– Another big thanks to Rob Kelley and Bicycle Heaven for hosting yet another great CCC race in 2009.

– Next up… Northbrook. Promoter Chris Henning reminds us there is a still a chance the race could be cancelled at the last minute due to weather and course conditions… so keep you eyes glued to this site. We’ll post information as soon as it is available. That being said, the forecast looks great for the rest of the week… so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

– Two more points concerning Northbrook… First, there are instructions concerning parking here on the BikeReg page. See the map here. Second, remember the Jane Addams Hull House Association in Chicago will also be at the Northbrook race accepting bicycle donations. Bikes collected are rewarded to young students for their commitment and achievements in school. Find more details at www.gopedalpower.com.

– Dr. James Kearns is still looking for volunteers to help set up his course in Woodstock the morning of the race. Volunteers race all day for $10. The Doctor needs people to show up at 7am on Sunday November 22nd and help set up the course. If you’re interested and can commit to being there on time and helping, please email the Doctor your email address and mobile # at [email protected].

– Hey, did you hear we have a t-shirt design winner? Congrats to Joe Kallo from Team TATI for the winning design. Make sure to heckle him extra loud in the 30+ races for the rest of the season. T’s are on sale now on BikeReg for $20… please see our previous post about color options.

– Think the CCC is just all about fast old guys and bacon wrapped dollar bill hands ups? We at the CCC believe in giving back to our communities and are announcing a new initiative to give back even more. If you haven’t seen it already there is a World Bicycle Relief donation area at the bottom of each race’s BikeReg page. Without even mentioning this donation section in the past many of you have already donated $126.40 to WBR (thank you!)… but the CCC wants to do more. Our goal is to raise at least $1,000 by the end of the season for WBR. The way we see it, at ~300 pre-reg riders per race that’s less than $1 per pre-reg’d racer. We know money is tight for everyone these days… but when you’re riding around on >$1K cross bikes, often with extra wheels or another complete bike in the pit… its hard to argue you don’t have an extra $1 per race stuck in the cushions of your couch. Please help where and if you can… you might just get a call up.

– In a similar note, Main Street Bicycles and the North Branch Cycling Club donated $1,000.00 from the Carpentersville Park race proceeds to the Carpentersville Rotary Club, which in turn supports the local FISH food pantry, Boys & Girls Club, and COATS – a program that distributes new winter jackets to impoverished children.

– Mud got you down? xXx’er Newt Cole lets us in on a great deal over at Johnny Sprockets. $40 Tune-ups and $120 overhauls. Overhauls include new cables, housing, bar tape, complete tear down, cleaning, rebuild, and tune-up of your entire bike. Just bring in a CCC race number or other proof that You Did It in The Dirt to receive the discount.

– Wondering what all the fast kids are doing to stay in tip-top CX fitness and get ready for a race? Here’s a  few ideas on training and warming up. Ride safely.

– Still have money left over? Independent Fabrications is having a raffle for a wicked custom ride. Check out details here.

Congratulations to Joe Kallo of Team TATI for winning the 2009 CCC t-shirt design contest. Joe’s design garnered 26% of all votes. Per the contest guidelines, Joe will get a copy of his masterpiece, free entry into one of the remaining CCC races of his choice, his name plastered all over the CCC website (see below), and the adoring admiration of mandatory heckling by every other CCC racer, spectator, heckler, and random passerby. Congrats Joe… you earned it!

Thanks also to everyone who submitted a design for the contest… we couldn’t have had a contest without you.

Though Joe’s design calls for Team TATI orange… we know not all of your are so bold as to wear a bright orange t-shirt around all day long… so we’ll have white and asphalt (greyish) shirts with the design in black and white respectively. We’ll also make a one time only special limited edition run of Joe’s original design in orange and brown as well as a baby blue shirt with a grey logo similar to last year’s design meaning the colors are similar to last year’s design. These special edition shirts will be pre-order only and for sale only on BikeReg. So, if you want one… order it now. If you need a size other than S, M, L, or XL please email us at [email protected],

Shirts will be American Apparel (fine short sleeve) and cost $20 with all proceeds benefiting World Bicycle Relief and the CCC (to help pay for new equipment like plastic stakes, course tape, holidays in February to Belize, etc).

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Big thanks to Bicycle Heaven for putting on another great race in St. Charles/Campton… and thanks to the 379 starters who came out to eat some mud.
There were a lot of great costumes and we can’t wait to see the pix and vids roll in this week. Here are two to get you started.

