Time to start crossing names off your holiday shopping list: Chicago Bike Racing calendars are here! Perfect for all the coaches, wrenches, parents and significant others in your life.

New this year: A cyclocross-only calendar!

There are two ways to order: For $17.50 plus shipping, you can order either calendar online. Follow this link for road and cross or this link for cross-only.

Or, I will have a limited number of calendars for sale in person. Price: $15. Cheap! I will have them available at remaining cross races and XXX Racing-AthletiCo functions, or I can have them available from my office in River North. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to make arrangements.

Buying 10 or more? $12.50 each.

As in previous years, this is not a big money maker for me. It’s just a chance to share some of my favorite photos with some of my favorite people. Note that there are still several cross races I expect to shoot. If I get any gems, I may publish an update in December. Stay tuned.

All photos are from the 2009 season, and all your favorite races and racers are included:

Road and cross
Cover: Ryan Freund (ABD) cruises through the BK Stacker at the Evanston Grand Prix.

January: A masters races makes its way up the challenging Circuit of Sauk climb.

February: Debbie Dust (PACT/Dish Network) beats Kristen Meshberg (Team BH USA) in an exciting sprint at the Winfield Twilight Criterium.

March: Wayne Simon (Verdigris) leads the charge up the ski hill at the Fox River Grove Cycling Challenge.

April: Devon Haskell (Team BH USA) negotiates a wet corner off the front at the Glencoe Grand Prix.

May: April showers lead to May flowers: Some color at the Cat 3 Tour of Elk Grove.

June: Adam Lesniakowski (PACT/Dish Network) had a perfect endgame to win the Downers Grove Cat 2 race.

July: Ryan Freund (ABD) bridges to a move in the Chicago Criterium P/1/2 race.

August: Who will ever forget Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) and the thrilling end to the USPRO National Championship?

September: Seth Meyer (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) gives it full gas on the final climb in Willow Springs to claim the 2009 state championship.

October: Bobby Lea (Team OUCH) takes Turn 8 at the Downers Grove pro-am.

November: State champion Scott McLaughlin (SRAM) is first up the hill at the Dan Ryan Woods cyclocross race.

December: It takes a village: Heckle Hill gives every kind of encouragement to Jacob Thom (Half Acre Cycling) as he gamely rides up through the thick mud.

Cyclocross only
Cover: Jacques Cartier (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) leaps over a barrier at Jackson Park.

January: It was a cloud of dirt and fury as the 4A’s charged across a softball field at Jackson Park.

February: Pony Shop is there, so this must be near the front of the race.

March: Robin Williams (Mercy-Specialized) rolled through the women’s 1/2/3 field at Dekalb.

April: Uh-oh. Something has made Henry Loud (Team Pegasus) angry at Dekalb

—

very angry.

May: That’s Ed White (Half Acre Cycling) escaping from the 4B scrum at Dan Ryan Woods.

June: Cat 4 powerhouses Brittany Barran-Stanley (Verdigris) and Janette Rho (Bouledogue Tout Noir) march up the Dan Ryan Woods run-up.

July: Andrew Yeoman (Team Pegasus) shows good shoulder form at Dan Ryan Woods.

August: Ara Oggoian (Bicycle Heaven) leads the P/1/2/3’s over the barriers at Sunrise Park.

September: Dave Norton (The Bonebell) pops a wheelie for the adoring tifosi at Sunrise Park.

October: Ah, fall. Tim Boundy (Verdigris) gives Andy Daley (Burhnam Racing) a nice draft at Sunrise Park.

November: The crowd erupts as Jacob Thom (Half Acre Cycling) tops Heckle Hill.

December: The shot you’ve been waiting all year for: Super Girl is queen of the hill, and dozens of her loyal subjects cheer the latest muddy pratfall.

