Category: Big Marsh

CCC Tuesday Updates – 20240521

May 21, 2024

2024 marks 15 YEARS of Afterglow! 

From our friends at the “other” CCC… the Chicago Cuttin’ Crew and Friends of Big Marsh have come together to bring you a few warmup laps before the races begin.

Afterglow has always been about lifting each other up and empowering our community to THRIVE. It started as just a cyclocross race and has evolved into a bike-run-dance-party. We’re offering events for the whole family!

We’ve partnered with the Chicago Park District to bring the ‘Glow to Big Marsh Park for the second year in a row. Our best people are on the job of taking over the bike park, the Big Hill, and bits of flowing singletrack. Details on the courses… aww it’ll be awesome, just show up!

Registration is free on Bikereg, however, we highly recommend kicking over a donation to FBM’s MightyCause so we can keep Chicago’s only dedicated bike park accessible to everyone. Donate enough, and you’ll get a shirt and/or poster 😎

Donations will also go towards supporting our young friends from Boxing Out Negativity and Lost Boyz who will be rolling deep at Afterglow.

We cannot wait to celebrate bikes with you! 

Categories: Big Marsh, Charity, News, Racing, Updates

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CCC Tuesday Updates – 20230523

May 23, 2023
  • Quick reminder we’re having our Town Hall tonight at the Specialized Fulton Market at 6:30pm. Please RSVP here: https://forms.office.com/r/z06wut8s65
  • Afterglow is BACK this Saturday 5/27/2023!!!
  • From the crew… we’re ready to show off the Big Marsh Park, Chicago Park District’s only park dedicated to cycling! Continuing our mission of creating bike access for youth cycling programs, get ready to run, jump, ride, and dance amidst the beautiful wilderness that is Lake Calumet. We’ll have live DJ’s, an inflatable MTB lander, and a hot dog stand! Proceeds benefit Friends of Big Marsh so they can continue to offer inclusive and joyful outdoors activities.
  • Afterglow will offer a whole new set of events! In addition to our typical cyclocross race, we’re pumped to incorporate running, walking, a group exploration guided tour, bmx demos, and a dance class into the day. Explanation of each is available on the second page of the Afterglow 2023 Schedule Flyer. Choose your race/ride based on your ability/vibes!
  • Additionally, Afterglow participation will be FREE for all young people, and we are providing full race day support for youth from Working Bikes, West Town Bikes, Bikes N Roses, Boxing Out Negativity, and other youth orgs. Are you a young person or are you in a community with young folks who are interested in participating? Get in touch so we can lift ‘em up!
  • We are also offering a discounted subscription to ALL of Big Marsh’s summer racing for the price of $100 ($150 if you want all the merch!). This includes ALL of the Afterglow events AND SRAM’s Mountain Bike Series, for a total of 7 days of racing.
  • As always, equal payouts of $0.00. And while it is the most affordable race on the calendar, know that any extra donations may give you an advantage!
  • To register, FIRST complete the Bike Event Registration Link and/or Run/Walk Event Registration Link, THEN pay/donate at MightyCause OR @bigmarshchicago on Venmo OR day-of cash OR check made out to Friends of Big Marsh. We will have a donation box on-site to collect your gently used gear, clothing, and cash money.
  • Day-of registration and number pick up opens at 8:00am outside of the Ford Calumet Environmental Center. Bib numbers will go on your bike (like a mountain bike race), course runs counterclockwise, and we encourage you to carpool. Tailwind Cycles will be providing neutral support. The course is open NOW (see below), so if you’re up for discovering the most correct line, feel free to come out!
  • Water refills, restrooms, and vending machines will be available at the Ford Calumet Environmental Center. Food for purchase will be available from the newly opened Nature Trail Cafe.
  • Can’t race? Feel free to fiscally compete at MightyCause! Half Acre Cycling is currently leading the board with their $2,520 donation!
  • Thank you for continuing to support the young people of our city — their programs not only provide transportation to the races and food and snacks, but also a sense of home and accomplishment for the beloved young people of our community. 
  • See you Sunday!
  • **Sorry, pet owners, but Big Marsh’s status as a home for migratory birds means only Service Animals are permitted in the park
  • The Course:

Categories: Big Marsh, Charity, News, Racing, Updates

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CCC Tuesday Updates – 20180109

January 9, 2018
  • We hope everyone had a great holiday season and has stayed warm through the coldest few days we’ve seen in a while.
  • This will more or less be the last post here on the site for a while. We’ll be back sometime in late Spring or early Summer with updates for 2019.
  • But follow us on Twitter and Instagram as we’ll be watching the rest of the National and International CX races there.
  • Speaking of Nationals, today kicks off the 2018 USA Cycling National Championships in Reno, NV. Our fantastic timing and results company One2Go will be supplying real time results for the rest of the week so follow them or watch on LiveLynxResults. Good luck to everyone, but especially any Chicagoland racers headed West to race.
  • And finally… a big, big, big thank you to everyone who purchased tickets for our end of year Zipp Wheel Raffle. There was one lucky winner but we will not be releasing that person’s name right now. However the real winners were Big Marsh, Blackstone Bicycle Works, and West Town Bikes. Because of everyone’s ticket purchases we raised $3,590 to be split 3 ways between each group (i.e. $1,197). And when including everyone’s donations throughout the series ($995) and the series’ match ($1,005) we all raised a total of $5,590 and donated $1,865 to each group on behalf of the entire CCC community. So thank you again!!!

