Cromulent

The heckling. I knew I was missing something as I crawled up the far hill. It was a little bumpy, but all in all a fun course. Challenging for sure. And if there would have been some way to take two or three more trips through the sand, that would have been awesome.

MJH2

First cross race of 2010 yesterday (DeKalb). Found that glancing blows off a tree hurt more but slow you down less than bouncing your chin off the dirt.

John Wilke

Yeah, did some Photoshop on some of them - otherwise they would have been tossed.

What you see is pretty much the best of the batch. Sorry if I didn't get anything good of her this time around, that's just the luck of the draw when you only get to do 4 or 5 laps unlike a crit. where I get 30 chances to pick you off!

Psimet2001 

Ouch!

Unfortunately I missed DeKalb and Saturday's Fall Fling race due to illness. Sucky. Just now starting to feel better. Heard great reviews of the race and was happy to see that half-Acre was able to succeed where we were not able to last year in getting a fly-over in the race.

I saw that Tati tore up a lot of equipment and heard reports of a few tubulars rolling. Ah....truly cross season now.

MJH2

Both "events" were my fault, so don't offer too much pity. Being sore (and scabbed) two days later is punishment enough if you ask me, though.

The flyover was interesting. It caused a bit of a tire pressure dilemma for those of us on clinchers... at least until the "landing" was modified for the later races. I mostly enjoyed the course, though.

I'll be out at Dan Ryan Wood. Not racing, but I have a "rooting interest" in the Women's 4's. Should be fun.

Psimet2001 

We are helping to host Dan Ryan this year so I anticipate a good time for everyone. Got a lot of cool ideas that will be coming. Great for spectators....

Spring Water

That's awesome.

MJH2

No doubt, man. It started last week in DeKalb. She rolled out at the very back of the pack and had nearly battled into the top 20 before running out of steam (51 starters)... we need to work on using our gears a little more.

She did great, though, and had a lot of fun.

Psimet2001 

Mrs. P was scrolling through the start list and noticed her name and was impressed - as was I. Great to hear. Is she is sporting a proper rig(?)

MJH2

Sheesh, she's got a nicer ride than I will probably ever have. She got a good deal on a Jamis Nova Pro. Full Carbon Fork, carbon seat stays and 105 all around. She's still on platform pedals (and the only girl out there that was last weekend, I think), but that will change soon.

I expect you may also see it with road slicks at a crit or 10 next summer.

aham23

very cool. does she need a team. i know one. later.

MJH2

She's officially-unofficially on the BH. We don't have any girl-sized jersey's left, so she lists herself on Team Heaven but rides in a regular black jersey. There is another lady in the Women's 4's doing the same. We've got 3 ladies in CX this year. Not bad!

ColorChange

Who would be a big enough idiot to roll a tire at a cx race. No wait ... two tires. Belgian tape method here I come.

John Wilke

Ummm ... 2008 World Championship silver medalist Jonathon Page?

ColorChange

And many others, to which group I now belong.

Speedster22

Pumpkincross was good eh? Power course for sure with little bits of technical stuff thrown in. Fun watching the pros (and some others) hop the single barrier behind the pavillion. 10th on the day for me. Looks like some others on the board had good rides as well!

Anyone going to Louisville in a couple weeks? Debating on going still...

Cromulent

That was a really fun course, slightly different from last year, but still fun. The weather was awesome. Loved, loved, loved that they let us old guys race in the afternoon. Except all the hats were gone, and I really wanted a hat. Fell twice (stupid slippery grass!) and still managed a top 10 in my age group. And only one of the 16-18 juniors passed me.

Porkchopwi

How many of you pumpkin crossers were Greagrinders (if any)? All those guys looked the same in the 35+ Cat. 4 race. I saw one guy drop out only to be passed by his equally-tall-and-skinny doppleganger wondering how he made up all that time.

See ya in Madison Sat!

Nickel

Any of these Chicago area races every have a bike demo associated with them? </wishful thinking>

carlosflanders

Just want to give a shout out for the Eastern Iowa Cyclocross Experiment. A 7 race series powered by Dicecycling. It's a grassroots series averaging 80-120 riders, but the organization, quality of course design and purse size put the Chicrosscup to shame.

Races in Iowa City (N Liberty) and Quad cities this weekend.

MJH2

That's not hard. Looks like other people have started to notice.

Mr. Scrooby

How is the purse size putting the CCC to shame? The CCC payout is both bigger and deeper. ($200 vs. $180 in the elites, $275 vs. $100 between the 3's and 4's, $475 vs. $300 for the masters.)

That said, I agree that the elite payout could stand to be bigger. The winner should at least get enough to cover their entry fee, gas money and minimum wage for their time. On the other hand, the CCC sets only the minimum. Individual teams and promoters are free to set a larger purse. I believe the South Chicago Wheelmen did this at Indian Lakes last year, although I don't think it had any effect on turnout.

MJH2

To me it's all relative. I think the CCC purse is pretty woeful given the number of riders, cost of entry, and my perception of the average cost to put one of these events on. That perception is based on a VERY vague understanding of what our team has to put into an event (and I assume it's similar for others... an assumption I'm freely willing to admit may be off the mark completely). Even Wisconsin seems to have better payouts with lower average entry fees and smaller fields.

Not that it matters much to me, anyway. I'm never going to get a sniff at the money, and the cost of entry has risen to the point that I'd rather not race more than a handful (if that) of cross races, anyway.

I just think that, in the long run, our elite races will draw better competition if the payouts were more on par with what you see at crits attracting the same number of riders and drawing similar entry fees. And I think it would be pretty awesome if our series were known as the series that produces the hardest cross racers in the country more so than anything else.

Mr. Scrooby

Wisconsin does indeed have bigger payout: $450-$750 for the elites. And that's great -- but then there's nothing but merchandise for the other fields, so the total payout is about the same. And that's fine. I see the logic there. But are they drawing better competition? Doesn't look like it. Sure, there are guys like Matter and the Lalondes, but they live in Wisconsin -- they wouldn't necessarily be drawn to CCC races for a chance at an extra $50. Who exactly would a bigger payout draw? A couple of guys from Indiana? Jeremy Powers?

Agreed, the CCC races are cash cows for the teams that put them on. That's a bad thing? This motivates teams to put on races, and it lets them use them as fundraisers to support their other goals, like subsidizing riskier crits and road races. Or, it gives them the budget to do some awesome things, like build a kick-ass flyover.

And doubly agreed, the entry fees are getting steep. And yet both 4's races continue to sell out.

And again -- any team is free to increase the purse if they think it's in the best interest of their race.

MJH2

You seem to be projecting a thought on to me that I don't really possess. But, I will say if CCC races are that much of a cash cow, I would like to see more of that money returned back by way of cash payouts to the elites. To be honest, though, not all of these races are that lucrative. If your races happens to be on the day after everybody goes to Halloween parties you get a lot less riders. Or, if you are the day after another CCC race, it seems that you could use every rider available. (I think I just talked myself into racing Carpentersville)


People who REALLY want to race but race infrequently are more tolerant of higher entry fees because they see them as an "occasional" burden. This (and "finisher medals" for the guy in 443234th place) is how triathlon gets away with insane entry fees.

Anyhow, I know that the CCC Machinery and I have a difference of opinion on a few things. No big deal. Despite that, it's a great series, and I still enjoy it every time I come out (to ride or watch).