out like this: if you rode, you get a point. If you won, you get an extra five points on top of that. If you came second, an extra three points, and if you came third, you get an extra two. We know that we made a major booboo in the Women's CX category, and will be factoring that into the aggregate.

And finally, we'd once again like to thank the following, without whom this little community would never have been built: Brunswick Cycling Club for their unwavering support, and for providing marshalls, and for dealing with the licences, and for, well, just being the raddest little club in town; Adrian Infanti from Darebin Parklands, who went above and beyond the call of duty, providing us with access, power and water - and then went out and rode in the Open Category. What a champ!; Jen McIntyre for being the most ruthlessly efficient first aid person in the world, even if she only had to tend to one guy all day; Sarah from CSV and Kimberly Morgan from BWK for sitting on the judges table all day; Everyone who sat on the rego desk - one of life's most thankless tasks (until now!); All of our sponsors - again, that's them on the right of this page, go click on the links so we get sweet click-through numbers and then they love us even more; All of the folks who brought down tents, regardless of what they were selling or displaying - it makes us look like a travelling roadshow, or even like Lollapalooza, which totally rules; The Vegan bakesale - I missed you guys; Kipp from CSV for his behind-the-scenes support and for organizing a CX event I might actually get to ride; All of the riders; All of the people who wanted to ride but couldn't get a bike organized in time; All of the people who secretly wanted to ride but didn't because they were nervous or worried or didn't want to get muddy; All of the people who really, really wanted to ride but couldn't because they were too hungover; And finally, everyone who came down to support the event in the best way we know how - by yelling, heckling, handing up beer and lemonade and even a freaking cigarette, clapping, oohing, aahing, sighing, groaning, and occasionally singing and dancing. You guys rule.

Survival Sickness.

2011-06-19T03:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know you're all itching to get your hands on those Dirty Deeds round 1 results, but just quietly, I'm buggered. I'm going to bed. If you're lucky, we'll have them for you soon. Check back again tomorrow.

The photos, however, are flowing in already. Check out these, these, these, these, these, these and these to start with! I'm expecting a bunch more still to come, as well as some video. I'm sure that at least one of these will feature you.

Also here and here, though you need to log in to facebook for these albums.

Edit: more pics!

Chop It Up Into Firewood.

2011-06-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

A quick word on facilities: while there are toilets at Darebin Parklands, there ain't much else. Fortunately for you, the Beatbox Kitchen burger van will once again be in attendance, so that's your main meal taken care of. And there may be soup on offer, so there's your entree. But what if you want something sweet?

Well, I'm happy to inform you that we may be once again blessed by a vegan bake sale. This is most righteous news.

You'll still have to bring your own beverages though.

There's also not a lot in the way of seating. Last year some intrepid folks brought down picnic blankets, which was a brilliant idea, but fold-out chairs would also provide some respite for weary legs. It's supposed to be relatively mild, so you won't freeze, but an extra layer probably won't hurt.

The good people from Cycleops have jumped on board as sponsors, and as such will be bringing down some trainers for you to warm up and cool down on. They don't sponsor me personally - shame on them! - but I have one of their trainers, and it rules. Apparently their tent is also going to have heating, so it may be the warmest place to be come Sunday.

The course is a lot bigger than the Prologue course was, and as such riders probably won't be able to hear Karl's soundsystem or the hillarious commentary around the back of the course. This is where you come in. Once again, we're depending on you to bring the noise. If you need a list of quality heckles, drop us a line here. We're happy to help.

All The Cops In The Donut Shop Say.

2011-06-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

They say that the first race of the Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series takes place this Sunday! Racing from 1pm at Darebin Parklands. Get there!

UPDATE: Course opens at midday. No earlier! There's going to be lots of racers so practice time will more controlled this year.

Nobody's Darlings

2011-06-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

As a special treat we have a guest post from a good friend of DDCXHQ addressing a topic that is important us not only for our series but also for the sport of cycling.

