photo: Gavin Gould
You know…these guys from NCC and HAC have harnessed the wind and moved mountains to bring you a great little gravel race.
photo: Gavin Gould
Watch the interview of Seth and Tobie, then the first two videos, and you will understand why Tobie is a little kooky about this event. These guys get it! If you actually want to participate, well that’s certainly encouraged as well – at your own risk!
Get Some!
We’ve all got one less excuse with the return of Spring. Fall is race season. Winter is off season. Spring is you-better-be-on-your-bike-by-now season.
It’s the little things that make all the difference. For most of us the ‘off season’ has come to a close, which leads us into the longer miles, group rides with friends, and some quality saddle time. Mountain bike season (and we should mention road, gravel adventures, and even those weird multi-sport events) is right around the corner and its time to get ready. If you haven’t been introduced to the wonders of chamois cream its due time. Use won’t make your ride epic, but forget it and it may, nobody likes a saddle sore not even the triathletes.
Chicago.CX was grateful to receive support from Enzo in its first season. We had already become fans of his products and his support meant a lot to us. Chamois cream seems simple enough and you might assume they’re all the same, but I can assure you they aren’t. Enzo’s is a great value and with the season of long miles ahead you deserve to buy yourself a tub of the good stuff, your buttonhole will thank you. For all the frequent travelers , I also recommend a 1 oz tub or some of the trial packets, great to have when you’re taking a trip with your bike or even hitting a spin class while on a short business trip, as you can take it in your carry-on.
PSIMET has become an established source for smart, handbuilt, high performance wheels. Rooted in Rob Curtis’ process driven approach and attention to detail, PSIMET’s products have proven themselves under countless road and cyclocross racers.
Chicago.CX’s Al Thom abused a set of PSIMET medium depth carbon tubulars with great success. He had trouble free performance through some of the consistently nasty conditions we’ve had in years. From Montrose Harbor to Masters Worlds in Louiseville there was more sand, mud, ice, snow and powerwashing than anyone with a sense of humor and love for cyclocross would have asked for. If your wheels roll smooth and straight after that, you have a great product.
In 2011 PSIMET provided immeasurable support for the crew at Chicago.CX, and we are incredibly grateful. And while our goal here is to help strengthen the Midwestern cyclocross scene, PSIMET took our same goal and raised it one Rob Curtis. If you’ve raced a cross bike within 500 miles of Chicago you’ve been supported (read heckled) by Rob. But more importantly, under Rob’s direction, PSIMET stepped up in 2011 and supported hundreds of racers like you and me through team and event sponsorship. We all owe PSIMET a huge, rowdy, thank you for supporting the sport we love.
Check out PSIMET’s products on their website: www.psimet.com
Photo: Bram Paulussen
Bram Paulussen made this beautiful picture of Cyclocross World Champion Zdenek Stybar catching truck loads of air in Loenhout. Let this be a reminder to be the best you can’t just be fast, you have to be badass. You also have to get up earlier, train harder and put that sandwich down.
The gang at The Bonebell organized a Worlds viewing party at the Next Door Cafe this Sunday. Doors open at 07:00, the men’s race starts at 08:00.
To thank two of our Chicago.CX supporters for a season of help I’m going to point all of you towards a killer deal. Visit Little Independent to get $60 off a deluxe tune-up from Roscoe Village Bikes. Alex and his expert service center staff will work magic on your bike – wheels, drive train, shifting, breaks – the works. Act fast and get all the details here.
Also, please take the time to read this article from the New York Time’s. Little Independent’s Lesley Tweedie is interviewed as part of a story about supporting independent businesses online. It doesn’t matter if you’re IBM or Hot Doug’s, being a part of a featured article in the New York Time’s is incredible.
Happy New Year from Chicago.CX. Picking up where we left of on Tuesday last week, we continue our interview with Lyne Lamoureux of Podium Insight:
Chicago.CX: What, in your opinion, is the best CX event for spectating, and what can we all learn from that to improve our own courses?
Lyne Lamoureux: I would have to say Nationals in Bend, as you could see and hear most of it, from one spot. You have easy access to food, beverage, toilets. Its noisy and raucous – yet family friendly. I think course designers need to also think of the crowd movement, not just what the best course is for the racers but for the fans. How will they move from the start to a spot on course to see the race to the food, the beverages, facilities and finally to the finish line. How do you want them to cross the course? If you don’t make it somewhat easy to navigate, they will jump the tape or just grumble. And having the drum line at Bend last year was great, it brought the energy up to another level. It’s about flow.
