Chicago Cuttin’ Crew

I started messing back in the early 90’s when I was attending law school here in Chicago. Though I loved messengering, I eventually quit and surprised myself by passing the NY bar and getting a great job at an entertainment law firm. After a few years of eating and drinking too much, and not sleeping for days at a time, I quit the firm and thought about finding a new job and going through the interview process. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. So I wasted away my savings until I was broke and eventually got a job as a messenger.

I had no idea how badly out of shape I was until I started riding for work again. I lost 50 pounds in the first four months (I’ve since gained about 10 pounds back). I had constant nasty saddle sores, and my body absolutely ached so much that I could barely walk on weekends. Luckily, I just had to stand in one spot at my brother’s wedding.

That summer, Body Glove put together the world’s greatest alleycat in New York. To race, you had to get in the top 60 in a qualifying alleycat. I got 59^th. The real race was called the Body Glove Challenge, and it took place during the day. Messengers were paid $90 to race for half the day, and we were given radios and manifests. Top prizes were trips to the Tour De France. I wound up in 10^th place (had my radio not broken, I’d have gotten 3^rd or 4^th, I swear). Not bad.

The next year, Puma started a series of races for messengers at the track. I bought a track bike and fell in love with the sport right away, despite a nasty crash that kept me off the velodrome for most of the season. That winter, Trackstar asked me to be on their team. I had started organizing track bike training rides in February, so they eventually asked me to captain the team. With the Puma guys and Trackstar, I alleycatted all over the east coast, and I even raced in Chicago once. Met a girl …you know the story.

I didn’t get to race last year as much as I would have liked. But this year, with this tight crew we have…watch out.