It’s that time of year again: time to start looking at cyclocross clinics, and time to start planning your race schedule for the Fall. Cyclocross Magazine will be publishing our 2011-2012 cyclocross calendar, complete with all races, clinics and cyclocross-specific events. However, while we will try to add as many races and clinics as we can, the best way to make sure that your event is listed on our calendar is to use our Submission Form and add your event, so it will go directly onto our calendar.

One of the best cyclocross skills to learn as a new racer is learning how to take “transitions.” (Not just barriers: transitions can mean a …

For our featured photos this week, Joe Sales, perhaps our most valued contributor, has a gallery of his photos from US Cyclocross Nationals that just went live. If you read Cyclocross Magazine or visit the website regularly, you’ve seen his photos, including on several covers of the magazine.

Last year at Interbike, Gates Carbon Drive Systems announced its new CenterTrack carbon belt drive drivetrain, and Cyclocross Magazine is the first publication to test the system on a cyclocross bike. We’ve recently received a Raleigh carbon singlespeed outfitted with the new CenterTrack system and have enjoyed a few rides on the stunning 15 pound machine.

Lazer Sport wants to take a moment to remember our friends in Japan and help them in their effort to recover. So, as we launch our new Armor helmet model for 2012, we are offering a special limited edition “Support Japan” graphic with a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this special edition helmet going towards the Internal Red Cross disaster relief effort (www.ifrc.org/en/donation-japan).

It takes about a week to get Santiago Lorenzo on the phone, and when I do he doesn’t want to extrapolate about heat training. Lorenzo is a research scientist who, until recently, studied at the University of Oregon before picking up his PhD and moving to sunnier climes. He’s also an NCAA champion and 2004 Olympian in the decathlon, which means he’s a serious athlete (do you know the 10 events in the decathlon? I didn’t and went to look them up — anyone who can excel at all of them, and over two days, knows a thing or two about getting the most out of one’s body). He’s also published a study about heat training that may change the way we prepare for hot and cold events.

Add your event to our 2011-2012 cyclocross race calendar for North America. This includes New England, Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area, MABRA, MAC, Colorado, SoCal, …

We’ve been sitting on this info since March 1st when we originally posted about Shimano’s new cyclocross components, but now that Shimano has finally lifted the embargo date on it, we can give you the real scoop on the new Di2 electronic shifting for Ultegra.

Want to know what to look for on Cyclocross Magazine this week? Worried you might have missed something last week? Fear not, because we’ve got it all mapped out for you. Every Monday, we have a preview of what’s in store for the week, and we’ll let you know about some of the great articles that you might have missed last week. If there’s any story you’d like us to cover, any burning question you want answered, or any cool racer you’d like to hear from, let us know! Leave messages in the comments, find me on the Cowbell Forums or email molly [at] cxmagazine.com.

For Father’s Day, we wanted to take a second to give a shout-out to all the cyclocross and cycling fathers (mothers too!) out there who have taken the time to help their child (or grown adult) experience the joys of riding or racing a bike. After all, without Cyclocross Magazine’s Chief Cowbell Ringer Andrew Yee’s still-cycling father madly searching for affordable used kid’s bikes for him, converting his little 22″ wheel road bike to a track bike on a weekly basis, and literally pushing him up hills on family rides, there’s no way Cyclocross Magazine would exist today (read more about the background story via CXhairs’ interview). CXM’s Online gal Molly also credits her father with her early and recent cycling addiction. And so as further tribute to Father’s Day, we take a look at a cyclocross racing father and son, Nick and Donald Catlin. This father and son duo travels together for road and cyclocross season, even sleeping in a tent on top of their SUV together! Clearly, these two are close, and we wanted to hear from this dynamic duo about how they really feel about their close-knit relationship.

First week of June and what we laughingly call Spring here on the Colorado Front Range has instantly transformed into summer. A week ago we were thrilled to see temperatures in the high 60s, now we’re into the 90s. Two weeks ago I was planning my training rides so that they would fall in between the inevitable 2:30 rainstorm that showed itself just as I was ending my teaching day. That’s a distant memory already. Now I’m frantically searching for sleeveless jerseys and sunscreen. 14 days ago I had to dig deep to find the motivation to roll out the door, today I’m chomping at the bit. Yeah, I hate to admit it since it seems so inconsistent with cyclocross racing, but I’m not a foul weather trainer. Racing in the mud, snow, rain … no problem. Looking out my window on flooded streets and thinking about spending the next two hours in the elements … not my fave.