Women’s Cyclocross

The buzz surrounding the Dirty Deeds 2011 season is intensifying. The number of people who came out on a cold winters night to either race or to spectate at the prologue is a clear sign the cyclocross bug has taken hold in Melbourne. And with good reason. Racing your friends through the mud, sand and soggy grass as the noise of the crowd gives way to the roaring pain in your over-worked lungs is quite the experience. The field of competitors for round one is set to be large with a range of skill levels, represented. There will be people in the ‘having a stab’ category who just wish to make it through the race without collapsing in a muddy quagmire, those in the ‘as long as I beat [insert name here]’ category who are out to test their skills and best last years result, and those in the ‘did you see that sweet line I took through the second puddle on the third lap’ folks who have been putting in some serious training to take out a podium spot. This is the beauty of cyclocross, everyone is welcome. Yet at this stage, the women’s category is underrepresented. While this may be indicative of the cycle racing scene in Australia in general, I have been thinking of ways to encourage more women to get out for Dirty Deeds CX race one. I understand that jumping over a barrier into a pit of mud is not for everyone but I have a hunch the only way to encourage more participation is for more women to be seen racing and having a ball.

It seems one of the major barriers is access to a suitable bike. To address this, Commuter Cycles have generously offered to help out anyone with setting up a cross bike as cheaply as possible. No one has taken them up on this offer yet. Which leads me to think there may be a bigger issue here. But rather than get bogged down in whether or not the predominately male racing field is a deterrent for some, I thought I would share with you some writing by women who race cyclocross in North America where women’s cyclocross is taking off. Elite cyclocross racer Maureen Bruno-Roy writes “most of the growth in cyclocross for women is linked to the fun atmosphere and not just the tough athleticism of the competing”. She claims that cyclocross is a ‘gateway’ sport into competitive cycling for many women who might find road racing or mountain biking too intimidating to get into. You can read more about Maureen’s thoughts on women’s cycling here.

Heidi Swift is a freelance writer and photographer who also happens to race cyclocross. She manages to capture the essence of the short, often painful races (she crashes a lot) and why she keeps going back for more. “Cyclocross, at its core, is just a bunch of overgrown kids on adult-sized dirt bikes riding laps through puddles and grass as fast as their lactate threshold will take them. It's a field of peers ready to hammer themselves to death to pip you at the line but just as eager to pat you on the back and congratulate you when the race is over and you've stopped dry heaving long enough to form sentences. It is a spectacle, a challenge, a carnival of pain. But it's more than that. It's a community lashed securely together by our willingness to suffer and then celebrate afterward. It is a welcoming, open-armed throng of cyclists and spectators who are slightly off their respective rockers”. You can read more from Heidi Swift on her various pursuits here (and I highly recommend you do).

My hope? That we can encourage enough women to take part in the Dirty Deeds cyclocross season to warrant a separate category that fosters inclusion as well as a competitive scene. For any women who are perched precariously on the fence, I urge you to have a go and to see what all this fuss is about! If you fall into the ‘I have this bike but am not sure it is suitable’ category, take a look at this article by Commuter Cycles and give them a call. I acknowledge that this is a complex issue with many factors to consider and I welcome open, constructive conversation. If you have any questions, need advice or would like to get in some practice before any of the upcoming events, please email me at katelansell@gmail.com. Hope to see you out on the course!

courtesy: Janet Hill/CXMagazine

Invent A Fire.

2011-06-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hey, we're pretty flat out here at DDCXHQ right now - really, whose idea was it to have two CX races in two weeks? - but in the meantime, here's a quick look at what the good people at Commuter Cycles are doing. Also explains how you can win a sweet DIY CX bike from them!

Doesn't This Lady Look Surprised.

2011-06-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hey, after watching Gene bin it again and again and again, the Dirty Deeds Organizing Committee has decided it needs a dedicated first aid officer. If you are at least level 2 qualified and are not intending to race, please hit us up, either here or at dirtydeedscx@gmail.com.

He's Wearing Overalls.

2011-06-07T16:45:00.001-07:00

Some random stories to come out of Friday night's escapades:

I spoke briefly to the Schwable Rep, Shane Ford, who told me that in the weeks prior to the prologue Schwable had sold out of CX tyres. That's not just one shop; you could not purchase Schwable CX tyres anywhere in the state. I'm claiming this one.

