– If you missed the earlier announcement last week… xXx Racing received all of their permits for the first CCC race of the season at Jackson Park and registration is live and open on BikeReg.com. Please pre-register as it makes all our lives a lot less hectic on race day and help the officials tabulate results much more quickly!

– Other races including North Central Cyclery’s Dekalb’Hopkins Park and ABD’s Barlett/Sunrise Park races are also online. Holy cow the CCC just threw up all over BikeReg’s midwest CX calendar!

– North Branch Cycling’s Carpentersville and Bicycle Heaven’s St. Charles/Campton races should be up soon. Will anyone bring their Halloween attire to St. Charles this year?

– The South Chicago Wheelmen are moving their venue from the South Chicago Lansing venue to the North West suburbs Hilton Indian Lakes Resort. That’s right… crossing it up on a golf course! Fairways, sand pits, rough, maybe some hybrid Kentucky Bluegrass, but hopefully no gophers. While final details are still in the works, the Wheelmen promise to have lots of fun in store for us this year, including a title sponsor of Fat Tire! Registration is live and open here on BikeReg.com.

– More big news… Beverly Bike Vee-Pak (of professional CX video fame) have stepped up and will be hosting a race at the newest CCC venue on 10/11/09 in the Dan Ryan Woods. We unfortunately lost our Hawthorn Woods venue  but are very excited for BBVP to be the newest CCC promoter. Look for more details soon. Online registration will of course be on BikeReg and will be up and running soon.

– In still more venue news, Garner Northbrook & Flatlandia continue to meet with the folks up in Northbrook to try and bring the November 8th date back to that park. Promoter Chris Henning tells us however that if the race is approved to expect even bigger and better things than last year!

– CX Magazine ran a great article last week on gluing CX Tubular Tires, written by none other than New England CX Junior Phenom Nick Keogh. Of if you want to go the Belgian way, Stu Thorne of CyclocrossWorld.com offers his tips and tricks. But if you’re not up to the task yourself, we know a guy up in Evanston who glues a lot of tubies. Then again, for many of you, “thinking before you glue” might be a good idea. But if you still want a set of sew-ups, Rob Curtis from Bicycle Heaven has some killer deals on hand built tubular wheel sets… check them out at Psimet.com.

– Speaking of, we haven’t heard directly from any of you with pix of your new or refurbished CX rigs, but it seems more than a few people are getting some fancy new bikes. We can’t wait to see them all in action in just a few short weeks!

– The Illinois Institute of Technology will be hosting a Swap and  Hop on Saturday October 24th. Admission is $5 at the door. Sell your old gear, pick up some new (or “pre-owned”) stuff, and learn some cross skills. Details at SwapandHop.com.

– Still wondering how to get on and off your bike properly? Looking for a little competition to test yourself? Or just looking for some more CX fitness (read: puking on your handlebars)? Burnham Racing holds informal cross practice in Humboldt Park on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting ~5:45pm complete with barriers. Stop by if you want a nice mid-week ride.

– And finally, there’s a new team in town called Rhythm Racing and they are our newest CCC family member. Rhythm Racing, headed by Lew Chin & John Villena, will be providing neutral support at all CCC races throughout the season starting after Jackson Park (where Get A  Grip will be wrenching). Please note RR’s neutral support is free of charge before and after your race but NOT during your race. All CCC races are run under USAC CX rules which state you can NOT accept help from others during a race… so the pit is always wheels in, wheels out (or bikes in, bikes out for all you Masters and P12 racers). Rhythm Racing will help you get ready for your race, or help to assess any carnage afterwards, but they will NOT be supplying spare wheels, pedals, seat posts, stems, bars, or anything else that happens to jiggle loose during the race. Also, please do not show up on race day and except the Rhythm Racing guys to rebuild your bike. Please be friendly and thankful, and remember these guys are helping all CCC racers. Many thanks to Lew, John, and the entire Rhythm Racing team!