"It's Happening"

7/15/08 By Jeff

It was a Danish (Win-N-Out, first across the line at lap 1 wins, 1st on lap 2 gets 2nd, 1st on lap 3 gets 3rd and so on). It was also close to, if not the best racing atmosphere I've seen in sanctioned racing. Washington Park Velodrome in Kenosha. The field got a little scrambled after the first sprint and people were moving high. I knew the track was short, I knew the pace was still strong and I knew the guys up front weren't going to burn out so I wanted to make up for a VERY missed attempt at getting into that winning sprint and a jeopordized position for 2nd. It was time to get around some people.

The field was moving up but it wasn't until the middle of the turn that it was apparent things weren't normal. In an attempt to make that great cut around someone things got tighter against the rail and the best I could shout is "OP! OP! OP! WHOA! WHOA!" It was a frenzy as I was guided up towards the rail. While the mind is thinking a thousand things a second, there was that quick and repetitive, "Don't let this happen! Don't let this happen!"

BANG! TINK! SCRAPE! SCRAPE! SCRAPE! Slow motion (I swear) and my front wheel is right in front of me as we're both flying above the fence...

"It's happening"

It's amazing how much shit unravels after the fact. I remember even thinking right at the moment, "I hope this one doesn't go bad."

My arm knocked the protective cover off of the rail which left a chain link fence exposed. I whipped around when my arm caught a link and whipped me around to face the other direction. As things concluded I noticed that famous red Corima on the track too. Fuck. Ed White was the other one making sound effects.

I was torn up and half naked the way my suit cut, but Ed was face down and bleeding. He is OK now and walked out of the hospital but at that moment, my heart absolutely sank. I'm sure it's an ego thing of mine because every accident I'm in I can't help but feel responsible. I'm so sorry that this happened Ed, I know we aren't personally tight but I don't ever want to see ANYONE face down and bleeding, let alone you.

The fence caught alot of my skin and left my right hand the size of a softball. "I can't believe nothing broke" was the popular saying from the med staff. I got some stitches, a whole bunch of deep scrapes at every joint possible, a shitton of soreness and a good deal of guilt.

Mike Winn is a saint. He was the race organizer and MC. He handed the mic to someone to take over and never left us at the hospital. Even stuck it out 'til our midnight discharge. The man had great spirits and was a good storyteller. There's nothing I could ask more of someone who was a stranger 4 hours prior. There was another off duty firefighter that stepped in to help me when one of the new paramedics got the jitters. Dude stuck around to see that everyone was OK. Thanks to him as well. Tim from Half Acre was great for checking up on us well, thanks man. Al and Andrew were the best of teammates and friends, even gettin' me an ice cream cookie. Of course a big thanks to Jamers as well.

Ed got his ear reattached by a plastic surgeon and a bunch of stitches right above his brow. The man is so powerful he broke the unbreakable equipment but he was up and bashfully smiling by the time we were leaving the hospital.

Calls and texts started coming, thanks to the people that worried and sent wishes and thanks to those that worried and didn't want to interfere, it is always nice to have both.

The Fuji is done. Most other parts are salvageable, but the ol' Track Pro is punching the clock. That puts me down two track bikes in a month. Ha. A messenger who races track and I don't have a track bike, injustice.

Stay up ya'll. I'm going to lie down.

Peace

JP

Some good ol' photos

Just some flickr footage for you to look back on. Courtesy of our numero uno fan, Rachel. Everybody say it: Tha-a-anks Rachel...

Fact: Phil Ligget digs the Cuttin' Crew.

Who recognizes the guy chasing Mike?

