MARY'S PUT TOGETHER a handy spectators list of NorCal cross racers (and a few others) who will be racing the UCI World Championships in Louisville next week. Keep it with you so you know who to yell for from the sidelines in Louisville, or from the comfort of your own home as you watch Cyclocross Magazine's live stream.

Unfortunately, I'll miss this historic event, including the stream, since I'll be in Haiti working the first (and potentially annual) Haiti Ascent Stage Race. Though not related to cyclocross, it's nevertheless a...

OUR FINAL EVENT at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds on 12/16 saw another round of 'cross weather, at least in left coast terms. Certainly no snow, but the constant drizzle for two days prior and grey overcast on race day made for slippery conditions throughout the morning, and 1500' of smooth, pothole free pavement through the center of the grounds provided little but a recovery zone for many riders.

Ben designed a clever course which utilized the equestrian area in a way we haven't considered in the fifteen years we've been using...

Mary, with a little help from her friend, has divided and packed up over $8k worth of merchandise, clothing, and gift certificates in preparation for podium awards at our final event at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds this weekend. In addition to the schwag, the winners of each category will receive the, not sold in stores, special stainless steel edition of the Surf City Cyclo-X pint glass.

In case you missed the annual rituals of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the following sponsors will be on site at the series final selling...

TOBIN ORTENBLAD, a Santa Cruz local and silver medalist of the Junior 2012 US Cyclocross National Championships, as well as 5th overall in the Under 23 division of the 2012 USGP series, has once again been chosen to participate in the annual EuroCross Camp, this year as a U23 rider. The intent of the camp is to provide junior 17-18 and U23 riders who have participated well on the UCI sanctioned US national cyclocross circuit an opportunity to experience the gritty reality of European cross, ideally securing points at World Cup events...

WE WISHED FOR MUD and we got it at the second race of the Surf City Cyclocross Series, held at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville. The rain scheduled itself perfectly, drizzling throughout much of setup on Saturday, dumping 0.25-0.4" sometime after midnight, then leaving us with a sunny, windless Sunday which allowed spectators to bask in mild temps and watch their family and friends collect specks with their teeth and slice through mud puddles. The casualty of this bucolic experience, however, was the euro-looking run-up...

Nature is getting in sync with the season (cyclocross) this weekend, bringing a 30-70% chance of showers Friday thru early Sunday and 0.125-0.25" of rain per day, with the most airborne material landing Saturday morning. Not a deluge, but enough to put chunks in your eyes, grit on you teeth, and make your chain sound kind of funny. If all goes well, it should start to dry up late Sunday morning, which is great since we hate to put away a wet tent.

This detailed forecast comes from our (Jeff's) favorite forecast page, the NOAA...