Photo: Jason Knauff

Photo: Nikki Cyp

Full results here.
Overall individual standings here.
Team overall standings also here. If your team isn’t listed next to your name in the individual standings please email us at chicagocrosscup at gmail dot com and we’ll get your updated.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Don’t forget to vote for you favorite t-shirt design. Polls close tonight at mid-night!

Really quickly… don’t forget the IIT Swap & Hop is tomorrow (Saturday 10/31/09). Details here and pre-reg for the clinic is open here until 6pm tonight. Now back to our regularly scheduled course preview…

Back again for 2009 is the hilly St. Charles / Campton CCC race hosted by Bicycle Heaven. 308 of you are scheduled to toe the start line in your best Halloween regalia.

• First and foremost… remember Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday…  that give you all (unless you live in Indiana) an extra hour to sleep-off your Snicker hangovers. No one gets a pass for showing up late on Sunday… so be on time!
• St. Charles is one of the “further away” from the city venues so give yourselves plenty of time to get there. Here’s an idea… don’t set your clocks back and use that time to get to the race and watch the earlier categories! There are plenty of food and caffeine vendors along Randall Rd on the way out, so stock up as there isn’t much food close to the park.
• In addition to whatever the Cuttin’ Crew decide on for handups this week (we saw an X-Box game at Bartlett!?!), promoter Rob Kelley will be handing out $20 primes for the winners of the first lap of every race. Its a gamble to go out so fast, but if you do, you will be rewarded.
• This year’s St. Charles course will be nearly identical to last year’s with just a few modifications (see below for an estimate). As always, the course can change on race day depending on conditions. Update: The course goes anti-clockwise
• Speaking of conditions… according to the current weather forecast it looks chilly still another fabulous day for a CX race. Whoever has been making sacrifices to the weather gods… please keep what you’re doing!
• Don’t forget we’re giving special “best costume” call-ups after the top 10 series overall. Here’s a sneak peak at what the rest of you might be up against.
• Where will the best spectating spot be this week? We’re guessing near kids playground equipment… but we’ll let you decide. There is more than enough legal parking for everyone, so please use it.
• Also, don’t forget to vote for your favorite t-shirt design (below the map). Please only vote once and polls close tomorrow (Saturday) night at midnight.

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay, but we finally had a chance to update and more importantly automate the team standings. This made for a little extra work this evening, but we’re now be able to update the team standings as soon as the individual standings are updated.

While we were at it we added a few other statistics for you. You’ll notice there are now 5 additional columns on the “Team Overall” tab. In addition to the Team name and Eligible Total we’ve also added the number of teammates contributing to that total. Remember we only count the points from the top 5 teammates and we don’t count duplicates. See the full series and team standings rules here. This now allows us compute a “Team Depth Ratio” (Eligible Total / Eligible Teammates) that shows which teams are earning lots of points with fewer riders… basically the higher the ratio the better.

In addition we now also show the total number of points earned by a team (above and beyond the top 5 but still not counting duplicates) and the number of riders that contributed to that total. Similar to above we show the “Team Depth Ratio” (Team Total / Total Teammates) so teams with few riders rank better.

Have fun with these new stats but remember the Eligible Total column is still the only number that matters in the end for the team competition.

Sheriff Lou Kuhn’s Pony Shop is still in the lead, but Verdigris is hot on their heals. xXx Racing, Flatlandia, and SRAM FACTORY round out the top 5.

Just when you thought Carpentersville’s pump section was tough…

Don’t forget St. Charles / Campton online pre-reg closes tonight at midnight.

Also, don’t forget to vote below (only once please) for you favorite t-shirt design.

