– #MelasCX and more here. Preliminary staging will be posted here before Sunday.

– Chris Henning and Ted Berger (Northbrook Garner Bicycle Club and Flatlandia) take us racin’ through the basin.

– Parking:  This is much different than last year.  There is no parking at Melas Park.   A dog park was built there over the summer and we need to keep the lot clear for the locals using the dog park. Parking will be at Multi Pack Solutions @1804 W. Central Rd., Mt. Prospect, IL which is behind (to the north of) Robert Bosch Tool Corporation.  Registration and S/F are adjacent to the Multi Pack lot.  There is a pedestrian gate to access Melas Park from the Multi Pack lot.  The Multi Pack lot is located to the West of the Melas Park entrance, just east of S. Arthur Ave.

– Team Trailers.  Please e-mail Chris Henning if you’re planning on bringing out a trailer, he will try and coordinate a setup location for you.

– Food truck: Pizza Via will be onsite serving brick-oven pizzas.

– Coffee: Other Brother Coffee will be serving warm caffeinated beverages.

– Warm Ups:  Please stay off the ball fields while warming up and if you do use the walking paths please making sure to yield to any pedestrians / other park users.

– Speaking of cars, no parking on the grass – anywhere.  There is plenty of parking available.  This includes team vehicles intending on dropping off team tent and compound equipment.

– Park rules: Sorry, we don’t make them but we do have to follow them… no alcohol allowed. Please be respectful of the park.

– Dog Park:  Unfortunately you must have a “membership” to get inside the fenced dog park which is available from either Mt. Prospect or Arlington Heights (Costco membership does not cut it :).  dog park membership

– Breakdown: Now that the official sunset time is literally minutes after the end of the Cat 4/5 race, Garner & Flatlandia would appreciate any help tearing down the course after the Cat 4/5 race. 

– Announcing: Kenny Labbe will be back and announcing all day long.

– Weather: It’s going to be chilly and wet on Sunday, so please bundle up and bring appropriate clothing for before, during, and after your race(s)!

– No kids race this weekend… a little too sloppy.

– Volunteering: Melas CX is still looking for a few volunteers spots to be filled. Volunteers race for free & lunch is provided. Please sign-up here.

– The Course: A bit different from last year. Same tough hill(s) getting out of the Basin. Please remember the course might change based on conditions encountered during setup.

Cyclocross is filled with lulls and firestorms, ebb and flow, yin and yang.  Indian Lakes last weekend was a great example….slow, twisty little section that allowed a bit of recovery followed by a power-fest coming out of the corner and onto a long straight.  Each jump burns at least part of a match and so ultimately costs something.

We created these sessions with Criterium racing in mind and they translate very nicely to cyclocross.  They’re pretty wicked and worth the effort because they help create the type of high short-term power that will get you from slow to GO in a hurry.  They also help prepare the body in a way that will limit power losses from the start to finish of a cross race.

Most courses have 5 or 6 sections that fit this description.  If you save just 1 second out of each corner by getting to speed at a faster rate you’re looking at 30 – 60 seconds during a race depending on your category.  That’s a lot of places!

Warm up for at least 20 minutes in zones 1-2

One Set:

As one continuous effort:  50 seconds at FTP (best 60 minute power) right into 10 seconds at the high end of your 1 minute power x 5 with no recovery between efforts 

When you first try these take 6 minutes off between sets.  As you become more accustomed to them decrease the amount of recovery between sets.  3 – 5 sets over a 1:30 – 2 hour ride is a good session.

As with some of the other drills we’ve covered within this forum, the recovery between these efforts is as important as the wattage you push during them.  Be disciplined in relaxing and bringing your heart rate down.

Two….more…..races.  Don’t just hang in there, get faster!

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE COACH

www.ROKcoaching.com

Photo: Snowy Mountain Photography

– Another great double weekend at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort hosted by the South Chicago Wheelmen. Well you asked for it and you got it. We finally had some real cyclocross weather this weekend at ILR. Saturday’s race temps were down in the teens for most of the day. Our elite podiums consisted of Sydney Guagliardo (Verdigris-Village) who got her first (and second) win of the series followed by Corrie Karas and Kelli Richter (PSIMET). Meanwhile in the men’s race Dan Teaters (Wheel & Sprocket) won followed by series leader David Reyes (Heritage) and Maxx Hall (Verdigris-Village).

