The Deus Dress Up Beach Drag Races had scored top points last year as one hell of a funfest, so expectations were pegged pretty damn high, and being the self-professed purveyors of possibility, we weren’t about to go backwards.
Deus SlidetoberFest Saturday took place sandwiched between a backdrop of breaking waves and rice fields. Along the high tide line, we’d set up our little carnival of calm chaos. Tents, shade, icecream stand, and our VW kombi perfectly prepped with a coffee machine and an icebox filled to the brim with beer.
It was still early morning as people began to arrive in a protracted pageant of personal proclamation. A sheik wandered along, followed shortly by a Wizard. Mario rode past on a dinosaur, another chap lent back into the embrace of a green alien. A rice farmer with fertilizer and a bundle of harvest on his bike. An umbrella holding zebra and a telly tubby. A mini mummy dripping bandages and more than our fair share of drag queen wannabes. We seemed to have one of everything and a lot of what we never asked for. Laughter fought for airtime with the soundtrack spilling from the speakers. Our MCs called for riders and we all waited anxiously for the thrills, spills and wheel stands to get underway.
The idea was simple. Two riders up. Head to head. 250 metres of Black Sand Beach stretching out in front of them. The twist… they’re both wearing fancy dress. ⁠What could possibly go wrong?⁠
The first of the days thousand flag drops sent two riders hurtling down the sands. Whether to a win or a miss. The results to most were secondary. A chance to get in and amongst it is more important than a brief moment of glory. The unapologetic heat turned on early, hard and fast but did little or none to dampen the wave of enthusiasm that riders rode. This crazy concoction of gearheads and their getups didn’t falter to push smiles across faces all day long.
As for the question about things going wrong? Nothing, the whole day went off without a hitch. And at some point, whether it was when we saw a dinosaur racing a rice farmer, or the Banana against the purple plushie, the thought did come to mind that perhaps this should be known as the ‘shits and giggles’ portion of the proceedings. ⁠
One thing was for sure, all the people who trekked out to that isolated stretch of black sand on the scorcher of a Saturday in October can count themselves as winners. This definitely isn’t something you see every day.
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Massive thanks to our sponsors who helped us put on an incredible weekend:
Motul Indonesia
Island Brewing
Campina Ice Cream
Jose Cuervo Indonesia,⁠ Smirnoff Indonesia,⁠ Captain Morgan Indonesia,⁠ Two Islands Wines,⁠ Everyday Weekend Indonesia, Redbull Indonesia,⁠ Pay-u-Roastery &⁠ Bali Dirt Bikes
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Video shot by Andre Cricket, Davian, BIAS KIO, Adjie Masdhita⁠ & Erik Seven
Edit by Andre Cricket