And secondly, our CSV Liason Officer told me about an interesting phone call the CSV office received on Monday morning. While our licences are provided by CSV, those guys have to then forward them on to Cycling Australia (CA), who work out all the insurance and that stuff. And on Monday morning the folks at CA were a little confused. Y'see, on Friday night we sold around eighty Cyclocross Season Passes, formerly (and formally) known as 3-ride permits. On average CA deals with about twenty 3-ride permits a year. Hence the reason for their confusion. I mean, apparently they were stoked, but still, they needed an explanation.

Speed Away From Human Sorrow.

2011-06-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks Jimmy Maebus for this:

The Shame File.

2011-06-05T03:09:00.000-07:00

Could the following riders please return their race number to the
Brunswick Cycling Club as soon as possible. Numbers can be dropped at
DISC on Tuesday night from 6pm, or posted to PO Box 2027 Brunswick
East, VIC 3057.

Yellow Numbers 
12 Nicholas BANK
14 Edward POWELL
65 Damian AUTON

White Numbers 
11 Liam CROWLEY
12 Tom KURKA
24 Andrew SCOTT
26 Jed SOYTAR
43 Horatio BURTON
54 Stu WEIR
58 David CROXFORD
82 Campbell TOWNSEND
84 Chris WILSON
85 Ann GREENWOOD
87 Alex GEERS

Thank You For Being A Friend.

2011-06-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

Hey, the good people at Cyclingnews seem to be pretty stoked on Dirty Deeds - I'm beginning to get the impression that they'll put up anything I send them. That theory'll be tested when I send them my "Sam McGregor's Dirty Weekend" interview, but in the meantime, check this out.

A Character To Play.

2011-06-04T03:51:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Melbourne Cyclocross Season kicked off in style on Friday night with the Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Prologue taking place in front of a massive crowd at the Harrison Street Velodrome.

Organizers had stated in the weeks leading up to the event that this was no ordinary Cyclocross race, but rather would be a number of events befitting the nature of a prologue. A taste of cyclocross, an hors d'oerve tray of muddy, sandy, grassy action. As such, each rider participated in two short, fast races - the first of which would be a scratch race, and the second of which would be a hastily-prepared handicap. Riders were divided into three categories - those with Cyclocross bikes, those with any other kind of bike, and kids!

Here's Mark Sartorel, aged four, battling his way through the sandpit, when he probably would've preferred to stop and build sandcastles. And that's his dad, who helped him out and occasionally lifted him over the bunting, in order to stop him drowning in the mudpit.

Mark was not the only one tempted to play in the sandpit, however. Local legend Rhino took it upon himself to craft elaborate patterns in the sand, and it was his crafty constructions that wreaked havoc with the riders. It was difficult to maintain a straight line through the pit, and as such it was the site of a number of hilarious incidents.

Liam Jefferies from Trailmix totally dominated the kid's race, winning both the scratch race and the handicap, in the process showing why he is the under 15 national mountain bike champion. For his trouble he scored a total of $15 worth of gift certificates at the Brunswick Cycling Club canteen - that's a hell of a lot of redvines and sesame snaps. I'd like to apologise to Liam's parents for him being a little hyped up on candy last night.

The Open Class scratch race was up next. As per usual, the Open Class featured both wacky bikes and wacky outfits. Here's one J. Vella, braving the near-freezing temperatures and stench from the mudpatch. As there were only 21 competitors in the Open Class, only one race was run, and this was fairly dominated by Stuart Brown (perhaps only because I told Liam Jefferies he couldn't ride with the big boys). Stuart went home with some bar tape and a pair of socks for his trouble.

The CX class was randomly split up into four bunches, each consisting of about twenty-three riders. Competition here was pretty fierce - there was a distinct lack of crazy outfits, and a distinct abundance of fancy bikes with carbon wheels. In the first race defending Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Champion Lewis Rattray proved that he was equally comfortable over a short distance by taking home the biscuits. The second race was a close affair, but was eventually taken out by Footscray Cycling Club's Adam Trewin.

