• Here we go! The 11th and final event in the 2019 Chicago Cyclocross Cup. Montrose Beach and the USAC MidWest Cyclocross Championships at Montrose Harbor hosted by Spidermonkey Cycling!
• More info and maps are over on the Spidermonkey Cycling website.
• Online pre-reg on BikeReg closes tonight. Preliminary staging will be posted here.
• Since this is the Midwest Regional CX Championship, and CCC finale, podiums are a little more complicated than usual. Please help the best announcer a race series could ask for and if you are top three in the race or the overall, report to the podium ASAP following your race.
• Speaking of this being an important race, to keep the finishes clear for epic battles, our hard-working USAC officials may finish riders early if they are deemed out of contention and within the 80% time gap to the race leader. Listen for Kenny and look for the officials to know if you are being finished early; you will still be placed in the results.
• A reminder from One2Go to please, please, please pin your number properly (see the image below) and put any long hair up in pony tails. If One2Go can’t see your bib number you won’t be scored properly. 
• The weather looks positively great (oh crap, what did we just do?!) but be warned, the wind coming off the lake is no joke; please make sure to secure your tents.
• Lots going on and its winter, so no Kiddie Cross this year.
• Here’s your friendly reminder that Montrose Beach is a city park where people who might have no idea what cyclocross is might be wandering through on their usual Sunday strolls. Yes, we’ll be celebrating another great season of cyclocross with drinks** and food and more dranks**, but please be on your best behavior and show the city what a classy bunch we are.
• Speaking of food, there will be FOUR food truck options this year with Firecake Donuts, Big Mama’s Urban Soul Food, Aztec Daves tacos and Five Squared pizza so come hungry.
• ** And now let us pause for the annual message from the fun police… the park is a Chicago Park District property and alcohol is NOT allowed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• Thanks to our generous sponsors for helping make the Midwest Regional Championship presented by Ald. James Cappleman possible:
  Rapha Clubhouse Chicago
  Evanston Subaru
  GayleForce Healing Massage and Bodywork
• Speaking of Rapha Chicago, pre-reg riders should head there on Saturday to get your bib number early and enjoy free refreshments while talking smack with that person just ahead of/behind you on the overall — as well as getting 25% off almost the entire store. Please RSVP to let them know you are coming for food planning. And it should go without saying, make sure you put that bib number somewhere safe (i.e. pin it the night before like a pro). If you lose your number between Saturday night and Sunday we may not have an extra number for you.
• Simonds Drive is closed to thru-traffic and parking within the barricades is restricted to officials, food trucks, Evanston Subaru, porta-pottie deliveries and the like. Regular parking will be along Simonds Drive and Montrose Drive either to the north or south, entering and exiting the way you came in. Per the Park District, NO PARKING ON THE GRASS, ANYWHERE! Please adhere to volunteer requests regarding your vehicle parking and movement
• Speaking of parking, VIP parking spaces within the barricades (near the finish) are again available on BikeReg to help defray costs. Entry is from the NORTH END of Simonds drive — check in with the nice volunteers and show your receipt. (If you have a trailer please count that as a second space).
• Teams are welcome to drop off equipment at the turn-around on the south-end of Simonds Drive near the staging grid. The driver must remain with the vehicle to expedite unloading and keep traffic flowing, just like at the airport. It’s usually a high-volume operation with everyone coming at the same time so help your teammates.
• Speaking of equipment, team tents can go in many of the traditional areas, and with the start/finish change you are welcome to line the finish stretch, but only on the WEST (grass) side. No tents on the roadway. Also, please keep the area behind (east) of the sponsor/reg tents open as well for podium, et al. (red area).
• Speaking of team tent placement, all are welcome, nay encouraged, to drop/place tents and other large items on Saturday afternoon! There is hired security for overnight watch (though of course SMC, USAC, CPD, et al. cannot take responsibility for what the weather/acts of gods could do to items left overnight, so make sure it’s secured/laid down/tied down). And hey, stick around to lend a helping hand with course setup.
• Speaking of helping hands, Spidermonkey could use a few more hands during the race on Sunday for additional course marshaling spots required of the new course design. Volunteers get free lunch! Check the sign-up sheet.
• We understand the desire to pre-ride, especially with so many CCC’ers living nearby. However, we kindly request you DO NOT RIDE the course this week, especially on Saturday, to enable course construction AND to keep it in nice condition for game day. Again, drop the bike and pick up some course stakes and tape to help — it takes a village!
• Course: NEW START AND FINISH ON THE ROADWAY! Wooooot, we so fancy. We expect the weather to be dry but let’s keep those crit elbows in for that first turn and the transition onto the grass. You can’t win the race in turn one, but you can lose it. Also a new EXPANDED pit. (But still, please remove your equipment expeditiously after your race.)
• As is tradition with Montrose, the course alternates the direction each year, going clockwise (i.e. sand first, Cricket Hill second). Note: The Junior 9-14 will have a cut-off section to bypass some of Cricket Hill and possibly some sand.