• Big thanks again to Jim Nowak and ABD for putting on another great race (with even better weather) in Bartlett… the CCC’s 2nd largest race of 2010 by # of riders. If any of you web geeks are counting… the CCC site had over 6,000 page views yesterday (our highest one day total). We should start advertising…
• Up next is the St. Charles / Campton CCC race hosted by Bicycle Heaven. This race showcases more elevation gain than any other CCC race and a fun wooded section with drainage bars that always keep things interesting. Keeping with this year’s theme of surprises, promoter Rob Kelley tells us he and Bicycle Heaven will have a few fun things in store for everyone. The course will be similar to last year with a few new twists, and a great spectating area near the playground (let’s see what name you all can come up with for the this week). Check back Friday for the usual preview.
• Also don’t forget about the special Halloween callups this weekend in St. Charles. Here’s another idea for you.
• Don’t forget that Rob Curtis (from the St. Charles neck of the woods) is building, renting, and selling nice carbon CX wheels with tires already glued. Check him out at http://www.psimet.com and his blog here.
• Before heading out to St. Charles, make sure to check out IIT’s Swap and Hop this Saturday. For the “Swap” bring old bikes and parts and pick up something new… or at least new to you. If you’re a vendor go here. For the “Hop” the clinic is being run by coach Randy Warren and online pre-registration (for the clinic) is open until Friday at 6pm. Randy will be covering lots of great CX knowledge including bike handling, training, & tactics. See Randy’s full schedule here.
• USAC has announced preliminary call-up info for nationals. CX Magazine has it posted here.
• A quick note on spectating at CCC events… We want everyone to have a great time and we ourselves enjoy watching the level of enthusiasm all riders have brought to this year’s series. However our (and everyone else’s) first concern is/should be the safety of all riders. Dollar bill, $2 bill, $20 bill, hotdog, bacon, and yes, even X-Box game hand-ups are okay… but spectators should never, ever, ever interfere with a rider’s forward movement during their race. CX is supposed to be fun, so get close, get in riders’ faces, heckle all you want… but under no circumstances are glass, metal, or dangerous objects allowed on the course at any time. Glass is okay directly next to the course if said glass is wrapped around a carbonated beverage, perhaps from a local business. You all have been doing a great job so far, so let’s just keep it clean, fun, and enjoyable for everyone involved. The last thing we want is to send someone to the hospital with a lawn-dart stuck in their leg.
• Don’t forget to vote for you favorite CCC t-shirt design in the side bar on the right (==>) or in the original post here. Voting polls are open until midnight this Saturday (10/31/09).
• The Hilton Indian Lakes CCC race is fast approaching. Race promoter and South Chicago Wheelman VP Mike Kelly (better known as Super Girl) sent us this tentative list of extras to expect. Indian Lakes will be the 2nd (and final) new CCC venue for 2010 and already sounds like a ton fun… before we even see the course.

1. All Day, all you can eat buffet for $13.95.  This won’t be a crap buffet your grandfather would like, but good food: burgers, chicken, soup, fruit.  Probably open at 11 AM and go to about 6 PM.
2. $2 Pints of Fat Tire Ale (New Belgium Brewery is a sponsor of the event).
3. Room rates $79.  Up to 5 people can stay in one room at no extra charge.  Roll away beds provided at no extra charge. Contact the hotel here and let them know you’re with the CCC. Room rates apply for Friday or Saturday night… so spend the night before the race and sleep in on Saturday, or keep the party going after the race and avoid driving home in the dark. At least one CCC director will be spending the night on Saturday and wouldn’t mind hanging out with some CX’ers.
4. Outdoor patio seating with open fire pits burning all day long.
5. Indoor heated pool.  All ages welcome.  Drop off the kiddies at the pool and double up… err, make sure someone’s watching them before you race!
6. Indoor locker room.  Change in the warmth.  Take a shower after your race.
7. Spa, including steam room and jacuzzi.  Real nice after a long day of racing.
8. Christian Vande Velde autographed jersey raffle; as well as other prizes.  All proceeds to benefit the SCW Junior Development Program.
9. Live Band.  Probably start at 3ish and playing until 6ish.

• Here’s three last pics from “Heckle Hill” at last weekend’s Bartlett / Sunrise Park race…

Timeless… there are so many things that are right about this photo… the anticipation, the excitement, the cheering, the clapping, the bullhorn, the teddy bear, the SuperGirl… every single person in this photo can’t wait to see the next rider make it up the hill or fall down trying. But the great thing is it doesn’t matter either way what happens… everyone will cheer no matter what!

Photo: Luke Seeman

Case in point…

Photo: Luke Seemann

And finally… then there’s this guy (sorry we still don’t know your name yet Greg Teiber) who has participated in every CCC race this season. He doesn’t win… he’s not even close… he was wearing jeans and a flannel button-down shirt until Barlett… but he’s having a great time… and so is everyone else. Look at all of those cowbells, look at all of those arms in the air… look at the excitement on SuperGirl’s face… hell, look at the sheer giddiness on everyone’s face… this is what makes CX racing our little party each and every Sunday afternoon… and we hope you’ll all be there next week!

Photo: Luke Seeman