BETA (A race report from Whitewater)

7/05/08

By Brean

another race in which i didn't have time to warm up. had to duct tape my shifter together and got over to the line just before the masters rolled out. bradley, avi and i were representing the cuttin' crew, and i found my friend john there as well.

john is a triathlete, and i found his a good wheel to follow, since he was steady and a surprisingly good climber (efficient and smooth). there were a lot of teams out there, but not any teams with more than three members. Tati, Crew, IIT, and at least two 2CC. so my job for the race would be to keep an eye on breakaways. i wanted avi to get a podium finish.

the course was about 5.5 miles per lap and we were to do 8 laps, even though the officials accidentally told us 7 laps. there was a little confusion as to this part, which plays in later. there was a sharp and bumpy turn shortly after the start, and then a long and tough hill, followed by a turn and a short but steep hill. then some downhills, one sharp turn, and a few almost unnoticeable uphills.

we passed the masters on lap 4 or so. we called out and they let us ride through. then, off we went again. that hill was pretty tough, and i thought about riding the front of the pack to get up it smoothly, but put that thought out of my mind. i haven't been training, and did not feel able to do any good pulls. i planned on leading avi out, and i didn't think a break would happen. so riding the pack and sucking wheels became the tactic.

on lap 6, the masters caught back up to us just as we got to the hill. we called out to the pack to let them ride through. but oh, that beastly hill would not yield, and the masters blended in with us and formed a huge pack of 100 or so riders. so we called out, trying to tame the pack. "masters ride through!" "elites, let them ride through!"

so we rode slowly for a time and joked about how nice it was to get a bit of a break. but the masters still didn't pull through. i rode towards the front to ask them to ride on, and i noticed a big group of riders way ahead. "did you guys get dropped?" "no." "are those masters up there" "no, those are 4/5's"

dog crap. turns out that some of the elite 4/5's used the mingling of the masters to initiate a break. not nice. but i could not let this get away, so i excused my way to the absolute front of the rear pack. alpha. and blasted my way towards the front pack.

it was hard. like when you come home late at night and your keys don't work because your landlord is too cheap to replace the lock and you have been in your sweaty chamois for hours and your ankle hurts and you are wearing racing shoes and trying to climb into your window and you are poor and your credit is bad. that kind of hard.

i just had to make it to the front pack or the whole day was ruined. so i bridged, slipped off for a few seconds, then finally got back on, just before, you know, the hill (most of the rest of the 4/5's were right behind me, as it turns out). i barely made it up the hill, and i figured my race was done. but i did hold.

then there was a sprint for the finish line, with one lap to go. avi took second in the false finish as the bell rang for the final lap. i'd mention how funny i think that is, but he is still pretty sore about it all. bradley had dropped on the hill after making his own bridge effort right behind me. that meant it was me alone for the end.

but i was still seeing spots from the bridge when the hill came around again. so i didn't quite recognize the break when it happened. then, one of the break members burned out, and one lone wolf was out there solo. i finally recovered and did some thinking. no avi and no bradley. it was just me, the pack, and a solo. i knew the pack would not hunt him down. there were no sizeable teams to organize a chase or make a sacrifice. so i continued to suck wheel and played for second place. the pace ramped up, but i knew we would not catch our prey. after a bit of jostling in the pack, i popped out left and saw the cones. myteriously, nobody else was jumping, so i said "turbo, kitt" and let loose.

it seems i have developed a sprint lately, and easily beat the pack for second place. beta.

Proctor - Illinois Criterium State Championship

06/29/08By BrynnBringing home a gold and a bronze at the state champs isn't too bad, for a new team. Sunday turned out to be a good day for us, up early we loaded up the bus with all the bike stuff and el presidente drove three hours south to the State Crit Championships or as some say "we were just trying to get to da bike race."Though the weather was questionable, just a few sprinkles hit. The course was full of turns and short allowing for lots of passes through the crowd and the cowbell. Women raced a short one. Only fifteen minutes with a lap on top of that. So after what turned out to be six laps, Brynn ended up rolling through the finish solo after a mishap between two Proctor girls to take the gold for the women's cat 4's and better, the Cuttin' Crew.Later in the day the boys were up with a forty minute race plus three laps and Stanley crossed the finish grabbing a bronze for the Cuttin' Crew, a couple of crashes at the last few turns caused the tactics in place to not go as well as we hoped but hey that's what happens sometimes and that's why we sign that piece of paper before we race, right?Everyone had a sloppy joe or two and a good time despite some poor sportsmanship from a girl in the 4's. The bus was loaded up again and we headed to the skyline. After a coupla bathroom breaks and some Steak n' Shake everyone was sleeping and you would have never guessed how loud we can be with cowbells and cheers and, even better, how fast we can ride them bicycles.It only gets better and better.

