The Rolling Roundup - Edition 7 - July 2025
The Saturday Socials
Ah winter …… We’ve been pretty lucky with the minimum temps and reasonably dry Saturdays. Just ask the southerners who flock up here this time of year. Our numbers always dwindle in the middle of the year and we fully understand why. The August Saturday Social rides - both long course and short course are all HERE and as always on our website, Facebook and BBCC General Chat WhatsApp ( more on that below ).
Cyclocross CX
The final round of the Queensland Cyclocross Series took place in Ipswich on a tight, technical course that left little room for overtaking—but plenty of opportunities to block. Riders faced sneaky inclines, muddy patches, and even a twisty single track section through the woods that tested everyone’s bike handling skills.
By this stage in the series, Byron Bay Cycle Club had a strong presence and high hopes across the grades. Marco, William and Carl were representing in C Grade, Alex and Martin in B grade , and George holding strong in the U17s. The C Grade race saw Carl deliver the goods—powering through the course to take third in the race and secure the gold medal for the series. This was Carl's third ever attempt at cyclocross, deciding to line up in round 2 of the series that BBCC held in Bangalow - just to support the club.
That was attempt number 1. After that he was hooked ! In B Grade, things got spicy. Martin nailed the wholeshot into the first corner, set the early pace, and even pulled off a slick move, overtaking an A Grade rider just before the single track. Alex, in hot pursuit, attempted a pass, hit a tree stump, and went flying over the bars. The entire B Grade field surged past him and the chase began. Martin only needed one point to lock in the gold—but then disaster struck. Mid-race, his chain snapped. With classic cyclocross grit, Martin shouldered his bike, ran to the pits, grabbed a spare chain, and got back in the game. But by then, Alex had moved into second and was gaining ground fast. The last lap bell rang and, despite Martin’s heroic efforts, it was too late. (Lesson learned: don’t borrow George’s old chain.) Alex crossed the line in second place, clinching gold in B Grade. Martin held on for bronze, and George secured bronze in the Under 17s. Not bad for a 13 year old! Byron Bay riders walked away with a huge haul of medals and some brilliant stories from the mud. Well done to everyone who raced this season—you made the club proud. It goes to show that by simply giving it a go you could find a new cycling genre that is heaps of fun and great for your skills.
Gravel
Brown Snake Gravel Brisbane August 31
“ from the bends of the river to the trails beyond the city skyline, Brown Snake Gravel is a two wheeled celebration of Brisbane’s wild spaces and places “ Event info is available HERE
Minyon Falls Muster September 28
Details for this one to follow with a second gravel event penciled in for November. We’re planning timed segments and re-groups so those who want to “race “ sections will know just where and for those who want to ride the course at mates pace, party pace can meet up at the re-groups.
Further afield Victoria is holding some serious gravel events such as The second ever Dirty Docker October 10-12 in Lancefield in the Macedon Ranges.This is a whole weekend of off- road events - cycling and running. Next the Gravelista October 26 in Seymour .This is a UCI qualifying event for the World Championships in Western Australia in 2026 and on a course called seVen. The Dirty Warny November 8 from Geelong to Warrnambool has grown from a classic and gruelling road race to include an even more gruelling gravel event. Courses range from 84 km to 246 km.
Crits
It's time ! We know. As booking dates at the Cavenbah Centre become increasingly harder particularly in winter and AFL season, we are leaning towards a more classic summertime racing season. Our club remains faced with a crit course that requires full traffic control each and every time we use it. This means each and every time we want to use it we need to book and pay for traffic control services of about $450. There are of course alternatives, such as having volunteer members qualify for these roles ( 3 day course $800 ea .) A more permanent solution and one that would allow us to train there as well as race there. We need to lobby the council to install a couple of extra boom gates, signage and fencing. There is movement within the other sports that use the Cavenbah Facility to create an overall picture of what is now required by us all to upgrade the facility making it more usable. HOWEVER, the BBCC needs your help! We need someone interested and able to facilitate the discussions with the council and help push our needs. Our solutions are not expensive nor intrusive but they are becoming increasingly urgent. Please contact any of the committee if you can help. The good news is that Lifecycles Byron Bay are our next crit series title sponsor and we plan to hold racing on September 21 , October 5 , October 12. ( September 28 is penciled in as a back up date for weather events noting that Yamba CC may also have a crit that day. We’ll keep you posted to avoid any clashes ). This will be a 3 race crit series with each race carrying points for an overall prize pool. More details such as categories, race formats and prizes will be revealed in due course. Plus a volunteer shout out or roster.