– Sunday was an entirely different day after snow blanketed the course Saturday night and the track became extremely wet and slippery throughout the day with riders wiping out all over the course. Our podiums for the elite women were Sydney Guagliardo (Verdigris-Village) for her 2^nd win of the weekend, Kelli Richter (PSIMET) and Emily Elbers (Marian). For the men, local road pro Brandon Feehery took the top step racing for his school Lindenwood in a super close finish edging out Saturday’s winner Dan Teaters (Wheel & Sprocket) in the second to last turn, with David Lombardo (Verdigris-Village) in third.  Special shout out to Kenny Labbe for keeping the energy high throughout the cold, snowy, and windy weekend.

– Full results are on USAC here and CrossResults.com Saturday and Sunday. Series overall standings are here.

– Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, John Gatto has been producing some great videos of each CCC event from a different perspective. Check out ILR Saturday and Sunday.

– Next up the CCC heads closer to the city of Chicago in Prospect Heights for Melas CX Basin Racin’. The weather looks delightful so get your bikes into a LBS for service now!

– Not this weekend but next weekend the CCC takes a break to eat tofukey and cranberry dressing but you can still get your CX fix. The crew from Psimet will host Norge Ski Jump Cyclocross on SUNDAY 11/30/14. Gobble Gobble!

– Then on Sunday 12/7/14 the CCC finishes up at Montrose Harbor at the Illinois State CX Championships. We’ll have lots more details for Montrose in the next few weeks, but the rad guys and gals at the Chicago Cuttin’ Crew have already committed to providing podium medals for the top 3 Single Speed Women (who will still be racing with the men). Also, no categories at Montrose have filled yet, so if you end up on a waitlist and then don’t get to race its your own fault.

– Paul Warloski of Milwaukee Bicycle Company will be at Melas CX Basin Racin’ Sunday with the MBC Mettle, a steel cross bike that Cyclocross Magazine called a “great bike for a reasonable cost.” He’ll have Mettles to test ride, even race if you want to try one out. He’ll be at Melas from 8am to 4pm with a break to use his own Mettle in the 45+ race.

– And finally… Juniors, or more to the point their parents… if you have pre-reg’d and shown up to race and are due your entry fee “refund” and would rather donate those monies to a youth program such as West Town Bikes or Blackstone Bikes, please let us know and we can make that happen.

Just a reminder that everyone needs to sign in and get a new number tomorrow… DO NOT race with your number from Saturday or you will not be scored

– #ILRcx More venue/course info here.

– Preliminary staging will be posted here for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s results will affect Sunday’s staging.

– SCW has increased payouts per the CCC maxiumum even though pre-reg numbers are not >600 riders. Cat 1/2/3 and Women Cat 1/2/3 will each split $900 over 7 places both days (2 Day * 2 Categories * $900 = $3,600).

– SRAM neutral support in the equipment pit both days.

– As per usual this time of year the forecast is for high winds and low temps. SCW asks that everyone take down your tents, all the way, Saturday night. You may leave your tent(s) on premise overnight.

– There will be  hoses available to wash your bike(s), but not in the equipment pit. The hose is located next to the pro-shop just outside the door to registration. SCW is working on getting a power washer for the pits, but not promises.

– Do not bring your bikes inside when coming to the registration room. Please leave them outside. Thanks!

– No warming up on the fairways or west of the course. The other courses are still open to golfers… yeah, they think we are crazy too for riding our bikes in this type of weather.

– Please stay off the putting greens at all times.

– Kenny Labbe will be on the mic again both days.

– Kids cx is on but for Sunday only. “Racing” starts at 2pm.

– Bring your bathing suit for the pool and hot tub.

– The Cave Bar will be open as well as an all you can eat buffet in the Masters restaurant.

– Speaking of the Cave… there will be an informal party Saturday night. Come say hello!

– The course: Classic ILR features with a few new sections and run clockwise. Approximation of this weekend’s course is below and the course will change slightly from Saturday to Sunday.

Starts are huge in cross. Whether you’re on the 1^st row or the 10^th, a good start can be the difference between a great or mediocre day on the bike.  Maintaining your position and/or passing large groups of people while charging down a straight at the beginning is a heck of a lot easier than making up large gaps throughout a cross race for sure.  Plus it’s fun!

First off you need to have a solid warm up in prior to staging, or else the violent effort needed is going to hit you like a ton of bricks half way through the first lap. Grip the bars tightly in the drops or on the hoods.  Most like the hoods but how often do you see roadies sprinting for the line on the hoods?  Make no mistake; this is a series of short and all-out sprints.  Get your weight back a bit, at least over the top of the saddle.  When the whistle blows jam your hips forward and off you go.

