Apple Crumble #6

While Melbourne Roobaix took a hiatus this year, the Apple Crumble team at Brunswick Cycling Club came up with "Rumble to the Crumble", a rambling adventure through the cobbled laneways of the inner north, paying homage to Melbourne Roobaix on the way to Petty's Orchard. The route was meticulously planned by Ben, our president, who rode his polka dotted single speed, that gets an outing once a year on this day.

from left, Ben, Cam, Elise & Pat

It was a fresh morning with the temperature hovering in the mid single digits, but a brave crew of three joined Ben for the first "rumble to the crumble". The crew were well warmed up after a 34km ride traversing the gnarly cobbled laneways of Northcote, the steep bergs of Ivanhoe and Eaglemont and the always delightful Yarra River Trails. The quote of the day did come from Elise, who won Women's A, who said Ben's "rumble to the crumble" was actually harder than the race itself.

By now word is getting out about the high octane racing that the Apple Crumble delivers, but each one is different, so let's relive a few highlights of Apple Crumble #6.
  • a record field of 89 entrants, up 19% on the previous event
  • 50% increase in the number of entries in the Women's categories from the previous event
  • 50% of the riders are Brunswick Cycling Club (BCC) members
  • 77% of the juniors are BCC members 
  • 55% of the women are BCC members
  • A multiple top 10 finisher at the Men's national gravel championships (24-25) turned up and showed A grade how it's done
  • A great spread of representation from clubs all over the eastern seaboard: Warrnambool: Coburg: Northern: Yarra Ranges MTB: Alpine: Newcastle Hunter: Hawthorn: St Kilda: Carnegie Caulfield: Smiths Gully MTB: Plenty Gorge MTB: Seymour-Broadford: Bendigo & District: Ballarat Sebastopol: Eastern: Geelong (Cycling & MTB): Blackburn: Footscray: Hamilton.
  • A piece of president Ben' s home made Apple Crumble was awarded to all of the juniors and all open riders who managed to snag a podium, making it one of the most unique prizes in cycling.
It was great to see so many families competing across the grades
  • Ralph with mum Heather and dad Kieran (2/3 podiums is not bad)
  • Izzy, Georgie, Sarah and Jake Turnbull
  • Brunswick father and son, Nick and Oscar Sharp
  • Father and son, Glenn and Fletcher Christensen from Seymour-Broadford CC
  • Siblings Fleur and Arie Riley from the Bendigo and District Cycling Club, making the trip and featuring on the podium.
  • Junior track star Emilia Jirovcova swapping the boards for the gravel for the first time
  • The Muscat family x 3, Dom, Isabel and Anthony
  • Leroy and Violet Bartlett from Blacburn CC
  • The Boddam-Whetham tribe of Ben, Greg, Augie & Hugo
  • Phil and Lia De Gruchy, showing they still have it
  • The Dempster dynamos, Jed and Rhett
  • The Gannon brothers, Jesse and Danny
  • Father-son combo, John and William Griffiths
  • Apologies if I failed to acknowledge your family
The KoM is now in the hands of Daniel Braunsteins, while Elise Giles maintained her grip on the QoM.

With more riders, comes more spectators. It was great just to see people coming out for a look and being impressed with what they saw. Hopefully over time we can turn those "gravel curious" into "gravel racers".  

Back to where the story began with Prez Ben on his single speed. I'm not convinced that his skinny tyres and front brake were the ideal choice for the course, but he did manage a very creditable fourth place in D grade. 


If you just enjoy watching bike races, bring yourself a fold up chair or a picnic blanket and find a spot at one of the many vantage points around the course.

Thanks to everyone who came out to watch, race and volunteer. Hope to see you at the next one on Saturday 25th July. If you are "gravel curious" to try out this course, all bikes are welcome provided they are fitted with wide tyres and brakes are in good working order and please make sure you have a current AusCycling license. Hopefully that's the last we will see of the president's single speed for the next twelve months!


Results 

Future dates
Saturday 25th July enter now via Entryboss
Saturday 29th August
Friday 25th September

Thanks to our sponsors The Pedla, Knog and Winners Bars for their support of this series.

Follow www.brunswickcyclingclub.com and their socials
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#applecrumblegravelcrit
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