• We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend full of family, food, fun, and maybe even some bike riding!
• For anyone who raced at Region Riot CX or care to know, results are here and our very own Kenny Labbe did a bit of tweeting with pic/vids during the event.
• Next up, the finale, the big chimichanga, the extra hot double trente soy non-foam latte with extra foam on the side and three pumps of almond syrup… Montrose Beach CX – Midwest CX Champs. Not only is Montrose the last race of the CCC series, but this year it also doubles as the USAC Midwest Cyclocross Championships. See the BikeReg page for notes and “make a donation” for VIP parking. Full course preview notes will be posted Thursday at 9am.
• PSA for those of you living under a mud-soaked rock for the past 12 months, Montrose is NOT the Illinois State CX Champs… those took place a month ago in Woodstock the day before Groundhog PSI-clocross.
• And finally… if you’re already done all of your Christmas shopping or maybe not and you’re just feeling generous on this #GivingTuesday, please consider an extra donation to our series causes Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes. Both of these organizations do amazing work getting and keeping kids and young adults on bikes and having fund. If you’ve ever seen these young shredders at the races you know how awesome it is to see them competing and enjoying the power of bicycles. Thanks!

• Thanks again to the South Chicago Wheelmen for another great double weekend of CX racing at Pheasant Run Resort. Lots of frost and frozen ground, and a certain amount of mud made “conditions” tough but the racing was still hot and exciting.
• Links to all series results, lap times, and CrossResults.com are over here. Congrats to those riders (highlighted in yellow) and here who have already clinched their overall series titles. Several categories are still very close and yet to be decided at Montrose. Good luck to everyone!
• Photos from SnowyMountain, Mike Nauman, and David Salzman are here, here, here, and here.
• The CCC takes a break this coming weekend for Thanksgiving, but if you’re staying in the area and still need your CX fix, Region Racing hosts their Region Riot CX race on Sunday December 1st.
• Then the following weekend the CCC series concludes at Montrose Beach CX which is also the Midwest CX Championships. We’ll see you all there!
• Remember on the BikeReg registration page for Montrose Beach CX you can make a donation to access VIP parking within the Simonds Drive road closure.
• And finally… series sponsor ABUS Locks‘ has extended their sweepstakes to raffle off 3 of their Bordo locks (hand painted by Squid Bikes) another week. Proceeds will benefit our friends at Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes. All the details over here: https://go.rallyup.com/abus-lock-raffle

Pheasant Run Resort (#PRRcx) is hosted by veteran race promoters, the South Chicago Wheelmen, one of the region’s and country’s oldest cycling clubs.

• Pheasant Run Resort located at 4051 E Main St. Saint Charles, IL 60174. Please don’t go to Indian Lakes.
• Online pre-reg on BikeReg closes tonight. Remember there are 2 separate reg pages, Saturday and Sunday
• Preliminary staging for Saturday only will be posted here Friday morning.
• Saturday Results will affect Sunday staging. Preliminary Sunday staging will be posted here early Sunday morning. Please pay attention.
• New bib numbers each day. Please do NOT wear your Saturday number on Sunday.
• Food: Mario’s Kart will be onsite both days serving delicious tacos and burritos.
• Bike Wash: There is NO bike wash or hoses at PRR. Please plan your bike and body wash accordingly.
• After your race, if you’re staying at the hotel, please please please do NOT wash your bike in your room and do not take towels out of guest rooms to wash bike outside. Today’s rain will not dry out completely so please plan accordingly.
• NO walking or riding on putting greens or tee boxes. NO warming up on fairways. There is a large golf outing taking place this weekend at PRR, so please show the other users of the property courtesy and respect like we always do.
• This is another “No Drone Zone” due to the proximity to the DuPage airport.
• For guests staying overnight, checkout is at 11am on Sunday. Late checkout at 3pm is available for an extra $25.
• Kiddy Cross TBD this weekend depending on the weather.
• Parking is limited, satellite parking will be west across the street by Target (Kautz Road).
• There will be even less daylight left at the end of the day than last week after the last race ends, so please plan accordingly. Also if you can, please help the South Chicago Wheelmen tear down the course (on Sunday) so they aren’t doing it all in the dark.
• The Course: We will again be racing on the East side of the property, next to the airport. The SCW never disappoint and this weekend’s track will roughly be similar to last year, if you can imagine it without snow. As always, the course may be different and change based on weather conditions.