BMX is awesome, just wanted to put that out there. Growing up in that sport teaches some pretty wicked skills for sure, including how to go from a standing start to max speed fast.  While you won’t win a cross race because of a great start, you can lose one with a bad start.  You can win a BMX race purely because of a great start so it’s a large part of training and the core principals are the same.  Notice the hip action, pedal position and all-out/dead-lift type effort:  BMX Start

As with every aspect of bike racing, practice is crucial. Do 2 or 3 starts the day before race day to get the feel.  You need to find the starting gear that best suits you, get comfortable getting your cleat engaged quickly and work on shifting up as you spin each gear out.  This is a fantastic video and instruction from one of the best in the US: Cyclocross Start

It’s also a very good idea to incorporate focused and fitness based start reps into your training regimen at least once every other week. One or two sets of these is a solid addition to a skills oriented day and will also help train the body to accept and recover from what is one of the toughest efforts of the race:

Warm up for at least 15 minutes.

1 rep: All out sprint for 200 meters. Settle into FTP +10% and peg it there for 1 minute.  3 minutes off between reps.

1 set: 5 reps. Take 8 minutes off between sets.

Hit up some single track for the last half of your ride to work on skills (and to have lots of fun)

Warm down for at least 15 minutes

Good luck and go fast!

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE COACH

www.ROKcoaching.com

Photo: Snowy Mountain Photography

– With a couple minutes taken off the lap times from last year, the PSI-clocross for Life course was still able to throw a bit of everything at racers.  It was the first time we’d seen sand in the series, and it showed as there was a lot of reshuffling there.  Heckle Hill was another place that a lot of movement took place, some ran, some rode, and others tried to ride, gave up and figured maybe it was best to run.  Either way if you were doing something wrong you were sure to hear about it from the bullhorn in the PSIMET tent.

In a showing of the talent being drawn to the races, we saw both elite podiums represented by 3 different states.  We had a fresh name in front the men’s 1/2/3 field with Kevin McConnell (Mercy Specialized) from Iowa taking the victory ahead of David Lombardo (Verdigris-Village CX) and Ian Haupt (Milwaukee Bicycle Company Racing).

In the womens field Samantha Schneider (TIBCO/To the Top) is batting 1000 as she grabbed her 2^nd win, Brittany McConnell (Mercy Specialized) moved up a step from last week to 2^nd this time, while Sydney Guagliardo (Verdigris-Village CX) rounded out the elite podium. Full results are here and here and updated series standings are here.

– Next up the CCC heads to the Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, IL for the series’ one and only double weekend hosted by South Chicago Wheelmen. Remember online pre-reg on BikeReg closes Wednesday night for both races, so don’t come crying to us on Thursday saying you missed pre-reg. But even if you do you will still be staged by your CCC series points if you reg Day Of.

– Indian Lakes Resort has all the amenities you could ask for but more importantly there is a hotel. There are still rooms available and you can get the CCC discount using code (not the group code) “CYC” or “cyclocross”.

– Chris Henning and his crew are looking for volunteers to help run the Melas CX Basin Racin’ event. Sign up here and race for free and get lunch.

– Let’s have a quick chat about Internet trolls. We are well aware of everyone’s First Amendment rights to free speech, and we have never censored any comments here on the CCC site, nor do we ever want to do so. But just as you may not want to input your actual email address into the comments for fear of some sort of malicious spam bot somehow finding it and filling your inbox with junk, we’re pretty sure no one visiting this website wants to read your anonymous junk comments. So… if you’re going to post a ridiculously rude comment here on the CCC site, be man or woman enough to leave your actual name and email address so others can reply back to you directly. Otherwise head over to YouTube where the comment sections are priceless and your contributions will have a more appropriate audience. Thanks!

– For those of you already getting into the giving spirits of the holidays… check out the new World Bicycle Relief video: www.worldbicyclerelief.org/power. Just as in years past all donations made between now and 12/31/2014 are matched, up to $1million. The CCC will be donating all of the donations you the riders have donated through BikeReg in a lump sum shortly after the Montrose Harbor Illinois State CX Championships.