Jeremy Soawyer, pictured above, had been suffering from the flu all week, and was pumped up to the eyeballs full of Sudafed, but still managed to take out the third race; and Alex Meyland, who before this evening had never even thrown a leg over a Cyclocross bike, took out the fourth race with ease.

Around this time the commentary team - pictured above - were approached by the good people at Larry's Custom Cycles, who were keen to announce that they had already chosen a winner of the prize for best dressed.

The prize, however, was quickly renamed by the good folks at Larry's the award "For Most Mud Down Their Buttcrack," and there was no question that this should be taken out by Tate, who won a sweet frame and fork set for his stinky, stinky trouble. Here he is, showing all and sundry why he was so rewarded.

The Open Handicap was up next, and once again the sandpit proved the greatest handicap of all. Here's Ann-Michel, who had spent most of the day helping the Dirty Deeds Team prepare the sand, suffering for her good deeds. In the handicap races riders were asked to stand in the order that they had finished in the scratch race, and as the judges had only taken the top three results, riders were asked to use the honesty system, even if, as our chief commissaire stated, "cheating and lying would probably be quite beneficial."

Riders must've been relatively honest, however, as all night the handicap races threw up unusual winners. The Open Class was no exception: Cam Mackenzie seemed thoroughly bewildered to win, and was more excited to be interviewed after the race.

The Cyclocross Handicaps were closely fought affairs, with backmarkers often ending up on the podium but never able to crack the win. The first race was taken out by Tom Kurka, with Rattray again making a strong dash to the line to clinch third. The second went to Michael Dann, who just held off Adam Trewin - pictured above - to take the prize. The third went to Tristan Baker, with daylight second. And the fourth Cyclocross Handicap was the closest race of the night, with Llewellyn Thomas stealing the win from Troy McKinna right on the line.

As the night drew to an end talk inevitably turned to the next race at Darebin Parklands on June 16th. What would the Dirty Deeds Organizing Team dream up next? Stairs? Ice? A Rope Swing? A Jungle Gym? And, more importantly, would we be able to get the sand out of our drivetrains by then? Fortunately a visit to the Splashdown section - which consisted of a highpressure hose and a gold coin donation to the Brunswick Cycling Club - helped answer the latter question. As they rode off into the night their bikes were mostly clean. It was only their clothes that stank.

Full results too all of the races available here.

And more photos available here, here, here, here, here and here. More coming as they appear. You may need to login to facebook to see some of those sets. I also hope to see some video popping up soon - God knows I saw enough people riding with video cameras.

And finally, here are some more pictures of people jumping over the barriers. What kind of crazy mixed-up sport makes people carry their bikes over things? This is madness!

This Is Your Life.

2011-06-01T23:42:00.001-07:00

This looks pretty much perfect for us, but you should probably bring a rain jacket just in case.

You Were Sleeping Off Your Demons, When I Came Home

2011-06-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

Adding to the fervor and excitement from Brendan's last few posts (of which I can assure you he is not the only one expectantly awaiting Friday evening) I can let you know that there will be several kind folks manning neutral/pre-ride support tents on the evening.

So if your hastily thrown together hoopty starts backfiring or your race-bred steed needs a shoe change don't be afraid to ask for help. They all know their stuff and will save you bringing your full toolkit with you*

There will also be a few of our sponsors showing off their wares so in the midst of your cheering, heckling and new friend making be sure to see what they have to offer.

*If you are running anything french and it breaks... you are likely on your own!

Too Late.

2011-05-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to get a bit excited about the Prologue on Friday night. The infield at the track is totally soaked, and these cold damp mornings are only making it worse. There's rain forecasted for Friday, which should bring a real touch of Winter to proceedings. And, finally, this time we won't have to bring our filthy bikes home with us, because Matty "Melways" Ladner is bringing down his high-pressure hose. For a gold coin donation to the Brunswick Cycling Club he'll cleanse your bike of mud, and if you slip him a fiver he'll probably squirt you too.

