Product Testing

Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

  • Holy cow was ABD Sunrise Park hard and a blast and also really hard. Its subtle, but we think ABDcx is the hardest race in the entire series. Sure there are no hills, no sand, no flyover, no wind (this year) but there is just no place to recover along the entire track. When we mentioned this to race director Jim Nowak on Sunday his reply was “Good. I want riders to finish and have absolutely nothing left in the tank.” It was the perfect race for all our newly upgraded Cat 2’s, Cat 3’s, and Cat ‘4s to test their mettle… so well done to all of you! Results links are here.
  • This Saturday “Higher Gear is getting the band back together – for the third year in a row! The Rhythm and Blues Revue Cyclocross Race is back – bigger and even better! Ghouls and goblins will fill the field at the third annual Rhythm and Blues Revue, hosted by Higher Gear. Join them on Halloween, Saturday October 31 for one of the most fun CX races in Chicagoland.” More details here.
  • Next up, the CCC travels just a little bit farther West to Campton (NOT Compton) CX, hosted by Bicycle Heaven and series sponsor Training Bible Cycling. Its the day after Halloween, so please dress appropriately. Campton CX is also increasing payouts for both the Men & Women Cat 1/2/3 to $700 for each field paying 8 deep.
  • Speaking of payouts, please pick up your payouts at the venue! The CCC standard minimum payout schedule is here, but most race promoters will only hold on to unclaimed winnings for a few weeks before donating the money to charity.
  • Speaking of charity, remember the CCC is accepting donations through each race’s BikeReg page for our end of the year lump sum donation. You can also donate your winnings back at the race or send us an email if you want to go big. This year we are directing all funds towards Big Marsh, West Town Bikes, and Blackstone Bicycle Works. Donations have been very lite this year, so we can only assume you all must be paying off all those GoPros and fancy carbon wheels you keep breaking.

    Product Testing

    Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

  • And finally… since we can’t seem to get through a single week without unnecessary drama about something, just a few bunch of words about heckling. Whether you love it, hate it, or don’t care, heckling is a part of cyclocross. Full stop. What makes our niche sport so great for spectating and taking photos, i.e. the slower speeds of the racers (vs. road, track, etc), close proximity to the race track, riding our bikes in the park, hanging out with all our friends, being able to read racer names on their helmets, etc… also allows for the heckling. For better or worse, we can’t have one without the other. Its part of the culture and if done correctly is a beautiful, wonderfully funny thing that helps riders make it through the race. So to the 98% of you doing it correctly, thank you. But, for the rest of you, and as we have said over and over and over and over… there should always be more cheer than jeer. If you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother or wouldn’t want it on the front page of the Monday morning NY Times… don’t say it in a public space where a.) there are impressionable kids, b.) everyone has a camera and is recording you, and c.) other people who have no idea what CX is will hear you and think everyone else at the event is also a jerk. All that being said, if some dude (and lets face it, its always a dude) is truly being rude, unruly, stoopid, or otherwise making a fool of himself, kindly ask him to stop… in person, right there, at the venue. Put a little skin in the game and don’t wait until the next morning to vent here in the comment section or on the Facebook, or Twitter, or your MySpace page. The CCC has not been made great or horrible by any one person. We all have a responsibility to make the CCC the best CX race series it can be, so please do your part, on both sides of the tape. Okay? This will be the last time we discuss heckling here this season. So let’s all just be cool and race our bikes, and let other people race their bikes too.

    Double Trouble

    Photo: SnowyMountain Photography