• » Bikereg had a hardware meltdown over the weekend and is still working on recovering data. Users have been asked to help by sending in their race confirmations, but several people have told me that the message ended up in their spam folders, so check there if you never received anything.
• » Burnham Racing temporarily took down registration to the Spring Super Crit until Bikereg sorts things out. In the meantime, check out the Super Crit technical guide. Beginning racers should note that Burnham Racing, the Active Transportation Alliance and the Illinois Cycling Association are teaming to provide a safety clinic at 7:30 a.m. Randy Warren (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) will be the instructor. If this is your first race, this clinic is highly recommended.
• » Update: As of Thursday morning, Burnham Racing brought its registration back online, but now Hillsboro-Roubaix is down. I do not think, however, that there is any cause for alarm.
• » The flier is out for May 16’s Monsters of the Midway, the year’s first race within city limits.
• » New women’s elite squad Team BH USA now has a blog.
• » Chicago artist Steve Dennis is auctioning this amazing painting of Christian VandeVelde (Garmin-Slipstream), signed by the subject, at this weekend’s North American Handbuilt Bike Show in Indianapolis.
• » The list of items stolen from the home of Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Slipstream) is as amazing as it is heart-breaking. Bikes! Space legs! $11,000 worth of Marvel statues! We’re going to have to buy a lot of DZ Nutz to get him back on his feet.

Breakaway Event Productions on Monday announced that the Elgin Cycling Classic will be a part of Superweek in 2009 on Sunday, July 12.

Breakaway’s Michael Garrison says the 5.5-mile course, including hills along the Fox River, is identical to the Four Bridges of Elgin course that was a UCI event before it was discontinued in 2003. (Here’s Cyclingnews coverage of the 2003 edition.) Four Bridges was always a showcase for espoir talent, and Superweek will continue that legacy with special prizes for the top U23 riders in the P/1/2 field.

Garrison also says a full Superweek schedule is imminent, and he reports that he is working out traffic issues for a possible return to the Milwaukee lakefront, where construction has precluded racing since 2005.

• » Trackies, keep an eye on WDT-Allvoi’s Web site for updates on the inaugural: Four Three Saturdays of track events with $7,000 in prize money. Men and women will compete in 3km and 1km time trials and a mass-start event to earn points toward the overall, with $700 going to the top man and $500 to the top woman.  The first event will be June 20 May 30. Update: Here is an updated flier with new dates and prizes, and check out the championship skinsuits given to the winners.
• » Yojimbo’s Track Cats, recent recipient of USA Cycling’s Center of Excellence award, is looking for Chicago juniors to take part in the 2009 season. Scholarship deadline is the end of March.
• » Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA) finished 33rd in Sunday’s rainy and treacherous Tour of California criterium. Teammate Devon Haskell was looking good but flatted with five to go.
• » The New York Times takes a look at gender disparities in pro cycling.
• » Congratulations to The Chainlink for recently hitting its 1,000th member.

For all the time we devote to our sport — training, traveling and racing — it’s hard to imagine that any of us invests more than Dave Fowkes. As the Illinois Cycling Association’s technical director, he’s responsible for processing hundreds of upgrade requests and dozens of race permits each year. In addition, Fowkes, the head athletic trainer at Highland Park High School, is a prolific official, working regional and national events in all disciplines. He is also responsible for training new Illinois officials (the next clinic is April 21), and last May he was one of 12 officials to pass USA Cycling’s national commissaire class, the highest certification level available in the U.S.

He may not always rule your way, but there’s no denying that racing in Illinois would be diminished without him. I recently hit him up to learn more about the man who touches so many of our palmarès.

What kind of riding do you do yourself?
I mostly do road rides.  I really don’t know if riding the trainer counts.  Winters can be rough in Chicagoland.  When on the road it is a set time frame in which to get a ride in then it is off to other stuff, mostly cycling related.

How did you get into the officiating racket, and when?
I had been riding for a few years when I decided to go back to school for an advanced degree and with that my training went out the window.  I wanted to continue to be involved with cycling so the next best thing was to become an official.  I became an entry level official in ’95-’96 and my first event was at the track, which was cancelled due to rain.

How many races do you work in a typical year?
35-40.  This includes local, NRC and national events.

Aside from the races, how many hours do you spend processing permits, upgrades and the like?
Some days are better than others.  The process takes quite a bit of time particularly if necessary information is not included in the original paper work or request.  If you ask my wife she would say I spend far too much time and that it consumes me.

What was different about the racing around Chicago when you started?
It seemed simpler.  I showed up and raced my bike and then I went home.  Now I am part of an association responsible for coordinating events and the behind the scenes things that go on to put on an event.

Do you ever get a chance to step back from your duties and enjoy the unfolding races?
Part of my duties as an official is to see the big picture of the race.  Seeing it unfold and anticipating what could happen next is important.  There have been many thrilling finishes, from juniors battling out the sprint to a P/1/2 all-out drag race.

I expect by now you’ve seen it all, from grown men getting petulant over their Cat 5 results to goofballs trying to sneak their tandem into a cross race.  What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve seen at a race?
Each event brings new thrills and challenges.  Riders always seem to keep me on my toes.

What’s something you wish new racers would know before they started?
Basic race terminology: What does the bell indicate, what is a prime, what is a free lap, etc.  Most of all how to properly pin on their race number.

