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Cycling Tue Feb 15 2011
Quick Spins: Mark Your Calendars
Not the Tour de Groundhog, but the sentiment is the same. Photo by Ed White.
Coming soon is one of the first races of the year, the Tour de Groundhog (PDF), on Sunday, Feb. 20 in New Salem State Park, near Springfield.
This is a cyclocross race, so it'll be run rain, shine, snow or mud. And with the snow melting, there should be lots of mud and snow and slush to make for treacherous conditions and great racing. The course at 1.3 miles will be good for spectators and based on this report from last year, the race was sloppy, mushy and fun.
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Also coming up is the Chicago Cycle Swap (not to be confused with the recent Chicago Winter Bike Swap) on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse (1419 W. Blackhawk) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hosted by Active Transportation Alliance, this swap helps support the ATA and Chicago Bike Winter while allowing cyclists to purge their collections of unneeded derailleurs and pedals.
At the Chicago Winter Bike Swap a few weeks ago, there were some incredible deals on complete bikes and parts. With spring just around the corner, now's the time to get the fair-weather ride together.
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Interested in international professional racing? Check out this handy calendar listing all professional races from across the globe, including the famous Swiss GP dell'Insubria and Poland's lovely Wyscig Solidarnosci i Olimpijczyków. Those other races that most people know, including the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia are also featured.
And did you ever have an interest in earning the World Champion Stripes despite not being a professional cyclist? Apparently you can in the UCI World Cycling Tour.