We Give The Voyeurs Something To Look At.

2011-05-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! We now have our own subheading on the Brunswick Cycling Club website, and some of their answers are clearer than ours - especially when it comes to licencing. Check it out here.

Mind Your Own Business.

2011-05-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is Nik Cee, one of the organizers of Dirty Deeds Cyclocross Series. He's been training pretty damn hard for the 2011 Series, and is pretty much ready to tear the legs off any competition. While he'll definitely get the chance to show his epic strength on Friday night, however, he knows that the Prologue is just for fun, and that a) it's not necessarily about the fastest guys in the race and b) depending on the number of racers, he may not even be competing against the other superfast guys. Because the Prologue is being run over a smaller-than-usual course, it's increasingly looking like we're going to have to split the races up into bunches, and these bunches will be based on a) Category (either Open or CX) and b) order of registration.

I'll explain the latter point in a bit more detail. At the rego desk we hand out numbers in the order that people sign in. If you're first in line, you get number 1, second in line gets number 2, and so on. At the Prologue we'll be breaking riders up so that (for example) numbers 1 - 20 ride against each other, 20 - 40 ride against each other, and so on. We'll keep track of the results, and this will allow us to create grades for the rest of the series - you know, the races that actually count.

So what does all this mean? It means that while we expect you to race as hard as you possibly can - and that we may even reward you for doing so - you should only be racing in these events for fun. If you're taking it super seriously, you should probably wait til the real races begin in a fortnight.

It also means that you have the unique opportunity to tweak the fields a little, so that you can compete in a race that consists solely of your mates / other singlespeeders / drunkards. Just make sure you all register at the same time - it's a simple as that.

We came up with the idea for a Prologue because we didn't just want to have a launch party - this ain't no art exhibition! We wanted to give people an opportunity to stand around and talk shit about bikes and heckle and hang out and get all worked up on candy from the kiosk, with a bit of racing thrown in. More important than the racing, however, is the party. So fill your thermos full of Irish Coffee, put on an extra pair of socks, bring some blankets and a lagerphone, get rowdy and come on down.

Compared To What?

2011-05-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

Diamond Cut.

2011-05-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hey, there's been some confusion, so here's the start times for the prologue:

Course and Rego open at 6pm, Friday 3rd of June.
Racing starts at 7pm.

Races will be short and fast. Each rider will get at least two races. There will be food available from the kiosk. BYO beverages / blankets / noisemakers / waterpistols.

It will be fun.

Shake!

2011-05-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hey, Nath from DDCXHQ is going to be talking about the series on 3CR in ten minutes (aka 10am on the 23rd of May). you can listen here, or I'll put the podcast up when it's done. He's had a lot of coffee, so it should be entertaining listening.

If You Can't Dance.

2011-05-19T03:50:00.000-07:00

I did this interview with Lewis for a more esteemed publication, but thought I'd also include it here for your viewing pleasure.

As the opening prologue of Melbourne, Australia’s 2011 Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series draws near, Brendan Bailey from the DDCX organizing committee sat down with the 2010 Aggregate winner, Lewis Rattray, to discuss the upcoming races.

BB: Hey Lewis, how's it going? As reigning Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Champion, how are you feeling about this year's series?

LR: I’ve been pretty well, thanks. Even thinking about the upcoming series makes me a little nervous! I’m super pumped for it, and hope to defend the title, but I also realise there'll be a heap more good riders out there to give it a go. Perhaps what little experience I have could give me an edge. I’ll just have to find out as soon as the gun goes.

BB: So how have you been preparing for the series? Is your preparation different to last year?

LR: Last year my preparation involved heavy drinking most weekends (a year of 21st birthdays), and about 6 hours training a week just to keep myself interested. I now have the year off uni between courses and I'm training everyday. I've also cut back on the benders. I’m hoping to keep this up through winter but we'll see how we go.

BB: Oh really? Because I heard things got pretty loose at your house the other night. Anyway, last year you made a controversial switch from the Mountain Bike class to the CX bike class midway through the series. Do you have any similar shenanigans planned this year?

