Snake, Melon, Quad 2010

(With el Jefe at Northbrook's Sprinters' Omnium series and much of the squad attending a wedding, the Cuttin' Crew fielded a mighty thin team for this weekend's races. At least one of us spent the weekend mixing it up with the big guns, JRho provides this week's race report:) That was some fun and awesome racing. I traveled with the Flatlandia ladies and stayed for the full 3 days looking for some solid training and experience in the 123s with some of the region's best women on 3 very different courses. I was terrified and excited. Main goal: don't be intimidated. In my head goal: don't embarrass yourself.

Race 1: SNAKE. Ugh. 12 times! I was not looking forward to this but I was going to do it dammit. Race goal: don't die. It was hot but I made sure to warm up. Leah decided not to do the race so I was able to get her start spot. Yes, that shit helps. I was damn near skipping this to save my legs for the next day but knew I'd regret not racing. So off I go - lots more girls than I remember from last year - got a couple shoves on the first lap or two going up that thing but it eventually strung out. I had no idea where I was in the race but I was chillin, riding my own race and I actually felt solid (12-27!). I was eventually lapped by first place super pro Tibco and last year's Snake winner Amanda Miller - she is AMAZING - and second place Punk Rock Cycling's Women's World Human Powered Speed Champion (for real) Lisa Vetterlein - also AMAZING - turns out she did the first couple laps in her big ring and was rockin a 23 - what?! Anyway, I'm lapped by the two leaders - cool with me. One less lap to do! Result: 20th - top 20!!

Avi again proved what legends are made of, tripled up, and climbed that thing near 30 times. Um, have you been able to walk yet? :)

Race 2: Melon City. Race goal: Stick and finish with the lead pack. I really like this course so I set my goal a little higher. This is what I'd consider my first real big girl race (Snake don't count) and again I was terrified. It was one race but the 3s had the option to be scored separately which is super cool. Anyway, the race - swoop, swoop, speed bump, hill, chicane, repeat. Lisa Vetterlein took off at some point (I had some kind of idea but not really) and the group was chasing but we never got her even though Kenda had like 10 girls in there. It was again HOT and riders were cracking all day - it became a race of attrition. I don't know - I felt pretty good and was focused on my goal. I was still in the main chase group and we had whittled to about 20 girls. I couldn't really tell how many 3s were in there but I had stopped focusing on that. Last lap - pace picks up, girls jockey for position. There's a crash on the downhill - avoid carnage, speed bump, hill. All I knew was I had to be in a good spot at the chicane for the final meters. We get to the hill and my legs said "haha" but I passed a few people. Hey, I stuck with the main pack! Result: 2nd in the 3s! (looking at where I came in on the 123 list, I would've been top 15). Aaaand I suck. There was confusion in the results, the officials took FOREVER, and I changed not realizing a podium for the 3s was taking place. So, I was sans kit up there. Boo.

Race 3: Quad Cities. Race goal: stick with the lead pack again/try and partake in sprint finish if that's how it plays out. Race goal edited: stay upright. So the organizers have a 2/3 race which is awesome. I was looking forward to this since I've been wanting to get my sprint on. We get there, get in race mode, start to warm up, and the rain starts...fuck. I realize this is one slippery course in the rain so I take some corners and play with tire pressure. It'll be cool - 2s and 3s can ride their bikes, right? HA. The rain stops right before the start so it's just WET. We get going and riders go down like clockwork at turn 7 for the first 5-6 laps. This doesn't include riders going down at other corners. Of course, I feel like I'm stuck behind every one. Some riders get up the road but I have no idea what's going on, I just keep going chasing the chase group. The last couple of laps I finally felt like I was with people who knew how to take corners on wet road, we caught the chase group, and last lap mayhem begins. At this point I am focused on my goal edited. We get through smoothly til turn 7 again. Some girls go down, I just gun it for turn 8 and the finish. Result: Upright. 14th. Meh. I pass on doubling up even though it would've been nice to actually "race" this course. It is fun. BUT I got to watch Kristen take the WIN! And watch someone fly over the 3ft chicken wire in the distance at turn 8 as Kristen is chargin the line.

