– This week the CCC heads back closer to the city as Chris Henning, Jason Meshberg, Northbrook Garner Bicycle Club, and Flatlandia host the Northbrook Swanson at the Decoma Day Camp & Wood Oaks Green Park. The Northbrook crew brought in plenty of sponsors this year to make the race happen including Sunset Foods, George Garner Cyclery, Goose Island, Decoma Day Camp, Stewarts Coffee, and Greater > Than.

– Chris Henning reminds us of a little bit of history… Northbrook was the race that gave birth to the Chicago Cyclocross Cup. Way back in 2003 Mark Harris (Northbrook Garner) and Jason Meshberg (Flatlandia) put on a cross race in Northbrook to raise money to save the track. The race repeated in 2004 for the inaugural CCC series. This duo also put on the Palatine race in 2004, so this promoter duo was responsible for 50% of the races during the CCC’s first year. A look back at the results from 2004 show some very familiar names. NGBC & Flatlandia also brought Katie Compton & Brian Vernor out to Northbrook for a benefit dinner & screening of “Pure Sweet Hell” after KFC won CX Nationals the 1^st time in 2004.

– Like most of our other races, all proceeds from the Northbrook race go to a good cause… the promoters use proceeds for bike safety and educational programming in and around Northbrook.

– Back to the present… this year’s Northbrook edition will feature a Goose Island Beer Garden & Grill with a DJ inside the beer garden. Alcohol will ONLY be allowed INSIDE the beer garden so unfortunately no BYOB… No beer hand-ups please. The tentative menu for the beer garden is:
Cheeseburger $6
Chipotle Chicken Burger $6
Bratwurst $6
Goose Island Pub Chips $2
Sodas / Water $2
312 Wheat or Mild Winter Ale $5 (pint)

– Gourmet Mobile Brick Oven Pizza (should be some nice vegetarian options) will be next to Sunset Foods Popcorn Truck, as will Greater > Than who will be handing out samples. The Stewarts Coffee Truck will also be out to serve your caffeine needs.

– Parking will be at the service drive off Walters Ave and at the Camp.  NO parking at the Jr. High School or the Wood Oaks lot off of Sanders.  Overflow parking will be on the side streets off Walters Ave.  ABSOLUTELY NO parking on Walters as it is a narrow street and we need to keep the road clear in case a fire truck or ambulance needs to get to the camp. See map below. Also, please no warming up on the paths as local residents will be out and about using the park at the same time as we are.

– NO dogs allowed on the Camp property (sorry we don’t make the rules).  Dogs OK on leash in Wood Oaks Park.

– The Kiddie Fun Ride will take place immediately after the Women 4/Junior race. The kids will do a quick lap 1/4 lap (see below) before the Cat 1/2/3 fast guys take flight. Please no training wheels (for the kiddies or the Cat 1/2/3’s).

– If you haven’t noticed, we increased the Cat 4’s field limit to 100 racers. There are still spots open in both fields, but online pre-reg closes tonight at midnight.

– UPDATE: Anyone dressed in Thanksgiving attire gets a call up… That means a turkey, Pilgrim, string bean casserole, bowl of stuffing/cranberry sauce, etc.

– As we mentioned before this race is unfortunately weather dependent. The great news is the weather forecast is looking in our favor. You can assume the race is on unless you hear otherwise by noon on Saturday. We will make an announcement here on the site and on Twitter if the weather turns sour and we need to cancel. If that happens we’d like to remind everyone that the WI State Championship CX Race is on Sunday as an alternative.

– As we mentioned on Tuesday, when pre-riding please remain behind riders still finishing their race. Also, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that handups (in the 4’s only) are voluntary and should never be forced. Hang the bacon out there… if someone wants it, they’ll take it… but don’t try and make them take it. To wit… Rob Curtis (in the red shirt in the background) shows us how its done. Concerning heckling… you may want a refresher from last year.

– The Course: Henning/Meshberg and crew bring back the classic Northbrook course from 2009 with a few new twists and turns. This year the sand pit will be a single pass only but other obstacles await everyone, including bunny hopping beams (a la JP 2009).  The course direction is clockwise and bib numbers will likely go on the left. As always, weather and other last minute situations may cause us to alter the tentative course below.