LR: Haha! Well if I only do it once a month instead of every weekend I figure I’m doing well. No bike shenanigans this year. I’ve got my cross bike dialled now, brand new, no excuses for pulling out the MTB. I may try and track down a fancy costume or something special for a race or two!

BB: That's probably a good idea, because the prizes for fancy dress are way bigger than the prizes for actually winning. Going back to training for a bit... do you do any CX specific training? Any practicing running up stairs, or carrying your bike through mudpits, or rehearsing your beer handups?

LR: I do actually. The other day I ran to the shops, and carried the shopping above my head while running home. Practice for shouldering the bike! And I actually built some collapsible barriers that I’ve been taking down to the park once a week. I make a mini course to do reps. People look at me very strangely.

BB: So, who do you think will be the biggest threats to your title this year? You know, aside from (Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series Co-organizer) Nik Cee?

LR: Hah! Well I've heard on the grapevine that there'll be a few quick roadies out to claim some prizes. Hopefully there'll be plenty of mud and plenty of barriers to separate them. If the usual 5 or 6 frontrunners are there from last year I'll have to keep myself pretty fit!

BB: Last year we were surprised to find out that you weren't riding for a team, or a shop, or anyone other than yourself. Has this situation changed?

LR: Well my work (St Kilda Cycles) have certainly stepped up and sorted me out with a bike, some sweet tubular wheels and tubular tyres. That’s all at the moment, but its a nice casual way to be racing. I wouldn’t say no to anything more, but I’m happy promoting the shop for the moment.

BB: I figured I'd let you get a plug in there. That's about all we have time for, but before we go, is there anything else you want to say?

LR: Well seeing as you asked. I’m heading to Europe at the end of the year to do a few races. If there's any promoters who want to give me a start in a race I'd be stoked! I should also add thanks for putting on such an awesome series. Cyclocross will only grow from here, but you guys have well and truly set it off with your series last year. See you at the velodrome!

Here's Your Ticket.

2011-05-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

If you're keen on rocking up to races at the last minute, hate queuing, or take pride in being more organized than everyone else, here's some news for you: Cyclocross Season Passes will be available at the Northern Combine ITT this weekend, and also at DISC on Tuesday night. Ask for Nath, he'll sort you out.

I Never Have And Never Will.

2011-05-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

Like Klaus from Cycling Inquisition, we here at DDCXHQ have a troubled relationship with nationality. While we obviously love Cyclocross and its varied history, we are also of the opinion that the singular focus on the Belgian part of that history is limiting at best. Instead, we are interested in creating a Cyclocross that is truly our own, limited only by your imagination. So instead of thinking, "Oh, man, the Dirty Deeds Prologue is coming up, I better get me a cowbell!" You might think to yourself, "Oh, man, the Dirty Deeds Prologue is coming up. Most people are going to have cowbells, but instead of just a cowbell, why don't I bring a cowbell and a snare drum. Or a cowbell and a snare drum and the whole bloody drum kit! Or a cowbell and a snare drum and the whole bloody drum kit and an entire marching band!" And now you're really thinking something! Or maybe you could add a little bush-band flavour to proceedings and bring a lagerphone and a tea-chest bass. And instead of pretending to like chips and mayonnaise you could just invite your weird uncle who runs a hot jam donut van to swing by on that Friday night and the whole velodrome will smell like the MCG. The possibilities are endless.

This series is yours, and we depend on you to make it something awesome - and trust you not to make it something that it's not. Take it further than that.

Majesty Shredding

2011-05-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

What are you doing this weekend?

It's probably not as much fun as this...

"The next CX Social bike ride & BBQ is on Saturday May 14 at Westfield Reserve, Fairfield (same place as last time).

For those keen on getting some practice for the upcoming Dirty Deeds Cyclocross races ( http://dirtydeedscx.blogspot.com ) or you just want to meet new people and have a fun ride, then come on down.

The ride is now a bit earlier in the day so we can enjoy a bite to eat and a few drinks after the ride while the sun is still shining (unlike last time which was much later and got dark and cold rather fast after the ride).