Main goals accomplished. And I love racing my bike.

Velo-City final standings

The dust has settled and it's time to put propers out for all of our racers and the other fine folks who put this together. In the words of our Race Director/Bus Driver, Ben: "It's pretty great getting to hold a legitimate track event with a bunch of my friends on my hometown velodrome."

Messenger class: 1 Nico 2 Phil "Butters" Brewer 3 Brian "Aloha" "Track Stand" 4 Christina "Teeners" Peck 5 Mikey Urbanis 6 Casey Comiskey 7 Tie: Dylan Gimple and Nick Puczasasuszaurus

Citizen Class: 1 Alexander Urbanski 2 Tie: Anderew Yeoman and Ted Burger 4 Avi Neurohr 5 Jake Blaze 6 Brandon - Pegasus 7 Tie: Sage and Ben VC 9 Mike ? 10 Josh Shough

EDIT: In our haste to post official results, we forgot to mention one racer who just wasn't content to hang with the pack. Miss Nikki Munvez went on a flyer in the points race to roll the dice a few laps ahead of the crowd, and for that, she took home the Spirit award.

We tried to score points as deep as possible to get everyone recognized in the standings, but there were a bunch of others who just came out to have a good time. Word to our announcers, Andrew Nordyke and Mike Morell. Nordyke actually means 'born to work the bullhorn' in Norwegian, and Dr. Morell made the long train/bike trip from Chicago, only to announce a few events and head back south for more pressing matters. In no particular order, we'd like to thank Aaron at 611 cycles for the bars, Duane at Chester Cycles for the paint, Squid at Cyclehawk, Velocity and Yojimbo's for prizes, and Continental for entry schwag.

For a full rundown, check out Sage's photos, Time Out Chicago's gallery, Julio's video, and Simon has promised a forthcoming writeup. As a recovering roadie, Avi couldn't stop himself from writing up the non-messenger events in excruciating detail, and maybe we'll get a rundown on the messenger side from Nico one of these days. Spoiler: Nico and Phil were running pretty tight overall for tickets to Guatemala going into the final scoring event, the points race. Going 1-2 in the first two sprints, it was turning into a showdown until Phil touched wheels with Teeners and went down. Quote of the day: "I thought crashing on a velodrome would really hurt, but that wasn't so bad."

Add a link in the comments if you have more pics or news. (Multiple links per comment will get flagged/hidden as spam, so if you have several, just add one per comment or send 'em all to chicagocuttincrew at gmail dot com.)

Photo courtesy of Max Herman.

La Ocho!

...or, for us North Americanos: The Eight. Once upon a time some nutty messengers raced the human powered rollercoaster, an over/under figure eight velodrome. Inspired by this, the organizers of the 2010 Messenger Worlds off in Guatemala have promised to build one out of blood, sweat, and clay.

The winner (in the messenger category) of yesterday's Velo-City event won himself some tickets to a little over/under madness. Ladies and Gentlemen, our own Mister Nico Deportago-Cabrera is that man! In the 'non-messenger slash past-winner-so-therefore-not-qualified-to-race-as-a-messenger' category, Mr. Al Urbanski took home the top prize, a sweet custom bar/stem combo.

We'll have a wrap up of yesterday's event, as well as full standings, but first things first: Big thanks to Kenosha native Ben Fietz for lining up track time, and driving the Winnebago, not to mention officiating. Julio for lining up sweet prizes, Teeners for putting together the alleycat, Squid for being Squid, and a bunch of other people To Be Named Later that did such an awesome job behind the scenes that I didn't know about them.

Highlights and full standings on the way.

Throwback Thursday

by jeff Velocity 1 - 2006 This is clearly when color coordination was my top priority.

First and foremost, thanks to Amy Bolger for the awesome photos. What you don't see in my photo are the PONY'S with mountain bike pedals and straps for the feet. I borrowed that jersey and those bike shorts were in the collection since I was 12.

That was my first draw to the track and I have been hooked ever since. The beautiful thing about VeloCity is the nature of the event. It's designed to get them messengers and commuters that ride them track bikes to and fro or even the Kings of Milwaukee Ave who just have that urge to hawk people on the way in to work. We want to get ya'll out there and learn some appreciation for the sport and try the velodrome out.

