Back again for 2009 Chris Henning, the Garner Northbrook Bike Club, and Flatlandia bring many riders’ favorite course from 2008 back to the CCC. Sorry for the big post with all the rules, but they are all very important, so please read this entire post if you plan on racing at Northbrook.

Chris Henning spent more time over the last few months than anyone can imagine to get the Northbrook venue back this year… please abide by his wishes so we can all come back and race again next year! The Park District Board and Executives will be at the race throughout the day so please let’s knock them over- with feathers. ; )

• We’ve had great weather all week, so as of right now the race is still a go. Check back tomorrow (Saturday) for any last minute updates… but as of right now the race is on!
• The first thing you’ll notice about this year’s course (below) is that it is completely different from last year. Part of the Park District’s stipulations to be able to hold the race at this venue was that we were not allowed to use the sled hills. Yes, we’re really bummed too… but its better to have a course with no sled hill run-ups then no course at all. The course goes clockwise.
• Remember the Jane Addams Hull House Association in Chicago will also be at the 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.
• Food and drinks will be available on site. Stewart’s Coffee will be there with a java wagon (free coffee!) and Sunset Foods is bringing their popcorn truck and a grill.
• George Garner Cyclery will have a tent at the race providing free neutral support… swing be and say hi to George and his crew. Rhythm Racing will still be at the race providing support as well. Rich Delgado will be on hand giving out free samples of GU Energy Gels.
• There is a kids playground near the tennis courts (please DO NOT leave your children unattended). Also, fishing is allowed in the nearby lakes! Have fun with that one.
• Very important… No alcohol or open fires in the Park or on the Camp ground. We know many of you enjoy a nice well earned brew and roasting a pig over an open flame after a hard fought CX battle with your mates… but please leave the PBR and Old Style at home this weekend. Again, this is a specific request from Chris Henning as we don’t want to jeopardize holding the race here again next year. Thanks. For future races though, you may want to keep your hands warm.
• Courtesy of Kalas Clothing, the winner of the 1^st lap of each race will receive $20. Also, all Juniors will be get prizes.
• Note that the main parking lot (yellow below) is on the other side of the athletic fields from registration and the start/finish. You all did a great job at Bartlett with that parking situation and we’re expecting great things from you again this weekend. Please be mindful of the parking map below, posted signs at the race, and residents who live in the area. There will be volunteers wearing orange/yellow vests who will help direct you to available parking.  If you park at the Jr. high, ride south on the sidewalk in front of the school to Walters, then ride west on Walters to registration. Yes, this means DO NOT ride across the athletic fields or those nice people’s backyards.
• There are also a limited number of spot along the access road a little closer to the reg/start/finish area. Feel free to park here, but when the spots are gone… they’re gone. Please DO NOT double park, park on the grass, do stupid things, etc.
• Also note the Red NO PARKING areas. As you might expect… DO NOT park in these areas.
• Please DO NOT warm up on the park paths. There will be local residents using these paths and we don’t anyone’s Shiitzu getting run over. Chris suggests Walters Ave or East of Sanders Rd for warm-ups. Watch for cars though and make sure to be on time for your race’s start. The CCC always starts on time.
• Don’t have a car? Want to keep your carbon emissions low? The Northbrook course is about a 15 minute bike ride from the Northbrook Station Metra stop on the Metra/Milwaukee District North line. Bring your train ticket and Chris will reimburse you the cost of your ticket. Find schedules here and a map here. Up to 9 bikes are allowed on a train… Make it a party with your buds.
• Don’t forget to order your t-shirts. All proceeds go to WBR and to help the CCC pay for new equipment, etc. We also added a new “Women’s Cut” category for the ladies. If you’d like one or many women’s cut t-shirts… simply pay for them on BikeReg and then email us what sizes and colors you’d like. Shirts ordered by tonight on BikeReg should be available at Indian Lakes. Please pre-order your shirts as this helps us with our inventory.
• Finally, a big, big thanks to everyone who donated money to WBR directly. From this race alone we’ve raised $134.50! That’s enough for one whole bike!

Below is and estimate of how the course will run on Sunday. As always, the course is subject to change depending on weather and ground conditions. The wheel pit as labeled above will also likely be next to the start/finish line… probably in the tennis courts.

We know many of you have already seen this one in the comments from St. Charles… but we think it deserves to be on the front page for a while.
Thanks to Paul Michna for the great video.

Also, remember pre-reg for Northbrook closes tonight at midnight… and don’t forget to order your t-shirts!

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.3812081&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Just a few updates that can’t wait until next Tuesday.

• Peloton Pix is having a costume contest from this past weekend. SuperGirl and Geisha made it to the final 10 (we’re surprised Gumby and Crag didn’t get a shot)… but vote now!
• Ben Jenkins also took quite a few pix out in Campton and has his photos for sale. Check out his site here.
• We mentioned this one a while back, but Dr. James Kearns (Woodstock promoter) is hosting a CX clinic this Saturday (Nov 7th) from Noon to 1pm in Woodstock. Get detail and pre-register by calling 815-337-7109 and you can also find more contact info at http://www.painfree101.com/.
• Speaking of the Woodstock race… would you like to sleep in a little that Sunday morning? Maybe find a bite to eat before or after the race? The Woodstock chamber of commerce welcomes you to patronize their local businesses. Find details at www.woodstockilchamber.com.
• The South Chicago Wheelmen will be holding a raffle at the Indian Lakes race to benefit the club’s Junior Development Program. Items will include some schwag autographed by none other than cyclocross TDF superstar Christian Vande Velde and SuperGirl.
• If you would like a women’s cut t-shirt (any color or size) please email us at [email protected] and we can make it happen. UPDATE: We added a “Women’s Cut” category on BikeReg (look at the bottom of the list). You can pay there and then email us the size and color you want.
• There seems to be some confusion concerning the baby blue t-shirts we’ll have available. The COLOR SCHEME is similar to last year’s design but the logo will be this year’s design. Sorry for any confusion.

– 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.