CRANDIC RACING
  • Calendar
  • TT Series
    • Results & photos
    • Series Standings
  • Night at the Oval
    • Results & Photos
  • Fartlek
  • 'Cross Words
  • Who we are
  • Contacts
    • Good Folks to Know
    • Keep in touch
  • Calendar
  • TT Series
    • Results & photos
    • Series Standings
  • Night at the Oval
    • Results & Photos
  • Fartlek
  • 'Cross Words
  • Who we are
  • Contacts
    • Good Folks to Know
    • Keep in touch
Search



'cross
words

Be   Very   Afraid -- From   Spooky   to   Nationals

10/22/2021

0 Comments

 
"It wouldn't be a true Spooky Cross if there weren't new additions, right?" teased Race Director Justin Guiter, of Zealous Racing. "I wish I could tell you we had added a monstrous sand pit, some steps for a run up, or a stone wall to navigate over, but all those things you'll have to find at other venues, at least for this year.
"I actually tried to go in a different direction this year and make the course . . . easier.
That being said, easy is
​a relative term." 
​
Picture
Picture
"Our courses can benefit both the mountain biker and the roadie, and with this venue it maybe leans a little more toward the mountain biker's side of the spectrum due to the geography.  With a couple tweaks here and there, we've come up with a course that flows well and settles a little more in the middle of the two disciplines. A couple final adjustments will depend on if we have full access or even partial access to the road like we did a few years ago."
Picture
Picture
Picture

Picture
Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)
Unfortunately Spooky will only be one day this year, Saturday October 30. "When I first contacted the city about Spooky, things were still a bit uncertain as far as where we'd be at with Covid, restrictions, and safety measures," explained Guiter. "In the end we just opted for the one day event. As always, the City of Altoona has been amazing to work with and has continued to support our racing community. This has been an odd year of racing and I'm thankful we're back to hopping barriers again."
Picture

Dress   for   Success

Of course, the highlight of every Spooky Cross is the two lap Costume Race. Guiter promises a photo of this year's trophy on Facebook this week, just so you know what's at stake. To make it your own you have to win over the judges based on:
1.) Your finish in the race
2.) Your costume
3.) Theatrics (your character)
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Angy Snoop (angysnoop.smugmug.com)
The Costume Race is free and everyone is encouraged to participate. For the rest of the Spooky Cross race schedule, register at BikeReg.com today.
​Note on parking: Parking will be very limited this year. Please do not park in the Altoona Campus parking lot to the east of the buildings.  On the map yellow is good, red is bad, and the green is a trail to get over to the course. 
Picture
Lion's Park to the north also has parking and you can ride the bike trail less than two minutes to the course. More details will be emailed to registered riders, so register now.

Six   Weeks   to   Nationals​

Losing most of the 2020 season to the pandemic has made us feel lucky to race cyclocross at all, but we've lost some race opportunities. With six weeks until Nationals -- in Chicago, no less -- Iowa has only four racing days on offer after Spooky. Anyone wanting to race their best at Nationals, or score some points before then, will need to broaden the scope of their race calendar.
Picture
Montrose Harbor, courtesy of SnowyMountainPhotography.com
As detailed on the CRANDIC Calendar, the Sunday after Spooky is Campton Cross just west of Chicago. The first weekend in November will feature two races in the Iowa City area, City Park CX Saturday November 6 and Creekside Cross Sunday November 7. If you'd rather travel for a big race with better points, Groundhog PSI-clocross that Sunday is a great choice, or maybe the two day Fulton Star CX in Minneapolis.
Picture
Picture
SnowyMountainPhotography.com
Again near Minneapolis is Croix Cross November 13 & 14, and the Minnesota State Championship November 20 & 21. Closer to home Saturday November 20 is Valley Cross in West Des Moines or even the Wisconsin State Championship at the Trek headquarters in Waterloo. Sunday is Wheeling CX in Chicago.
Over Thanksgiving weekend South Dakota's State Championship is Friday in Sioux Falls. After that it's just the Iowa State Championship in Altoona Saturday December 4 with the US National Championships starting just a couple days later in DuPage County Illinois (speaking of which, discounted "early bird" fee ends November 2 -- sign up now.).
Picture
Montrose Harbor, courtesy of SnowyMountainPhotography.com
Still "TBD" -- but sure to be sweet if it happens -- is Montrose Harbor in Chicago Sunday December 5, just before Nationals. Typically the last race of the Chicago Cross Cup, the Illinois State Championship, and recently a very worthy Midwest Regional Championship, sandy Montrose Harbor is about as challenging and fun as a race can be. If you're lucky enough to attend the whole National Championship, start your visit a couple days early on the shores of Lake Michigan. You won't be sorry you did.
0 Comments

