– CX season is pretty much finished here in Chicagoland. Thanks again to everyone for another great CCC series.

– Good luck to everyone heading to Boulder for USAC CX Nationals next weekend. Race hard and have fun.

– If you’re still on the fence about going to Coloardo, Pro Bike Express can likely still help with the logistics.

– And finally… while we’re winding down here at the CCC, BTB TV is still providing plenty of great CX coverage through the end of January. Check out all of the programs, including Cross Talk presented by Embrocation Cycling Journal.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 350,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 15 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

From all of us here at the Chicago Cyclocross Cup, we wish all of our riders, sponsors, families, supporters, hecklers, pets, bicycles, and… aww heck who are we kidding…  everyone out there… even if you don’t race CX… a very Merry Christmas. We hope Santa brings you all everything you want and deserve…

Photo: C. Norris

– Thanks to Robots <3 and the Cuttin’ Crew for another wonderfully muddy Afterglow. Results are on USAC.org here. Special congratulations to Mike Kelley for winning our hearts and minds, and taking Sweet Justice home again for another year.

– If you missed the CCC Awards Party at EJ’s Place on Sunday, well then you missed a good one. Cowbells, schwag, and good cheer. Thanks to everyone who attended and thanks again to everyone for making 2014 yet another memorable year of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup.

– One last thank you to all of the CCC’s 2013 Series Sponsors and in particular our Title Sponsor Iron Cycles for another great season. For those that don’t know, Iron Cycles has recently teamed up with Embrocation Cycling Journal to bring you not only great content but also great products. Check out their website and stay tuned for how ECJ is helping to bring you even more great CX coverage.

– And finally… a letter from Lindsay Knight who not only races fast but is also the Youth Program Coordinator for Blackstone Bicycle Works:

– #AfterglowCX Preliminary staging will be posted here on Thursday.

– The Afterglow team has once again partnered with the Chicago Park District to bring the ‘Glow Douglas Park Golf Course! When registering to race, please consider donating those extra dollars you’re saving on the cheaper reg to the wonderful and very important programs at Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes right from the registration page. Look for all the Blackstone and WTB kids in the Juniors and 4’s, and cheer them on! We will also have a donation jar at registration for you to throw in your change.

– If you’re coming in from somewhere that doesn’t have easy public transportation (hint),  be sure to check the map for available spaces. There will be parking along S Thompson Drive (leading toward the fieldhouse). Please leave the fieldhouse parking lot for volunteers and park patrons, as we aren’t the only ones at the park on Saturday. There’s also parking along Inner Ogden Drive.

– The fieldhouse will be open from 9am-5pm, but since it’s not officially part of the event, we ask that you respect the other park users who may be using the facility. Leave no trace!

– RpbL & the Cuttin’ Crew WILL be accepting credit cards for on-site registration and one-day licenses. They’ll be using Square, which charges 2.75% for every transaction. That will be added to the charge and rounded up to the next cent (so $10 becomes $10.28).

– There may be food on-site, but maybe not enough for 250 people. Douglas Park is in a bit of a food desert. Learn about food deserts and what’s being done to help solve this problem here.

– The weather forecast is 30′s with some snow. While some of us have been reminiscing and training after last year’s mud, be sure you bring appropriate clothing!

– Please avoid warming up on the fairways and greens! There’s plenty of park around.

– Podiums will be presented shortly after each race, and Blackstone Bikes and West Town Bikes have hand crafted prizes for our winners! You’ll definitely want to vie for these metals!

– As for the course, note the location of parking, the staging grid, and the equipment pit. Give yourself plenty of time to get your bib number, put your gear in the pit, and get to staging on time. The course runs ANTI-CLOCKWISE and numbers will be going on the RIGHT.

Photo: Lou Kuhn

– Thanks again to Robots <3 Love, Beverly Bike-VeePak, and The Pony Shop for hosting the MidWest Regional CX Championships p/b Intelligentsia. Lap times are here.

– Up next, your last chance to officially race CX in Chicagoland in 2013 on Saturday. Robots <3 Love and The Chicago Cuttin’ Crew host Afterglow another year at Douglas Park Golf Course! When registering, please consider donating to our friends at Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes right from the registration page. Look for all the Blackstone kids (along with our friends West Town Bikes!) in the Juniors and Cat 4s, and cheer them on! Registration closes Wednesday at Midnight! More details here and look for all the Sweet Jucy Justice details on Thursday Wednesday.

– The CCC Awards Party is Sunday 12/22/13 at EJ’s Place in Skokie. Won’t you join us? Tickets are for sale on BikeReg. Overall series cowbells, beer, food, fun, beer, door prizes, and did we mention beer?

– USAC CX Nationals are 1/7/14 – 1/12/14 in Boulder, CO. Check out Pro Bike Express to help with the logistics.

– And finally… having met Anthony Clark several years ago and having him race at the first CCC New Year’s Resolution, we’re more than excited to see Behind THE Barrier TV featured him in not 1, but 2 recent episodes. Congratulation on all of your successes Anthony, and keep livin’ the #SWL!

 – Thanks again to Ten27 Cycling Club and Spidermonkey Cycling for yet another fantastic event at Montrose Harbor and such a great way to close out the CCC series. Temps were cold but the racing was again hot with a day and a half of action. Laps times from One2Go Results are here.

– Congratulations to the 15 new IL State Cyclocross Champions. We hope to see you all wearing your new jerseys over the next two weeks and next season, unless of course you upgraded… kudos to all of you who already have.

– Also a hearty congratulation to the 16 Overall Series Winners. We’ve got cowbells with your names on them (literally) and we look forward to seeing you all at EJ’s Place on Sunday 12/22. Please get your tickets on BikeReg here!

– Chicagoland CX action is not over though… not by a long shot. The Midwest Regional CX Championships (MWRCXC) are this weekend in Dan Ryan Woods. There’s still time to register over on BikeReg, Intelligentsia Coffee will be serving up a full espresso bar starting at 8am, Eastman Egg Company will be there with their food truck, timing and scoring by One2Go services, and Neutral Support by SRAM NRS. There will be a fully paved start/finish straight, lots of power sections, tricky technical sections, the downhill singletrack and a really wicked runup some people might remember from a few years ago. Look for the full course preview on Thursday.