• Rob Kelley, Peter Kelley, and the entire Bicycle Heaven crew bring you the 10th edition of Campton Cross in beautiful Campton Hills.
• Remember to use #CamptonCX on Twitter and Instagram.
• Need directions? Point yourself towarsd 4N930 Brown Road, St. Charles, IL. From I-90: Randall Road South, to Rt. 64 West, past LaFox Road, turn right onto Brown Road and park is up on your left.
• More details here and here on the Training Bible Cycling website. Preliminary staging will be here.
• Remember reg closes 30 minutes before the scheduled start of each race. If you’re late, you’re not racing. We’re even giving you an extra hour to sleep this year… again. Please find your way to the park near the corner of Rt 64 and Brown Rd in Campton Hills/Wasco… NOT the other Anderson Park in Oak Park. The map on BikeReg is correct as well.
• Race director Rob Kelley will be the judge in the annual costume contest.
• There will be a food vendor TBD w/ Reems Brats and coffee.
• Sorry, but NO alcoholic beverages are allowed in the park.
• The weather looks great again but a little chillier than last week.
• Training Bible Cycling and Bicycle Heaven have increased the Cat 1/2/3 payouts to $700 total for each field.
• Rob and the crew encourage riders to NOT warm up on/around the soccer fields to the East of registration. The village has asked us to keep off the areas visible when you pull into the park. If you carefully ride North on Brown Rd for about 200 meters you can hop onto the Prairie Path/Great Western trail (see the thick yellow line in the map below) which is a great place to warm up. Thank you.
• The Course: Similar to years past but altered slightly to accommodate the SRAM NRS equipment pit. The start chute may also be lengthened depending on the weather.

Try To Run Like This Guy!

Running……I really don’t like to run.  Even the short amount included in getting over a barrier or two is too much.  As with most things that means that it is most likely one of my limiters (AKA weaknesses) and so something that needs to be addressed.  MORE

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.
  

  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.
  

  Photo: SnowyMountain Photography

• #ABDcx  Remember to check out the standard preview page here.
• – Preliminary staging will be posted here.
• If you upgraded this week and want 1/2 your CCC series points to follow you to the next category, please contact us at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail by Friday. We will NOT automatically transfer your points.
• Parking on Foster Ave is allowed but on NORTH side only. There should be “No Parking” signs along the park (south) side. If not, please respect this. Also Parking is allowed on Struckman Blvd (better option), or at Sycamore Trails School (preferred).
• $25 prime to the winner of first partial lap of each race (other than Cat 4/5). Payouts will be held until Campton Cross. Any payouts not claimed after Campton Cross will be donated to Bartlett Park District Foundation.
• North of the Border will be serving Mexican and American w/ veggie options.
• Other Brother Coffee will be there with your warm beverage in the AM.
• Kiddie race is at 2pm!
• No alcohol.  Sorry Park rules.
• The Course: Nearly identical to last year but with a new start chute.

Cyclocross is unique in its’ physical demands.  It’s all-out, shut down completely for some twisty turns and then on again at full tilt.  The very fast and fun course at Randall Oaks (thanks Main Street Bicycles and crew) was a good example of this.

Chicago Cyclocross Cup (c) Liz Farina Markel/Tipping Point Photography

Recover when you can’t pedal……It seems pretty obvious but takes some discipline when you’re so fried that you can’t even spit correctly.  Break the course down in your mind during your warm up laps and remind yourself to back off when the course necessitates during the race.  Use those precious moments to breath and collect your thoughts.

Cyclocross takes longer to learn than most endurance sports.  There are so many little things to remember and execute and all while you’re almost completely out of your mind.  So as with anything that we do – barriers, start, turns, etc. – you’re wise to work on this aspect as well.   These are tough!  So do them on a day that makes sense to have hard intervals:

Warm up for at least 20 minutes in zones 1-2 heart rate/power

Do as one continuous effort: 10 seconds race pace (120% or more of your FTP power/race pace), then right into a technical section of turns that take 10 seconds to complete x 9 efforts back to back = 1 interval .  So each interval is 3 minutes in length (20 seconds x 9).

2 minutes of recovery between intervals.

X3 intervals = 1 set.

Take 5 minutes off between sets.

Warm down with at least a 20 minute spin in zones 1-2 heart rate/power

Two or three sets for a 4/5, four or five sets for a cat 3 and six or seven sets for the 1/2/3 bunch is a good hard day on the bike.