Intimidation and judgment are not in the cards. Razzing and a little ball busting might be but that's what it's all about. And there is certainly more swag and prizes than you will EVER see for racing at the track. Oh. And it's free. No excuses.

If you think of it as intimidating, I'll be more than happy to share my fears from 2006 when I've been a messer for over a year and these badass lookin dudes from NYC come in with a corporate sponsor and throwdown crazy events I've never even seen before. I only made it to the opening night and the 1st day of races. I was pretty bummed to miss out on day 2 but I'm glad as hell that I went up there and gave 'er a shot.

Please feel free to join us this Saturday, May 22 at Kenosha Velodrome in Washington Park. It will be fun to spectate and certainly a good time to participate. Regrettably, I will not be in attendance but Ben will run the show. The event starts at 1. Bus is leaving from Green & Kinzie around 11. 11:30 wheels rolling. Racing is free to everyone and be sure to bring a helmet and some drop bars.

Stay curious my friends. Special thanks to teeners for the Chicago flier work and julio for coordinating like mad. And, of course, Squid.

5th EDITION VELOCITY THIS WEEKEND - MAY 22, 2010

Big thanks to julio for the updates and doing the majority of the legwork. There are some seriously dope prizes up for grabs. That's also thanks to the great role that Cyclehawk plays in this process year after year.

Racing starts at 1 pm. The format will be published later this week.

Photoshoot Shoutout

You might have noticed our wonderful team photo. Well, natural beauty only gets these people so far. The rest of the journey to awesomeness has to be completed with the help of Christopher Dilts (http://www.christopherdilts.com) and CCC's own Ben Fietz (http://www.benfietz.com). Good looks aren't required but highly recommended. These guys have been handling cameras and bikes longer than the calendar had 20's up front. Don't believe they know how to bring out the classy ass bike racer in you? Exhibit A:

CCC v3

Perhaps you've noticed the Crew stepping out at 2010 races in Tron Blue. We've been putting the finishing touches on a few things, and better late than never, we'll be out racing this weekend in our new kits, codenamed: Thunder Thighs. More importantly, we want to make some introductions. If you take a look over on the left hand side of your page, you'll see some old names and some new ones. These are the folks that support the local racing scene, and despite the rollercoaster ride our economy has been taking, they are still in the game.First things first, unless you crawled out from under a rock, you know that Marcus over at Yojimbo's Garage has been down since day one. He may not be racing wheels these days, but he's still lacing 'em. So get yourself over there already and shop local.Next up, Bari is back in our corner. As if you need an excuse to find the best deal in town for a sandwich the size of your arm, think about this: these guys have been sponsoring Chicago bike racing for years, well before we came along. So after a long day in the saddle, hustle over there cuz they close at 6:30. Fraaaaaaaaank! We've got a new name on the totem pole over there: GK Snacks. This time of year, we put the Bears/Packers rivalry aside and head north for some of the best road racing in these parts, not to mention everyone's favorite 333M track in Kenosha. Sure, the hills beat most of us flatlanders up, but on the way home, you can get some good calories at every turn. Up in Waukesha, these guys have been at it since 1921, so I think they can handle a bus full of bike racers. Stop by the bus, we got yer snacks!

It happens all the time: You need an architect, and the first thing you think is "Where can I find a firm that's bike friendly and supports racing?" Wonder no more, Architrave has you covered.

As if you had to ask, everyone's favorite employee-owned messenger collective is back. Four Star Courier Collective, for all your delivery needs.

...and in the spirit of friendly competition, we've got another local courier shop on board. Apex Courier, for all your other delivery needs. Supporting local racing in more ways than one.

You've probably pulled up to a race and seen the pro-looking guys warming up on rollers, but you found yourself thinking "Man, I'd love some of those, but the carbon footprint to ship a set from Germany is pretty hard to offset. If only I could find some made in the good old U.S. of A?" Look no further, as just across the Indiana border, SportCrafters has your number. (Stay tuned, they are also big fans of our cyclocross scene, and we're going to help them spread the love in NW Indiana and Michigan in the fall.)