'Cross   is   Here

8/21/2019

0 Comments

 
'Cross practices have begun. Two early season favorites, Cannonball Cross and Dirty Wooden Shoe, are only a week or two away. (C


heck CRANDIC Calendar for more.) The 2019 cyclocross season is truly here, and there's a lot to look forward to.
Cannonball Cross and Dirty Wooden Shoe mark the start of cyclocross season.

Sign   Up   How

So what's new this year? For starters, signing up. If your eyes gloss over at USACycling announcements you might have missed their new partnership with East Coast based BikeReg.com. Instead of splitting the honors, BikeReg.com will now handle all online registrations for USAC-sanctioned events. It works similarly to what you've done through USACycling in the past, but it will be nice to have all races in one spot. 
This also makes us wonder if USAC's national ranking system will give way to BikeReg's own crossresults.com. Reportedly, though, for now the two systems will continue separately.
As for actual races, so far the news is a bit of a mixed bag. There is no Intergalactic Cyclocross Championship on the calendar for 2019 ("Too many great races this year filling the calendar already!"). But a great venue with that kind of history is bound to return at some point.
In Iowa City, there's no final word yet on a practice race at Coralville Creekside Cross, but a weekday evening event, City Park Community CX, was just announced for Wednesday, September 4. 

FayetteCross

​With two World Cup races nearly in our backyards and a full season of great Iowa cyclocross races, why are we so excited about the FayetteCross UCI race in October down in Arkansas? Worlds 2022.
Picture
​When the UCI announced Fayetteville as the site for Cyclocross Worlds, some people were left scratching their heads. Mountain bike fans, though, already knew BikeNWA as the folks who made Northwest Arkansas a mtb mecca. They and the UCI both knew that with enthusiastic backing from the Walton Family Foundation (Walmart), BikeNWA is more than capable of remaking Fayetteville into a cyclocross destination.
​As 
VeloNews reported back in February, "For the next three years, cycling advocates and organizers in Northwest Arkansas will work to create a grassroots cyclocross scene to support the world’s biggest cyclocross event." Our first chance to race what will become Worlds 2022 is FayetteCross, October 5 & 6, 2019! (500+ miles from Eastern Iowa, about 8 hours of driving.) More soon!

MidWest   REgional   Championship

Last year, after missing the Chicago Cross Cup's season finale at sandy Montrose Harbor, we were disappointed to hear that it would no longer serve as the Illinois State Championship. What we didn't know at the time was that instead, for 2019 Montrose Harbor will be the MidWest Regional Championship. Considering that Nationals is nearly 2000 miles away on the West Coast this year, and that Iowa's State Championship is slated for November, Montrose Harbor will be the place to be Sunday, December 8. (Montrose Harbor, Chicago is 240 miles away, around 4 hours drive.)
photos courtesy of SnowyMountain Photography

Nationals   2020

Even further up the road, but no less exciting, Cyclocross Nationals 2020 will be in Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois. It's a new venue and we don't know much yet, but not since Madison have Nationals been so close to home. If you weren't worrying about your points before you may want to start -- the next two years are one long build up to Cantigny Park! (Wheaton, IL is 200 miles or so, around 3 hours.)
0 Comments
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Races   &
    ​Topics

    All
    Bobbers Cross
    Cannonball Cross
    Capital City Cross
    Cornerstone Cross
    Creekside Cross
    Dirty Wooden Shoe
    FayetteCross
    Frosty Cross
    Groundhog/PSI CCC
    Illinois State Championship
    Jingle Cross
    MIDSTATE Ctoss
    Midwest Champs
    Montrose Harbor
    Nationals 2020
    Spooky Cross
    State Champs
    The Grand
    Trek CXC
    Twisted Cross
    Valley Cross

    Archives

    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    Authors

    Tara Coady
    John Stonebarger

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Calendar
  • TT Series
    • Results & photos
    • Series Standings
  • Night at the Oval
    • Results & Photos
  • Fartlek
  • 'Cross Words
  • Who we are
  • Contacts
    • Good Folks to Know
    • Keep in touch