What can we do to make official’s jobs easier?
Become an official.  If not possible, then to understand the role of an official and which official does what at a race.

Rare is the race around here that doesn’t end with complaints about the “sandbagger” who won.  Do these ever reach your ears, and what actions, if any do you take as a result?
Yes, these rider concerns do get to me but not as often as they probably should.  I look at a riders results and if warranted I can and will impose an automatic upgrade.

A lot of riders ask me about American Bike Racing races and whether they will count toward upgrades, but even I ‘m confused.  How much consideration, if any, do you give to ABR when considering upgrades?
Some new verbiage in the rulebook states only races permitted by USA Cycling or foreign races permitted by a UCI-affiliated National Federation will count for upgrade.  Years ago there was a reciprocity agreement between USA Cycling and ABR but that agreement has not been in effect for a few years.  So in short, no, ABR races are not considered for an upgrade on a USA Cycling license.

What are the chances we’ll see you officiating Chicago 2016?
Wouldn’t that be something.

Hillsboro-Roubaix was as blockbuster as expected Saturday, although the debut of Bikereg was not without glitches. The Cat 5’s appeared to reach capacity within minutes, but slots were later freed after duplicate entries were weeded out. It reached capacity again — for real this time — at 10:20 a.m. (Congratulations to Joel   Friedman (Bicycle Heaven) for being the last to slip in.)

As of this writing, the Cat 4’s appear headed to capacity, too, with fewer than 20 of the 100 spots available. Note that wait lists are now available in the event your field is sold out.

Meanwhile, the prestigious Nature Valley Grand Prix has selected Hillsboro-Roubaix as one of six Nature Valley Pro Ride races. This means that the top two men and women amateurs will gain coveted entry and other resources to the five-day stage race in Minnesota. (Here are the 2008 rules and benefits.) This is a major accomplishment for Hillsboro-Roubaix, and a tremendous opportunity for some of the top riders.

And this may be the best news of all: Among the confirmed riders in the Cat 4’s is longtime race director Rich Pierece (ICCC), who after years of nurturing this race has passed the reins and will finally get a chance to race it himself. Congratulations, Rich, and good luck.

Some of the hottest tickets of the year go on sale at 8 a.m. Saturday when pre-registration opens for Hillsboro-Roubaix, our popular spring classic and one of the best road races the Midwest has to offer.

With only 50 slots available to them, Cat 5’s will need to be on the ball. Skip the group ride and stay home to register. Cat 4’s shouldn’t dawdle, either. My current prediction is that the 5’s will reach capacity by noon, the 4’s by Sunday evening.

Pre-registration also kicks off for the March 28 Spring Super Criterium in South Beloit. In its second year, this is an excellent early-season tune-up on a course that’s very forgiving to beginners. The schedule is such that nearly everyone will have at least two opportunities to race. I strongly encourage taking full advantage.

It behooves us to get in the pre-registration habit. As we discussed earlier, most races in the Illinois Cup will be using BikeReg. The pre-reg costs are now absorbed by higher entry fees, and by doing so you avoid the $5 late fee for registering same-day. Super Crit race director Jason Knauff (Burnham Racing) reminds riders to confirm that their information at BikeReg is current, as this data will be used throughout the season. Knauff also says he’s looking for volunteers in exchange for discounted entry fees. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.

• » Mark your calendars: Tuesday night racing in Matteson returns April 7.
• » Be sure to root for Chicago’s Kristen Meshberg  and Devon Haskell (Team BH USA) at Sunday’s Tour of California Women’s Criterium. Absent from the field, however, will be St. Louis’ Team Revolution, which is skipping the event to protest gender inequities and the abbreviated women’s racing.
• » Barrington Hills recently passed ordinances requiring cyclists to ride single-file and prohibiting riding “negligently,” which presumably means coasting through stop signs, exceeding speed limits and encroaching on crosswalks — familiarly known as “behaving like a car.”  (It could be worse: According to these minutes, the village has investigated “requiring bikers to come into the police station to pay a fee, sign a waiver and review rules and regulations.”)
• » Sunday’s New York Times had a great profile of Svein Tuft (Garmin-Slipstream).
• » Turin is having weekly “Spring Bling” raffles through March.

Breakaway Event Productions today announced that Superweek will return to Milwaukee’s Schlitz Park on Saturday, July 18.

Lower categories will race the same course as the P/1/2’s, a first for Schlitz Park.

The course, which has been off the schedule for two years because of construction, features a steep climb and fast, technical descent. Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) was the last winner, lapping the field in 2006 when it was on the National Racing Calendar.

• » The Chicago Tribune takes a look at our favorite cycling cause, World Bike Relief.
• » A Spring Lake woman was sentenced to four years for the hit-and-run that killed a cyclist near Kenosha, Wis., last year.
• » The Illinois Cycling Association has finalized its Illinois Cup schedule, including a poster for your cubicle.
• » The ICA’s next officials clinic is Saturday, March 21.
• » The Midwest Cycling Series has updated its schedule, adding races in Waterloo, Wis., and Waukesha, Wis., although there’s no indication whether these are criteriums or road races. Two dates remain to be announced. Prize tables are also available. Note that race winners will receive daily jerseys.
• » Hulu has the Cyclism.