A couple more names to throw at you: Pickens-Kane for helping us keep the bus downtown and ready to roll, and our friends at Blue, just because.

Big thanks to all of our 2010 sponsors, new and old. Now back to racing! See you somewhere this weekend...Monsters? Fox River Grove? LDL?

Last, but certainly not least, we'd like to thank the talented Christopher Dilts and Ben Fietz  for their efforts, equipment, and brand-new studio space in putting together our team photo. Sadly, a few of us couldn't make it into the shot, but they'll be out rocking the new kits somewhere.

Throwback Thursdays

     

By Brean

I started messing in the early 90's, a little after the big bubble. But I knew a few messengers in the 80's and there was a lot of talk at the time about how much money these guys made. The typical figure cited was $60k for a really good messer, including the under-the-table part, which everyone said was most of the take. The only other thing i remember about messengers back then was that everyone said Nelson Vails needed specially tailored pants (you needed TIGHT pants back then) to accommodate his definitely non-steroid induced thigh-dom.

Weekend Update

Yes, today kicks off the 2010 Track clinics at Northbrook. No, the Cuttin' Cruiser is not headed up there.  Saturday night, the Chief Bus Driver, aka Mr. Jeff 'Rooster' Perkins had his appendix removed. He's doing ok but he's been ordered off the bike for two weeks and off the Driver's seat of the bus for...a while. We may have a substitute for Tuesday night. We'll see. In other news, a few members of the crew had some fun north of the border. Nico killed the Don't Kill the Messenger alleycat up in Madison, bringing home first overall. Only one thing to be said about this: Hell Jess!

JRho and Candles, aka Jannette and Andrew, hit Whitnall for a lovely Wisconsin spring day: 40s and raining, on a circuit with a whole lot of up down left right. Jannette brought home 5th place in the Women's Open category, somehow still wearing a smile. After dodging some sketchy riding early on, the candelabra caretaker decided the best way to stay out of trouble was to drag the field around. He put in a good days' work at the front, stayed upright, and finished respectably in 15th.

Throwback Thursdays

By Jeff (yes, already) I'm working on getting Brean to share his stories from the '90s about Germans and their love of roller rinks but until then this will have to serve as filler.

It was as recent as the March of '07. We were fundraising for the 2008 NACCC. A few people made things happen from all kinds of angles to make sure we could recreate this whole "goldsprint" game that had been introduced to the majority of us with the previous summer's VeloCity Tour.

It was to be called the IRO Sprints and was held at the Mutiny, a personal favorite when it comes to just a solid bar. Augie* MC'ed for the night and J Marshall* was bringing a lot of energy with his hot forum of the time (good ol' bikeliker.com). I showed up because I committed at an early NACCC organizing meeting and I was (finally) starting to get a big kick out of hanging out with those dudes. It turned out to be a fantastic decision. *(Cuttin' Crew OG)

I drew Julio for the first round and I think he had to be the hardest of the night. Since he was a seemingly well respected dude and I destroyed him so badly I decided to make it up to him over a beer. It then became a habit to buy anyone I beat a beer. I'm super stoked I did because I felt like less of an asshole and I really got to chat it up with a good number of people.

As it turned out I had to buy a lot of beers that night. I ended up winning it all in a heated final against the dude that just finished a bandit 'cross race that morning, Mr. Ben Popper. The pattern for these things haven't changed much. Everyone was absolutely spent towards the end of it and the place was emptying out quickly. I didn't get anything for the win except a good bit of pride, a shot or two from the owner, and a random kiss from a girl that must have been dared into pulling off a smooch and run with the winner (kinda awesome!)

Aside from that, I will say the highlight of the night there in the bar had to be the compliment from the Augdog -

"I'm pretty happy you won. Not because we don't have prizes and not because I know you, but really because you were clearly having the most fun out of everyone."

It definitely wasn't that long ago but it's nice to see some of those faces having a good time all under the same roof. Keeping with the "youtube is a better story teller than you" logic I leave you with this...