He's back at it!

I really don't think anyone could possibly sum it up better than this:

Cuttin' Crew has a new member! Just check out that smile!

We proudly present the great addition of Avi Neurohr!

It's a boy!!!

Cuttin' Crew OG and messenger extraordinaire, Mr. Michael Gipson and his wife Kathleen just had a baby boy, Luke.  Born June 17, 2008 at 8:00 AM. Congratulations!

The little guy was ahead of schedule. He's probably so punctual because he didn't want to miss an opportunity to operate fireworks legally. 2 for 2, eh? Like father like son...

Snaxwell

Ever wanted to get to know Max? Ever wanted to peel away at those layers of mystery to find out what really makes him tick? Join the club. dispatch101 got his grips on him and yielded yet another nice one-on-one.

Cycle Messenger World Championship Race Report

06/15/2008 By Jeff

I dropped my bike into Lake Ontario.

Worlds, pt. um, 3?

Departure is set for tonight. The latest projection? 9 hours of sleep, 15 people, 1 bus, 3 days, 600 messengers, one great fucking time...Shout out to our two big sponsors for helping us as we lead the charge for this great city and team.

Parts, time, and a smile, thanks Marcus.

North X Northeast music festival in conjunction with the racing? Toronto is showing out, true Hideout style.

Spring Prairie Report

6/8/2008 By Al (photo by Chris Dilts)

My attack was kinda accidental. I was trying to set up Adam just after I fought my way to the front by stringing out the pack going into the climb and making it harder for people further back to catch him. We were trading pulls at the front in the 4th stretch before the big climb. I noticed a lot of the Cuttin' Crew had moved up to the front now. XXX was either anticipating our attack or planning one of their own because they started swarming too. I started the climb maybe 2nd or 3rd wheel on the right side. XXX kept streaming up to my left and were effectively boxing Adam and I in, intentionally or not. I got pissed. I don't just let people box me in. I shouldered my way out to the left, finally got some open road, and my frustration powered me up that hill. I was still expecting Adam to attack, but when I got to the top, I had a pretty good gap. I rode tempo to see what was going to happen. Peter Strittmeyer of XXX chased me down along with a Wheaton rider. I realized between us and XXX, we would combine for some pretty serious blocking. A Tower Racing guy caught up pretty quick too and yelled "Let's go!" So I did.

I still wasn't intending to really break away so much as give Adam something to counterattack. I wasn't going to win this race. I got dropped climbing Holy Hill and in Baraboo last year. There was no way I could hold it over all the climbs. Adam is the climber. He's from Wisconsin. This is his race. But our gap increased, and I went with it. Next lap, I pushed it kind of hard on the hill because this was where the aerodynamics of riding in a big pack wouldn't matter, and we needed to put time in on the big group. But the other guys in the break faded in the climb. I realized that my hard work on my mashing a big gear and my short intervals had paid off. My plan changed to working to maintain the break, chasing down anyone who attacked, and winning the final climb. But what if that was what they wanted me to think? What if someone was hiding their talent? Sitting in just to fly by me at the end? Well, I wouldn't be able to attack on the flats anyways since my new front shifter cable had stretched enough to not shift any more. I had no big ring, just a 39. The climb was all I had.

The die was cast. The attack never came. We just rotated pretty evenly after I caught my breath. I put everything I had into that hill. I looked back near the top and had a nice gap. I still wasn't sure. I wheezed up to the line and kept my head down, sure I would get caught at the line if I sat up and celebrated. I didn't want to be that guy. But I still had enough left to carry me over the line with a nice gap.