P. Morrissey: November 2009

I was on my way home from running some errands today, and as I drove through the intersection of Roswell Road and US 41, I noticed an old-time carnival that had just been set up in the old Kmart parking lot across from the Big Chicken. As usual, I drove past, and then started thinking. To keep from dwelling on a missed photo opportunity, I went around the block and circled back to the parking lot where the carnival was.

I immediately wished I had a film camera with me, but the only camera I had on hand was my point-and-shoot digital Fujifilm F50fd. I had an immediate vision of the photos that I wanted to get, and I had a clear idea of how to use Photoshop to easily convert the straight color images to get the film-look I wanted.

The following images were taken within a one minute period. Click, click, click. Done. (There were also three throwaway images not shown here.)

Here are the three unedited color images straight from the camera:

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This work by Phillip E. Morrissey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

These are some photos that I took at the cyclocross race at the Dick Lane Velodrome in Atlanta, Georgia on Halloween, 2009.

Photo of a racer making a textbook dismount half way up a hill so he can run the rest of the way.

When I was a teenager reading VeloNews in the mid 1970’s, Cyclocross racing was a mysterious sport that took place on a far away planet called Belgium or it’s nearby moon, Holland.

A historic cyclocross photo from http://www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk/history/1961.htm

Cyclocross was born out of necessity about a hundred years ago in Europe when racers had to navigate old farm roads or jump over trees or other obstacles that would occasionally block the roads. It is also said that racers in Europe in the early 1900’s could take shortcuts through the countryside since the races were often point-to-point and not over a prescribed route. Cyclocross also pre-dated what we know as modern mountain bikes by about 80 years.

Cyclocross requires a strength and determination to git-er-done. [That’s one of the race organizers, Jeff Hopkins, in the background in the beer bottle costume. He’s from the land of OZ.]

Three major elements that always make up a cyclocross race are on-road riding, off-road riding, and jumping of obstacles. These challenges dictate that the bike used needs to be in between a road bike and a mountain bike. A road bike would not be adequate for the off road portions, and a mountain bike would not work well on the tarmac sections.

Emile Abraham of Trinadad-Tobago.

So, with that said, what made this cyclocross race unusual is that it was held at a velodrome, [The paradox being that velodrome racing is considered to be the cleanest form of bicycle racing, and cyclocross is the messiest.] and it was held on Halloween. Thus the name “Psycho Cross.”

Being the inaugural event for cyclocross at our velodrome, I was amazed at how well it was organized. The course was set up to please the spectators, and it was very challenging and safe for the racers. Since it was Halloween, some of the racers took the opportunity to celebrate the holiday.

This guy took the opportunity to celebrate Halloween. I guess he went as a guy who was “over trained.”

A modern gladiator.

Oscar Clark of Jittery Joe’s: Winner of the men’s pro race. I guess coffee makes a good sports drink.

Speaking of sports drinks, some took the opportunity to snatch a beer from the spectators. This racer made it to the top of this obstacle without spilling, and then shootered the beer. He was also riding a single-speed bike for this event.