(CX footnote – I think CCCNYR had a lot of above covered – great event!)
CX: Is there one particular interview that stands out, or most memorable?
LL: Wow – that’s another tough one – again, it would have to be the “firsts”. I have fond memories of my first real sit-down interview with with Ivan Dominguez at Redlands – I was so nervous. Then there was Sven Nys – the set up, the tap on the window to invite me into his bus and then our chat. I love doing interviews where I get to know a bit more about the person, I’m all about trying to figure out what makes people tick. One series that I love doing was with Jeremy Powers on his preparation to go to Worlds two years ago, especially the Christmas Eve episode from Belgium. The thing is I interview people that truly interest me, or it’s about a situation that I’m curious about and want to know more.
CX: What challenges do you face with your own business model – I mean, how do you generate revenue?
LL: I generate revenue from multiple sources, including photography and moving forwards, from advertising, As we saw with CNN laying off may of their photographers, the one part of the business that is extremely challenging right now in the digital age is photography. You actually have some teams, federations and sponsors beginning to receive, or expect to receive photography for free. Also, look at social media. One of my founding tenets is that I provide, as much as possible, immediate information about a race via twitter – my rule is simple, if I’m at an event, I will provide information, Yet, there are media outlets that will simply follow someones real-time tweets, then reports the results of an event, getting the clicks before the folks on site, and those clicks are important for sponsors. Like many, monetizing twitter and social media is a question that I’m wrestling with.
CX: What do you think of the explosive growth that cx has seen in the past 3 years?
LL: It has grown in the past three years and I think it’s great, but this year it has seemed to plateau for me as far as attendance, or even maybe decrease. I assume it is because of the economy, folks will just not travel to the bigger events and maybe stay local to race and spectate. I’m hoping that it’s only a temporary glitch but it does highlight the need to focus on ways to bring the events to the people, or the people to the events.
CX: What do you think of the extended US season? Pros/cons?
LL: I think its great for the Elite riders but I’m not sure for the non-elite racers, we’ll have to see what happens this year and the next. Obviously, the weather in Madison, WI. will be a factor for Nationals, as will the timing of Masters Worlds in Louisville. Will people travel to both with this economy and concerns about the cold in Madison? Obviously that much travel around the Holidays will force some people to make choices.
CX: What photo is your most prized photo of all – and why?
LL: I can’t pinpoint a photo right now – maybe because I’m still in the middle of it. I typically have about 10 to 20 favorites each year. I like my photos to tell a story and when that does happen, well it feels like a gift to me and I cherish it
CX: Lyne – Thank you for your time with us, we truly appreciate it, but one last question – What is your favorite My Wife Inc. cupcake?
LL: That one’s easy – Chocolate Cookie Dough!
I hope you have already seen this wicked New Years Resolution video by Kyle Bainter. Enjoy it if you haven’t, enjoy it again if you have.
This past weekend took a LOT of courage, determination and resolve – not just Ryan Trebon and the rest of competitors dealing with the harsh conditions, but the resolve of Jason Knauff and the CCCNYR team, Officials, Volunteers and Sponsors – they really pulled it off!
Personally, my resolution for 2012 was to race harder than I did in 2011. Although the results from day one to day two of CCCNYR do not reflect it – I did race harder today – but its also nice to know the year isn’t finished yet!
Flash bulbs, funny tan lines, libations and a hot tub… What could go wrong? Everything, but that’s why it’s fun. This weekend’s New Years Resolution race will carry the torch of a homeless, unattached, club – The Hot Tub Club.
Started unintentionally by the acclaimed Tyler Evans, of IF and Firefly fame, when he poured a bottle of shampoo into a hot tub at NAHBS in Jan Jose. The Hot Tub Club hit it’s zeinith in 2009 at NAHBS when Jordan Hufnagel had a burning desire to get hot and wet and in a tub. We found the pool room, being cleaned by the maintenance staff, and were told “sorry it’s closed.”
However, a moment later, Jordan, Chicago’s own Ben Popper and a dude with a rockin’ stash produced 60 bones and the maintenance guy took off after showing us where to find the towels.
So don’t let me down Chicago, you too Mr. Powers and Mr. Larry Bicks, I expect to hear wild stories about the Hot Tub Club’s latest meeting at Indian Lakes.