• Another Sunday, another great Wheeling Heritage Park CX. Thanks again to the Northbrook Bicycle Club for hosting a chilly if fun event and to the Wheeling Parks District for allowing us to use their park.
• Links to all series results, lap times, and CrossResults.com are over here.
• Next up, the CCC travels to Saint Charles for its one and only official double race weekend at the Pheasant Run Resort hosted by the South Chicago Wheelmen. This weekend has a SATURDAY and a SUNDAY BikeReg page, and one page does not reg you for both days. So please make sure to register for the correct (read: both) day or days. Online Reg on BikeReg closes on WEDNESDAY Thursday so the SCW can get ready for Saturday… So get on it! Look for the regular course preview on Thursday at 9am.
• PRR has discounted room rates of $92 per night for this weekend. Call Pheasant Run at 630-584-6330 and use code “cyclocross” for the discount.
• Looking ahead to Montrose Beach… Have a large team with a lot of stuff? Or just want a VIP experience? On the BikeReg registration page for the Montrose Beach event you can make a donation to access VIP parking within the Simonds Drive road closure. One vehicle per space suggested @ $50. Multiple spaces may be combined for trailers, etc … This donation helps offset the expenses associated with the race venue.
• And finally… Our series sponsor ABUS Locks‘ sweepstakes to raffle off 3 of their Bordo locks, hand painted by the rad folks out in California at Squid Bikes, ends this Friday. Proceeds will benefit our friends at Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes. All the details over here: https://go.rallyup.com/abus-lock-raffle

• If this arctic blast was all just part of Disney’s clever marketing campaign for Frozen 2, consider us impressed. Well played, Disney. As Elsa, Anna, and Olaf prepare to journey into the unknown, we’ll be journeying into cyclocross, hosted by the Northbrook Bicycle Club.
• Thanks to the Wheeling Park District, the new fitness center addition to the Community Recreation Center provides the backdrop with front row seating (stationary bikes) and standing room only (treadmills and ellipticals), overlooking the course.
• The center is open to the public. Take the chill off while checking out a pickleball match, but please leave bicycles outside.
• Please use hashtag #WheelingCX
• Parking is encouraged in the North parking lot closest to registration, staging, finish, pit, food, and that guy with the magic mic. Please leave the diagonal parking lot in front of the center available for community center patrons. There’s plenty of additional parking near the backside of the course in the West parking lot. Park in the lots only—not on the grass.
• No drones are permitted in the air within the park due to the proximity of the Chicago Executive Airport-PWK.
• No kids race is scheduled (keep those kiddos warm), but there’s a brand new playground. Swings, slides, balance features, etc. appropriate for ages 2 to 12. There’s even a two-tiered merry-go-round. Please DO NOT RIDE BICYCLES ON THE PLAYGROUND SURFACE. There will be plenty other surfaces to ride on within the park. Also, please avoid setting up tents in the amphitheater grass to avoid the electrical and irrigation underneath.
• Preliminary staging will be posted here.
• There are paths for warming up throughout the park. As always, be mindful of pedestrians and other patrons while enjoying the ride.
• Food: When it comes to food trucks, Mario’s Cart doesn’t play games. Look for it in the North Parking Lot from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. They’ll be serving up street tacos, burritos, flautas, fries, nachos, Cuban panini, steak sandwiches, pretzel bites, quesadillas, soda, water, and hot chocolate. Wow, that’s a mouthful. Better wear your bibs (pun intended). They also have a location without wheels on the 2nd floor of Northbrook Court.
• No alcohol permitted per park rules.
• Weather:Warmth on the horizon, relatively speaking of course. Cyclocross weather returns.
• The Course: runs anti-clockwise. Flat at the start and finish, but in between you’ll ride the camber along the pool embankment until you hit the course elevation; enjoy the views of the lake and surrounding areas from the top before heading back. Upon your return, there will be hops of the double bunny varietal (10 IBUs – ten-inch barrier units).