• » Chicago’s Reid Schwartz (Midwest Masters) earned a silver medal in the 500m time trial at the UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships in Australia.
• » The Illinois Cycling Association meets Saturday in Lisle. All teams should try to send a representative. Make your concerns and viewpoints heard. (Fact: Going to meetings like this is not the most fun way to spend a Saturday but can do more good than commenting anonymously on various blogs.)
• » “Before ever really loving a person, I possessed a visceral, if irrational, love for cyclocross.” Thank you, J.
• » Cross fans should be sure to vote for the T-shirt design they intend to buy.
• » Saturday is IIT’s Swap and Hop, a cyclocross clinic followed by bike swap.
• » Women of all experience levels should remember next Wednesday’s event at Half Acre Brewery.
• » Some thoughts on a safer lakefront path.
• » I’m not sure what to make of this proposed race near Madison.
• » NY Velocity talks with Lemont’s Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream). Expect him and his family to spend more time in Spain than Chicago this winter.

• » Time Out reports that the city may cut funding to the Chicago Criterium, meaning significant private sponsorship would be required for the race to continue.
• » Many of us have had the honor of being beaten by young Adam Leibovitz (NUVO Cultural Trail). Bicycling profiles him and how cycling helps his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

 

USA Cycling today released the 2010 National Racing Calendar, including spots for the Chicago Criterium and the Tour of Elk Grove, July 25 and July 30-Aug. 1, respectively.

For those of us who assumed the Chicago Criterium would go the way of our Olympic bid, this is promising news.

Neither event, however, is included on the women’s NRC.

Also nearby will be the Marion Classic in Marion, Ind., and the Meijer Grand Cycling Classic in Grand Rapids, Mich., both of which move from August to early July.

• » Recently I was driving west to the races in Dekalb when I saw a familiar white school bus up the road. As I made the pass, I rolled down the window and pumped my fist in the universal sign for “Hey, mister, blow your horn!” A satisfying belch erupted from the right lane, and I was a happy boy. Two weeks later, the Cuttin’ Cruiser is in a spot of trouble. If the Cruiser or its passengers have ever put a smile on your face, consider throwing in a buck or two.
• » Half Acre Cycling invites all women who race — or who would like to — to an evening of beer and chocolate on Nov. 4.
• » Some big cyclocross prize money is lining up for mid-November. The South Chicago Wheelmen have put together a $5,000 purse for their Nov. 14 race at Hilton Indian Lakes Resort. Meanwhile, our friends in Minnesota are hoping Chicago riders make the trip to their state championship weekend, Nov. 14-15, where $4,000 cash and $7,000 in merchandise is up for grabs.
• » It’s time to start thinking about winter training. The Bike Shop in Glen Ellyn has classes starting Nov. 1, taught by Dave Reed (Elmhurst Masters). And ABD starts its winter boot camps Nov. 2.
• » Cyclists should not throw punches. Seriously. With the upper-body strength of 9-year-old girls, why bother? Everyone know that the flying kick is proper form.

• » Note the new times for the Chicago Cyclocross Cup.
• » IIT is hosting a cross clinic on Oct. 31, with a bike swap to go with it.
• » Also on Haloween, West Lafeyette, Ind., is home to Spooky Cross, with prizes for best costumes. The Halloween Classic Cyclocross in Milwaukee is also a good destination, although I’m not sure the flaming barriers will be allowed to return. Alas.
• » ICA president Steve Hansen (North Branch) summarizes the current state of results reporting.
• » Jonathan Fraley (WDT-Allvoi) and Josh Ryan (Bouledogue Tout Noir) each pulled in several top 10’s at this weekend’s elite track national championships, then partnered to get 5th in the team sprint. Dave Moyer (XXX Racing-AthletiCo) made the points final and finished 13th. Other locals who made the trip include Val Brostrom (Bouledogue Tout Noir), Chris Mosora (Verizon Wireless), Franco Panveno (Alberto’s) and Al Urbanski (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew).
• » Christina Peck (Chicago Cuttin’ Crew) finished 3rd at the Cycle Messenger World Championships in Tokyo.