Categories: Big Marsh, Charity, Updates

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CCC Tuesday Updates – 20171128

November 28, 2017
  • Looks and sounds like the Big Marsh Black Friday and Region Riot Cross events were a success over the holiday weekend. Results can be found here and here.
  • This coming weekend the CCC finishes up at Montrose Harbor in downtown Chicago on the lake front. The weather is forecast to be much more pleasant than last year, so come on out to watch, cheer, and celebrate the entire day. Online pre-reg on BikeReg closes Thursday evening. Look for the course preview at the normal time on Thursday.
  • Note there is a new parking option/charge at Montrose for those that want to park up close. Look at the bottom of the BikeReg page.
  • If you happen to be in Mol Belgium this Friday or Saturday make sure to check our Masters CX World Championships.
  • Remember the cyclocross season is not over after this weekend though.
  • And finally… Sunday 12/17/17 at NOON we’re hosting the CCC Awards Party at EJ’s Place in Skokie. Buy your tickets here on BikeReg.

Categories: Big Marsh, News, Racing, Updates

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CCC Tuesday Updates – 20171121

November 21, 2017
  • Yet another mudder, this time with ice! Thanks to the Northbrook Garner Bicycle Club for warming us up with some hot CX racing action at Wheeling Heritage Park. And thanks to everyone who put on multiple layers to race and cheer on a cold and windy day. Results are all linked here.
  • More great overall results, congrats to Karson Glass (Single Speed Men) Katie Isermann (Women Cat 1/2) and Cole House (Men Cat 1/2/3) for sewing up their respective overall titles this past weekend. Only 1 race left and many categories are still only separated by a few points! The leaders of the Masters 45+, Junior 15/18’sWomen Cat 3’s and Men Cat 4’s are separated by less than 10 points!
  • Next weekend the CCC finished up at Montrose Harbor in downtown Chicago on the lake front for the 11th and final stop of the series. As we ask every year, come on out and watch, cheer, etc the entire day. Spend some time with your fellow pedal bikers before we all hibernate for the winter. Online pre-reg closes next Thursday evening. Look for the course preview at the normal time on that morning.
  • If you’re looking to keep your CX skills sharp this weekend, Friends of Big Marsh is hosting the second annual Black Friday CX Race @ Big Marsh Park this Friday November 24thDonate a bag of non-perishable food items, and receive priority staging. All proceeds from the event will go towards future development of the park. Check out the Facebook event page for details & updates.
  • Then 2 days later Region Racing is hosting Region Riot Cross just over the IN border on Sunday November 26th. Details and online pre-reg are on USAC here.
  • Afterglow hosted by the Chicago Cuttin’ Crew is moving to Sunday December 17th and back to Douglas Park. Need more details? Just ask someone on the Cuttin’ Crew. This event is super chill(y) but so fun.
  • Sunday afternoon December 17th we’re hosting the CCC Awards Party at EJ’s Place in Skokie. Details and tickets for the PARTY (its not a banquet) will be available soon.
  • And finally… this weekend the CCC takes a break so we can all fill up on turkey, mashed taters, stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry, pumpkin pie, and all the works. Or for those of you looking for a State Champ podium, maybe just twigs and berries. Either way, enjoy this much earned time off with your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

Categories: Big Marsh, News, Overall Standings, Updates

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CCC Tuesday Updates – 20170530

May 30, 2017
  • We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. The weather is finally getting better and road racing is in full swing, so… time to talk CX, right?
  • First up, no changes to the event schedule. The CCC series is again (tentatively) 11 events. All tentative dates are updated here on the CCC schedule page.
    • Caldwell Woods hosted by xXx Racing is back as the first race, hopefully no floods this year.
    • The Carpentersville event will again be at the Woodland Elementary School.
    • The Indian Lakes Resort (ILR) shut down last year, but the South Chicago Wheelmen (SCW) have secured a 2 day venue at Pheasant Run Resort (#PRR?) not far from ILR.

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Categories: 1 - Sponsors, Big Marsh, Clinic, News, UCI, Updates

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CCC Thursday Updates – 20170525

May 25, 2017

Special Thursday Edition!

This summer, in conjunction with Friends of Big Marsh, SRAM is hosting a series of 4 Short Track races at Big Marsh. on June 1, 15, 29, and July 13. The first race is next Thursday! The intent of these races – aside from having a bunch of fun – is to get people down to Big Marsh and racing on the site and ultimately start feeling out what a cyclocross event would look like at the park. These short track events can be raced on a mountain bike or a cross bike. See the flyer below.

Big_Marsh_Short_Track_POSTER_11X17_v03

Categories: Big Marsh, News, Updates

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