We will once again be catering for cyclocross and trail riders from beginners to advanced. In fact, the fastest and slowest riders through designated sections of the ride will win free lunch and beverages for their efforts!

Anyone suspected of cheating by deliberately riding slower than they are known to will be sent to the local bottle shop to buy drinks for everyone else!

Saturday May 14
11AM - Meet & greet, warm up, skills practice
12NOON - Rides head out
2PM - Return to hot BBQ and fresh home brewed beverages

And just like last time we will have plenty of organic vegie patties as well as miscellaneous carnivorous food stuffs available for affordable prices at the BBQ.

BYO food & drinks and/or food to share is also welcome.

The BBQ will also feature the mini-but-mighty solar-powered Cyclic Sound System playing some fresh tunes for your afternoon. If you haven't heard it yet then you are in for a real treat. Did I mention it is powered by the sun?

The BBQ will stretch into the late afternoon and maybe into the night depending on the weather.

We are also able to mind any extra gear or changes of clothes you want to bring to the BBQ but not take on the ride so feel free to bring it along. Basic tools and a floor pump will also be available before hand."

For more info contact Karl here

And in celebration of the fact the 'cross season is almost upon us here is a really good video (needs more mud though).

I Always Come Back To You.

2011-05-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, we've been receiving a few questions about the Kids races this year. To answer all these questions we made a Kids! page. You can reach it by clicking over there on the right.

That's When I Reach For My Revolver

2011-05-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

Still trying to get some good base miles in your legs for Dirty Deeds, have a new 'cross bike you want to 'bed in'... just like riding new roads out of the city...?

Our rambling sibling Melbourne Gravel Grinders has announced their next adventure...

The last two have been massive successes, don't miss the next one!

Sweet As A Love Note.

2011-05-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

Excellent news from our Cycling Victoria Liason Officer: At any Dirty Deeds race this year you will be able to purchase a Cyclocross Season Pass for $50. This will cover your race licencing needs for all four Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross races and the Cycling Victoria Cyclocross Open. This has solved a major headache for us, and represents a total bargain for you. Now you have no excuse!

Swallow Your Pride.

2011-05-06T01:41:00.000-07:00

Hi. How's it going? I know you're all in the midst of setting up your bikes for the four races coming your way, ogling 32mm tires and fancy carbon drop bars, so now's probably a good time for me to tell you this: at the Dirty Deeds Urban Cyclocross Series in 2011 you will be allowed to use disc brakes. I don't know about you, but I'm excited.

A Blanket And A Habitat.

2011-05-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

Dates announced! Sweet baby Jeebus, will you look at that flyer! There's so much radness there I want to snuggle up into it and fall asleep to infinity. Maps! Forest! World Champion stripes! And as if that's not enough, an elephant crushing a bike wheel. Tara Jayne, you've outdone yourself.

The Right Profile

2011-04-24T00:27:00.000-07:00

In my inbox whilst I was recently away (riding SS cross bikes in fabled MTB lands) arrived a flyer for an event that has been rumoured here for a while..

Norm has been communicating with DDHQ for a while and we were delighted to have him come down and race both categories in the final round last year. He has been wokring at convincing his local cycling club to host a race and talking up the available terrain since then.

As more details emerge I will post them...

She's So Beautiful.

2011-04-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

School Holidays mean that I have some time to work on this website, and you should check out the results of my hard labour over there on the right. Two new pages - licensing and 2011 locations. Both chock full of information. Are you getting excited about CX season yet? Because I sure am.

Sharing A City.

2011-04-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

I don't want to give away too much information before the official flyer works its way out of Tara Jaynes hot little hands, but holy hell, we just locked in one of the best locations we've ever seen. Most of the time we stumble upon locations, dream about how rad they would be, and then get firmly knocked on our arses when we ask permission. This time the council in question has come to the party, and we couldn't be happier.

Think hills, mud (of course!), dirt, bike path, steps, gravel climbs, creek crossings, the works. All of our wildest dreams just came true. And in a couple of months, yours will too.