And so ends another road season.

I don't know where ABD's Ryan Freund and John Meyers went Saturday night to celebrate their boffo time trials, but they may want to avoid it in the future: Both called in sick with food poisoning Sunday, forfeiting their shot at the 1/2 overall and missing out on a fun, wind-blown circuit race in West Chicago. To kick of the 1/2/3's race, Northwestern's Will Nowak (Alderfer-Bergen) set off by himself in what seemed like a fool's errand. Solo breakaway in gale winds? Crazy! Several bridge attempts failed until once-and-future pro Chad Hartley (Geargrinder) bridged by himself. That sparked a few rounds of attacks and counterattacks until finally a group of six made it across. In the final two laps, Nowak, Hartley and Nathan Moorhouse (WDT-Allvoi) split off, with Hartley taking the sprint victory. Moorhouse earned enough points to move into 2nd overall ahead of teammate David Polin, but it was a sweep of the mass-start races for champ Hartley. In fact, we have to go back to mid-August to find an Illinois 1/2 race not won by Geargrinder. Ricardo Otero (WDT-Allvoi) had himself a profitable afternoon. After winning out of a seven-man break in the 40+, he immediately jumped into the 1/2/3's and again got himself in the break, taking a second win as the only rider in the break registered as a 3. Riding in the first chase group, juniors Scott Rosenfield (IS Corp) and James Bird (IS Corp) had a lock on the 3's overall, finishing 1-2 thanks to solid time trial efforts. Bird, it should be noted, placed 3rd among 3's in the time trial despite racing in sneakers and clips, having forgotten his cycling shoes, and missing his start time by 20 seconds. Meanwhile, Joel Friedman (Bicycle Heaven) flagrantly violated ABR Rule K against false-flagging by racing the time trial in a skinsuit for a club other than his own. Protests to have him relegated were denied. (That last bit is a joke.) I regret missing it, but Sunday's 4's race may have been the most interesting on the day with Tim Speciale (Bicycle Heaven) and John Whipple (Unattached) entering the day tied in the overall. Things couldn't have been any closer as Speciale and Whipple went a close 1-2 in the bunch sprint, thus finishing 1-2 overall. (Also included in the action was what may have been cycling's first cake prime, above, a nice nod to last week's contentious wrap-up. The prestigious prize was won by Mario Starr (Team Mack).) Tom Doughty (Amgen/Giant Masters) won the combined 50+/55+ circuit race to secure a series sweep in the 55+. John Fleckenstein (Team Mack) finished 3rd of the 50+ to fend off Fabio Orlandi (PYOC) and Mike Jones (PACT/Dish Network) in that overall. Gary Doering (Team Mack) finished 1st, with Bisi Tubic (Unattached) in 2nd, an impressive result for our favorite Phonak fan. Joe Berenyi (Endure It!) finished solidly both days to wrap-up the citizens overall after sweeping last weekend's races. I missed the citizens races, so until it was mentioned to me Saturday I was unaware that Berenyi has only one arm -- and does not ride with a prosthetic. In the women's races, Debbie Dust (PACT/Dish Network) and Stacy Applewick (Endure It!) each earned 39 out of a possible 40 points to win the women's open and women's 4's, respectively. Full circuit race results. Full omnium results.

Race reports Rob Curtis (Bicycle Heaven; 4): "All were in agreement it was the most fun crit we have ever raced."

Debbie Dust (PACT/Dish Network; W-open): "Because bike racing is far from being 'a perfect world,' things didn't quite turn out the way we would have liked."

Scott Rosenfield (IS Corp; 3): "The Fall Fling is maybe a brownie that was left over from last weekend's party and is now a bit stale and hard with some random powdered sugar sprinkled on top."

Mark Swartzendruber (Verizon Wireless; 40+): "The break included two of my longtime heroes, Tom Doughty and Fabio Orlandi. The break was a blast."