– The CCC Kick Off Party is this Saturday 9/11/10 at 4pm at Iron Cycles! If you’re on Facebook, please RSVP here. Music, food, drinks, and some special giveaways and deals will be waiting for you. Support the series sponsors as well as Team Iron Cycles sponsors and maybe get yourself some new race wheels or other schwag!

– More new series sponsors continue to pour in… please help us welcome two more!
– Carbo Rocket – Staying hydrated is key, especially when you start racing CX in August!
– Enzo’s Cycling Products – Keep your button happy.

– Just a friendly reminder that Cyclocross racing age is calculated as of 12/31/2011… not 12/31/2010 like on the road. For example, if someone was born November 13, 1996… as of today, that rider is 13. As of December 31, 2010 they are 14 but as of December 31, 2011 they are 15. So even though right now this rider is 13 years old, their cross age is 15. Juniors, please make sure you are racing in the correct age group! This rule also applies to the masters, but to their benefit since a 38/39 year old can race 40+ or a 48/49 year old can race 50+. Of course then you have to race against these guys. Good luck!

– Also for juniors… Paul Swinand’s “beginning cycling training” for CX starts this Friday in Evanston. Check out the Facebook page here.

– Concerning rules, guidelines, regulations, and such… now might be a good time to review the CCC overall series standings rules on the ‘Series Rules and FAQs‘ page. It is your responsibility to make sure you are signed up for the correct race, and as we mentioned a while back we’ll let you know if you really need to upgrade (especially out of the 4A’s or 4B’s), but don’t be afraid to send us an email if you are unsure. However, actual upgrades are handled by USAC (not the CCC).

– Pre-reg for all CCC races (except Northbrook… coming soon!) is now open on BikeReg.com. Jackson Park is already starting to fill up. While registering, please consider making a donation to World Bicycle Relief to help us reach our goal of donating $5,000 by the end of the series. That’s enough to purchase one nice new Blue Norcross SL for yourself… or 37 WBR bikes that will equip almost an entire school with simple, sustainable mobility. Think about it. Update: Planet Bike has just pledged $5k to WBR as well… let’s make sure we match our friends from Madison!

– Speaking of, pre-reg for Jingle Cross just over the border in Iowa Thanksgiving weekend is now open.

– Our friends up North in WI are putting their races on BikeReg.com as well. See all the WI reg pages here. Besides the USGP Planet Bike Cup there are 2 other races that sound fun at the No Good Double Cross which will have a working bar for those of legal age (and apparently if you race fast you win a prize) and the Cross the Domes (which The Pony Shop has $5 IL toll vouchers for).

– But if you’re heading up North on that Saturday just make sure to save some energy for our own CCC Hopkins Park/Dekalb race hosted by North Central Cyclery & Half Acre Cycling. Tobie at NCC and the good folks at Half Acre always host a great event, and rumor has it there will be a special surprise awaiting everyone who makes the trek out to Dekalb. Half Acre is also hosting a Women’s Cyclocross Clinic on Saturday 9/11/10 (the morning of the CCC Kick-Off party).

– A new CX racer pointed out that the old links to the VeloNews.com series of CX how-to videos was broken. Thankfully VN kept the videos and just moved them here. We found these videos invaluable when we first started out racing and hope you will too. Have a watch and then go practice in your local park.

– Ever wonder why your comments take a while to show up here on the CCC site? Become a registered user and your comments will be displayed almost immediately.

– And finally… Don’t forget about this year’s CCC t-shirt design contest. Entries are due this Thursday… so sharpen up your pencil’s and Photoshop skills.