Hi all,

We were going to post a note about USAC Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, OR (Dec 10-13th) later this month, but a story coming across the wires here notes that registration, at least for the masters, is opening this weekend. According to this page, registration opens at 12:01am EST on 10/10/09… which is 11:01PM Central tonight here in Chicago.

The USAC webpage is not yet updated but schedule info is here. Note that callups are based on registration date/time. Reg fees are a bit more pricey than in the CCC, but hey… its nationals and you’ll be in beautiful Bend, OR.

We’d love to see a few Chicagoland CX’ers head out west and show the rest of the country what we’re made of, so let us know if you plan on racing!

Hi all, just a few notes about this weekend.

• Did you hear… the race day schedule has changed? Okay, if you missed that one you’ve been living under a rock for the last week. The new schedule is here and here.
• The 4Bs are full, but we’ll run a wait list on Sunday… first come first served. Also, if you’re already racing in the 4As, please let others give it a shot in the 4Bs before you do a 2nd race. And if you’re winning or placing top 5 in the 4Bs consistently… you should probably be racing the 4As anyway.
• The Chicago Marathon is this weekend and traffic on the roads is likely to be busy. Please give yourselves plenty of time to get to the race.
• The weather forecast looks totally like cross weather… only missing a little rain. That being said, please dress accordingly for before and after the race. You’ll be plenty warm once you get going in the race, but we don’t want to have to treat anyone for hypothermia after the race.
• Big thanks again to Tony Reinks and the entire Beverly Bike Vee-Pak crew for stepping up and filling this date in the schedule. Make sure to thank them all and maybe even offer them some additional money.
• BBVP has what looks like the makings of another CCC classic course (see below). Make sure your toe spikes are nice and tightened though… that run up looks serious! BBVP says there will be approximately 100 feet of climbing per lap. And for those that can ride the hill, BBVP promises to have special hand-ups at the top… one can only imagine. Barriers will be in the middle of the course and along the North East side.
• Registration will be on the North side of the course in the pavilion with the Start/Finish and wheel/bike pit right next door. The course runs clockwise. However all other parts of the course are still subject to change.
• BBVP will also have ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, for non red meat eaters bbq chicken legs, AND BEANS. There will also be chips and water for you purists. BBVP also promises something special for the little kids also!

If any of your are up and listening to the radio in the morning, be sure to tune into 1410AM WRMN (Elgin) at 8:15am. The CCC’s own Jeff Provisor (owner of Main Street Bicycles and race promoter for stop #4 in the CCC) will be chatting it up with the DJ’s about the Carpentersville Oktoberfest and (obviously more importantly) the cross race.

For those of you stuck in a cubical, the station also streams live at: www.wrmn1410.com… just click the “listen live button” in the upper right.

In other news, we’re still seeing Dekalb photos filter in, but just had to share this one.

3 fer Thursday… this time from the Gran Prix of Gloucester.

Also, congrats to Robin Amer from xXx Racing for making the trip out east to race at New England Worlds!

We had a bunch of upgrades in the Cat 4 Women and Cat 4 Men this week that not only effected those categories, but also the Cat 1/2/3 Women and Cat 3 Men. Updated overall standings are here. Series scoring rules are here, and remember,you must upgrade before the 4th race (Carpentersville) to take half your points with you to the next category… otherwise all points earned in the lower category are forfeited.

Also, team standings are now updated here (check out he “Team Overall” tab at the bottom) and The Pony Shop is off to a nice lead with xXx Racing and Verdigris right on their heels. Flatlandia and Burnham Racing round out the top 5. Remember, if we don’t know what team you’re riding for, your points aren’t included in the team standings… so email us if your team name is incorrect or missing!

Finally, please remember online pre-reg closes tonight at midnight for the Dan Ryan Woods race. Save time and money and register now here. Remember you can always see who’s already registered by clicking on the “Confirmed Riders” link in the upper right of each reg page.