– And finally… The West Town Bikes (WTB) CX program has been providing sponsorship, mentorship and coaching to juniors and young adults that would otherwise not have the opportunity to participate in cyclocross events for 6 seasons.  Here are some photos from our last 4 seasons.  The fitness and commitment that cyclocross requires teaches perseverance and provides a healthy energy output while skills, knowledge and friendships gained help form a socially intelligent, responsible and physically fit community member all while growing the sport.  Half Acre Cycling, Half Acre Brewery, The Bonebell, Chicago Cuttin Crew and Seth Gable have all been key in getting us through the end of last year and this season.  We have a Pactimo team store open, password is westtownbikes, as one way we are outfitting our team and raising awareness for the program.  Jerseys purchased through the store can go to the purchaser or be gifted to the program.  We need smalls and mediums of all types.  Many of the adults you see wearing the WTB jersey are volunteers or youth instructors in the organization.

– #PSIcx More info here. Preliminary staging will be here before Sunday.

– PSI-clocross For Life hosted by Rob Curtis and the crew from PSIMET at Emricson Park in Woodstock, IL.

– Good luck to everyone race ‘The Iceman Cometh Challenge’ in Michigan.

– Please pay attention when you are racing and entering the park in your car. There are 2 road crossings on the course and while there will be course marshals at each crossing, please look both ways before crossing. Better safe than sorry.

– Speaking of cars, no parking on the grass – anywhere.  There is plenty of parking available throughout Emricson Park, please use it or you will be ticketed. This includes team vehicles intending on dropping off team tent and compound equipment.

– Speaking of tent compounds – please try to keep the team tents in the areas near start/finish and Heckle Hill.  Areas are marked on the course map below.

– The Pizza food truck many of us have seen at events like Caldwell Woods will be there around 10:30. There are also plenty of places to eat in downtown Woodstock on the square and we encourage all hungry racers to spend their money there.

– The weather looks great if a little chilly. Please dress appropriately for both before, during, and after your race(s).

– No inside bathrooms or the warming hut again this year. All Porta-potties near the Start/Finish.

– Rt 47 through Huntley is not under construction this year but still subject to traffic, so please plan your travel times accordingly. Your best bet directions are to exit I90 on Route 47 into the town of Woodstock. A left on Lake Ave and another left on South St should lead you right to Emricson Park (on your right).

– There will be no water or powerwashers available this year. If weather becomes an issue we highly advise you get someone in the pit to work for you.

– Now that the official sunset time is literally minutes after the end of the Cat 4/5 race, PSIMET and the South Chicago Wheelmen would appreciate any help tearing down the course after said Cat 4/5 race.

– While Rob Curtis LOVES the festivities on Heckle Hill, he asks that if you bring it in you pack it out… or at least drop it in one of the trash cans. It is often tough to see trash on the ground after the last race due to sunset.

– The course: Hills, and some bumpy fields, and a high-speed trip through the woods, and hills. Need we say more? This year the main course elements of years past remain but the course has been shortened slightly so you can suffer more times up the hills.

Wednesday Nighters

Things can begin to get a little less motivating in the race department this time of year. Between the training and racing you’ve put in a lot of time going all out, it’s cold/ish and we’ve just had the time change.  The couch/beer combo looks pretty awesome.

So rather than lay down a specifically timed and focused effort it’s nice to just go out and have fun. It’s also important to maintain the mojo and if you can do that it’s worth at least a few places at the line.  I just started testing these out this season with some folks and the results have been solid!  Pick any one to rip off on a Wednesday or Thursday night’s training session on any course that suits you.  Choose one and, while fairly mindless, they’ll keep you going in the right direction:

10/40:

Do all of this on a cyclocross course. Warm up for at least 15 minutes. Peg power and/or heart rate at zone 3 (tempo) for 10 minutes. At the end of that 10 minutes ramp it up to race pace for 40 minutes. This is one 50 minute continuous effort. Warm down for at least 10 minutes.

20/30:

Do all of this on a cyclocross course. Warm up for at least 15 minutes. Peg power and/or heart rate at zone 3 (tempo) for 20 minutes. At the end of that 20 minutes ramp it up to race pace for 30 minutes. This is one 50 minute continuous effort. Warm down for at least 10 minutes.

30/20:

Do all of this on a cyclocross course. Warm up for at least 15 minutes. Peg power and/or heart rate at zone 3 (tempo) for 30 minutes. At the end of that 30 minutes ramp it up to race pace for 20 minutes. This is one 50 minute continuous effort. Warm down for at least 10 minutes.

Another benefit is that these are a great gauge for current fitness.  look at average power and heart rate for the “race pace” portions of these and they should be close to your FTP.  Hopefully that is still increasing a bit and make note for future intervals.

Thanks for reading.

Rob Kelley

TRAINING BIBLE COACH

www.ROKcoaching.com