As with pyramid intervals the recovery is as much a focus as the power.  Train your mind and body to relax in the technical section.  As with most learned skill repetition is your friend.  It will become a natural thing to do on race day and that is going to provide you with more power where it’s most beneficial.

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE CYCLING

• From everything we heard and saw Randall Oaks was a resounding success. Results and links are here but we are still working out a few discrepancies. Hold tight and we’ll have everything fixed in a few days and certainly before next Sunday.
• Next up the CCC heads to Barlett, IL for the always windy sufferfest fantastic ABD Sunrise Park.
• Remember if you want 1/2  your CCC series points to follow you to the next category you MUST upgrade this week before the next race. And by before the next race we mean before Thursday night when online pre-reg closes. Submit your upgrade through USACycling.org and then forward your confirmation email to us at ChicagoCrossCup at gmail.
• Regarding upgrades, there is no glory in being a sandbagger and being that guy/gal no one appreciates being in the race because they are racing below their true achievement level. Remember there are
  rules and the series can and will point out mandatory upgrade candidates to the USAC upgrade coordinator. So if you are a Cat 3 or 4 (man or woman) do the right thing and upgrade when appropriate.
• And finally… just a reminder the comments section of this website is public and while we are not in the business of censorship we reserve the right to reject any comments we wouldn’t read alou to our grandmothers. You can still disagree with someone without being a jerk, so please keep the language clean and civil

• #RandallOaksCX
• Preliminary staging will be posted here.
• This is a one-off CX venue as we wait for the dust to settle at Carpenter Park, so a rare chance to race the rolling hills of Randall Oaks. If you have trouble reading maps, search for the “Randall Oaks Petting Zoo” or set your GPS to 1180 North Randall Road, West Dundee, IL 60118.
• Randall Oaks Park is hosted by Main St. Bicycles Sasquatch Squadron (owned by CCC series director and all-round awesome guy Jeff Provisor). Main Street Bicycles started  hosting their event in 2005!
• Registration is on the South side of the park.
• Bib #’s always on your left.
• No dirt rollers, or corn maze, but a great variety of rollers to conquer, with a good mix of speed, off camber, and punchy climbs.
• The driveway that takes you to the parking area is one way, and crosses the course twice in close succession, so please drive slowly and watch for the course marshal’s directions.
• Parking will be a little tight, so please carpool if you can.
• Dave’s Slow-Food will be serving up their awesome fare.
• There is a no alcohol policy in the park, please respect park rules.
• Porta-johns will be near registration.
• There is a fee to visit the petting zoo, but there is a nice playground near the course and potentially a kiddie Strider event hosted by the park.
• The Course: Obviously totally different from past years since the event is in a different park.

One of the Best Descents….Ever

It’s October. If you’re somewhere south this means you’re just getting a jump on next year’s road season. If you reside close to the best amateur CX series in the country , it means you’re getting ready to pull out the winter gloves and buy some thermal insulated boots. Maybe you’re searching for a great coach to help maximize your potential during the next race season. Hopefully you’re not hanging up the spandex for too long while implementing daily donuts into your diet.

Whatever you’re doing you should also be racing cyclocross. Yeah. Cyclocross. That sloppy, wet racing with the funky bikes that look like glorious road bikes but aren’t really glorious road bikes. That weird, chaotic sport where you might have to actually run with your bike (gasp!) or grow a beard. “Why?” You ask. Why should you race cyclocross?

Because You Don’t Want To Be Paolo Bettini, That’s Why.

We’re not talking about version 2006 of Paolo Bettini. That guy won the world championship and deserves to do whatever he wants. We’re not talking about the 2007 Paolo Bettini here, either. That guy won the world championship for the second straight time and deserves to do whatever he wants twice-over with a side of full-fat whipped cream.

What we are talking about is the 2008 Paolo Bettini. The man who, having twice won the world championships, appeared to eat all the donuts. And the whipped cream. We’re talking about the one who ate all the cheeseburgers and then retired. That Paolo Bettini went from being at the top of his game to being un-competitive pretty quick. Sure, he had some injuries. On the other hand, once he decided he would retire, he sure didn’t seem very motivated.

Motivation is a tricky thing. Nobody is saying you have to race cyclocross with the same discipline, gusto, or intensity that you attack road season. On the other hand, a couple of Sunday CX races a month very well may keep you intrigued enough to avoid eating all the cheeseburgers. Some CX racing worked into your off-season program can keep the bottom from completely falling out from under you.

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