Okay, so we know lots of you out there like to blog about your racing in the CCC… and you all are much better with personal stories than we could ever be trying to write boring race summaries. We’ve got rider links to the right (over there–>) of individual racer blogs… but then you have to go that extra step and actually click on them… so here’s an even better idea.

Similar to our amazingly popular post race Pix and Vids posts, starting now (with this post) we’re giving you a soapbox to tell all the world how much fun you had, how you raced, who cut your off, where you think you can improve, how well your equipment worked, how badly you need a new bike, who your favorite podium girl was (wait, there were podium girls?), how many beers you drank afterward, etc, etc, etc. Just post links in the comments section to your blog (or someone else’s blog that mentions you) and everyone will know what’s going on.

As always, we reserve the right to remove spam, foul languaged prose, and general garbage that doesn’t really have anything to do with the CCC… but everyone has done a great job so far of keeping it clean… so have at it.

Here’s a great review of Dekalb from Jonathan Fairman of Team Courage to get you started…

http://iridecourage.blogspot.com/2009/10/midas-touch.html

If anyone wants to retroactively post reviews from Jackson Park… you can do so here.

Post your Jackson Park race reports here…

Very, very, very important announcement!

– If you missed our post on Sunday, the CCC schedule is changing starting this week at Dan Ryan Woods. The updated race schedule can also be found on the schedule page. The 40+ & 50+ masters need to be there a little earlier while everyone else starts a little later… but get there early anyway and bring your cowbells!

– We’re happy to announce 3 new sponsors to the CCC series… all of them bike shops.

• Yojimbo’s Garage on Clybourn Ave in the city is back again and supplying CX frames for the free raffle (fill out a raffle ticket at registration at each race).
• MOX Multisport also in the city on Randolph St will be supplying schwag and merchandise prizes for the series.
• Spin Doctor Cyclewerks in Bartlett will be helping out the series with much needed cash to help buy things to put in your way and make you jump over.

The CCC is still looking for series sponsors, so email us at [email protected] if you’d like to be involved.

– The CCC’s newest race in the Dan Ryan Woods takes place this coming Sunday. Beverly Bike-Vee Pak has put together a great course and will have some great food as well. Hopefully the Half Acre crew is recovered from this past weekend’s Dekalb race and shows up so we all have something to drink! ; ) However, please remember to respect the park and its neighbors so we can come back next year.

– Please also remember the Chicago Marathon is happening this weekend. Traffic on the roads is likely to be quite heavy due to detours and such… so please, please give yourselves plenty of time to get to the race… which is on the South Side at Western and 87th. Maps and directions are here.

– Everyone’s favorite new race from last year is back! That’s right, after many, many meetings with the parks district and a boatload of fantastic work by Chris Henning and the Garner Northbrook Cycling Club, the Northbrook venue has finally been approved. The course will be very different from last year, but we’ll at least have the race. Look for more details on the way and online pre-reg to open soon.

Speaking of favorite courses… from everything we’ve heard North Central Cyclery and Half Acre put on a fantastic race in Dekalb’s Hopkins Park this past weekend. Big thanks to everyone who helped put this 2nd year race together that attracted 358 racers! That’s only 40 shy of Jackson Park!

– CCC Overall Standings are posted here. Remember these are overall series standings and NOT placings from one individual race. See how the series is scored here. Team standings will be updated later this week.

– CCC series sponsor CX Magazine is having a race report writing contest. Check it out here.

– Finally… did we mention the race day schedule is changing? Make sure you’re there on time for your race!

Sorry for the delay… CCC overall standings through Dekalb/Hopkins Park are posted here.
Full results for Dekalb and Jackson Park will be posted to the ICA and USAC websites tomorrow.

Also, for those of you still wondering… we think this photo perfectly captures the essence of what CX is all about! Noise, fun, grass, dirt, rowdiness, running, yelling, screaming, drums (?), sideburns, probably some beer in there… and oh yeah, bikes! We bet this kid is hooked for life.

More photos by Jason Henry here.