BBCC Interclub Crit Carnivale - November 2.
We are planning to run a criterium carnivale as our participation in the InterClub Series between Yamba CC, Grafton CC and NRCC. We are hoping to hold a small series of events that will utilize the unique layout of our crit track. Unique, in that most of the entire track can be seen at once which lends itself to velodrome/ track style events. Track inspired races like we’ve never done before. It's easy to see why GRAVEL events are growing and why our CRIT TRACK is so important to us. Road closures, traffic control and weather all contribute to the complexities and expense of running road racing. Gravel and CX side step the pain points and carry on !
Road Events
Lifecycle Classic Handicap at Lindermans Rd Lowood QLD , August 24th for a fast handicapped road race. Ride the Range in Toowoomba August 31st covering 6 different distances and courses around the Lockyer Valley region in SE QLD.
Membership updates and WhatsApp Chats
From the end of August we will be consolidating our WhatsApp Chats. We plan to use WhatsApp Communities so we can easily see what weekday rides are on, when and who/ how many are going. The chats as we know them will essentially remain the same however we can all have access to all weekday ride chats. The major change lies in the BBCC GenChat group. This will be for members only and where all other cycling related discussions take place. Likewise this newsletter will become a members only mailout. The reasons for this are two fold. 1 - so all riders in our community can see all the weekday rides by removing the exclusivity around each individual chat. 2 - to encourage all riders in our community to become a member. Membership starts from $30 per year for social members. We see this as a small fee, a token from you to stay connected, to have input if you like and one that we hope is financially achievable for all our cycling community. If you haven't done so yet, Become a member!
BBCC AGM 2025
Do you wish to have a direct involvement in our club governance? If you are a financial member and you wish to have a say in how the club operates, please note this date: October 7 2025. We are happy to announce that our 2025 AGM will be held on Tuesday, October 7, at the Byron Bay Services Club. Come and be part of it!
Vintage ride August 2025
Supported by a diverse and ever growing community, this month Vintage ride will be a surprise course. Dear classic bikes enthusiasts, stay tuned and get ready, the ride will take place August 17.
Our Amazing Sponsors
What does sponsorship mean to our club? It means we can focus our attention on what we do best - create a harmonious club, create rides, races and ride’em. We really appreciate and need our sponsors in much the same way as we appreciate and need our volunteers.You help us keep the wheels turning. Once again a massive thanks to all our sponsors, which have come on board in 2025 and are helping us deliver the best events we can. Lifecycles Byron Bay - Title sponsor of our upcoming criterium series and local bike shop headquartered in Habitat, Byron Bay. Lifecycles also organises a series of Sunday rides called “Sunday Cycle Club”. You’ll find all their rides also on our website, for even more social riding during the weekend! Break-Away cycle repairs by Alan Stons - He operates his mobile mechanic setup and is always happy to give your bike a tune up, if you require it! You’ll see Alan frequently during this year at our events. Furthermore, bookings for servicing, full detail clean, drivetrain degrease, check & adjustments are advisable. You can reach Alan at: 0413180855 . Coastline Coffee Byron Bay - GOLD tier sponsor and supplier of the brew you’ll be able to enjoy exclusively at our D-Grade Cafe, opening again for the Lifecycles Byron Bay Criterium series. Coastline has come on board to back our racing events and give all our members and guests the caffeine they need to perform at their best during race day. Mike sells whole beans in 1 kg bags and can often deliver. Contact : 0433856504. Bay Grocer - BRONZE tier sponsor and our Saturday hangout, Bay Grocer has gladly jumped on board for 2025. We are grateful for their contribution and surely there’s much future in our relationship with such an iconic local store.