Afterglow at Big Marsh

Afterglow is back (!!!) this Saturday, May 27 with a mission to create bike racing access for youth. Get ready to run, jump, ride, and dance amidst the beautiful wilderness that is Big Marsh Park. We’ll have live DJ’s, an inflatable MTB lander, and a hot dog stand! Proceeds benefit Friends of Big Marsh so that they can continue to offer inclusive and joyful outdoors activities.

Check out the schedule below to register. Interested in volunteering? Hit us up at chicagocuttincrew at gmail dot com

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Afterglow 2023 Schedule

Afterglow - A Virtual Fundraiser

In lieu of an in-person bicycle race, Chicago Cuttin Crew has organized Afterglow - A Virtual Fundraiser to continue 11 years of fundraising for Blackstone Bikes and West Town Bikes. This weekend would have traditionally been our weekend of bringing the party to Douglass Park!

Imagine you are competing in a Grudge Match toward our $10,000 goal! I've attached a few images to use, but I 100% suggest you pull out those awesome photos from back in the day and post all over instagram/twitter/facebook/Zoom/group chats with bikereg.com/afterglow or pledgereg.com/afterglow. For incentives, Maria and I have some prizes for top Individual and Team donors, including Donkey Label socks and vintage CCC memorabilia.

I also want to uplift support for Blackstone alum, Mello. Chicagoans have survived record high gun violence, andprograms like Blackstone Bikes and West Town Bikes provide sturdy foundations for young people. They serve as a home away from home, provide workshops to instill a love for cycling, and model safe spaces to develop positive relationships within their communities. And it is because of our redistribution of wealth that our young people thrive in spite of food apartheid, institutional racism, and economic oppression. My second ask is that you support Jermell and his family during his recovery.

Appreciate all of you from afar, and hope you and your communities stay safe this holiday!

🤎 Chicago Cuttin Crew

AND WE BACK! Cyclocross racing returns to Humboldt Park!

Once upon a time, a scrappy race team threw a bike race in Humboldt Park.

Photo courtesy of Levi Baer. RIP Flickr. 

We're still working out the course details, but after a five year absence, we're thrilled to bring cyclocross racing back to Humboldt! You don't even need to read any further to know that you should go to bikereg and register right now.

Mark your calendars for Saturday December 10th. We can't guarantee that winter is going to make an appearance, but we're doing everything we can to make this a top-notch affair:

• InsaneDeOmnium competition: race every category you're eligible for. You get a point for each lap you complete, and new this year: a half point for each racer you beat, so do your best not to finish DFL!
• Grudge Match! You and virtually any other racer of any category/gender can sign up, state your wager, and start elbow-to-elbow. The post-race photo op is up to you. Sign up below. Feel free to place your bets on who will win the Ella vs. Avi showdown. 
• We know many of you need to express yourselves in ways that most bike races can't handle. As such, we will have categories for: Fatbikes, Tandems, Cargo Bikes, and new this year, Fixed Gear CX. Naturally there will be a full UCI jury, chip timing, and finish line cameras to guarantee the category sorting, placing, and accuracy in these categories. Or not.
• As always, this is a fund raiser for local youth groups West Town Bikes and Blackstone Bike Works. For most of the West Town squad, it's their first chance to race in their local park, so bring your cowbells and get ready to make some noise. Don't forget to throw some donation dollars down while you're registering at bikereg. We have been known to reward generous individuals with callups to the front row. We will also have a cash donation box at reg, so bring some dollars. We ain't exactly selling coffee and donuts, but you might get some free and feel compelled to donate, nahmsayin?
• There will be some fly medals. Payouts? haha, ur funny
• Fine tune your skillz before Midwest Regionals the following weekend. 
• aw hell, it's a race, you're a racer, it's in the fine city of Chicago, do you really need any more reason than that?
• We can't guarantee an Afterparty at Cousin Mikey's house, but feel free to take a trip down memory lane and see what Afterglow looked like back in 2010 and 2011.

GRUDGE MATCH INSTRUCTIONS:

Find a score to settle, challenge a racer, negotiate a wager, fill out the form below, but most importantly, don't forget to reg at bikereg! Wagers will be published on the internet prior to raceday, which we all know counts just like a legally binding contract.

Why are you still down here reading this? Register already!

Michael Kirby awarding the Intergalactic Championship belt to Jason Fergurson after Grudge Match 2015.

After the Afterglow

Illinois Cyclocross has never been better.

We have a neighborhood and Park District who trust us enough to give us free reign of their golf course for a weekend.

We have our favorite Knauffles who proves that you, too, can enjoy #doughnuthandupsarenotacrime AND smoke the rest of your field.

We have women and men willing to register for up to 5 back-to-back races to vie for homemade medals. Final count: 1) Sophia Robinson, 24 laps; 2) Kristen Hosey, 23 laps; 3) (tied) Kelly Clarke and Brent Wegscheid, 22 laps; 5) (tied) Lucas Seibel and Steve Biedron, 17 laps

We have youth testing themselves over barriers and up hills for the first time. We also have plenty of grrls who represent their own junior podiums.

We have two teams and an organization competing to donate the most dollars to youth cycling programs (Pony Shop won, by the way!).

We have a man who dresses as SuperGirl willingly accept that our local heroine is way better at cyclocross than he is.

We have a dude who travelled from Australia to race Afterglow on his way to Nationals, a club that brings their own waffle maker, inspiring teammates, a Women's Single Speed category, a Best Dressed Tandem Competition (above), a unicyclist, Santa, cargo bike friends who stay late to help out, and hundreds of riders and spectators trekking to our race in search for fun. And I think they found it.

We have $4,000 to give to West Town Bikes and Blackstone Bicycle Works. That's TWO. GRAND. E A C H.

So many thank yous! Thank you to Chris Jensen for providing steadfast knowledge of how to run a pro as hell bike race, thank you partners and wives and husbands and dude friends and lady friends and families who support us all year long, thank you sponsors for believing in us, thank you everyone who donated dollars to WTB and BSB, thank you anyone who has taken a kid under their wing to teach them the joy and freedom cycling brings to lives, thank you photographers for making pretty pictures often for the price of $0.00, thank you friends who bring the positivity to the environment, and thank YOU for being a part of our family.

Cheers to yet another wildly successful Afterglow - A Cyclocross Race. See you in 2015!

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USAC results here.

INSANEDEMONIUM 2014

Are you signed up for INSANEDEMONIUM2014?

Rules of Engagement:

1. Register for as many races as possible.
All riders are welcome to participate!
If you have already registered and would like the $10-multiple registration discount, email us at chicagocuttincrew at gmail dot com and we'll give ya a coupon

2. Race your heart out.
We will be keeping track of how many laps you complete throughout the day. Riders who participate in the TANDEM sub-category of Fatbikes will both get to count those laps completed. Because <3 TANDEMS <3

3. Bring your podium socks (for sale at registration table).
The riders with the most laps wins! We will be presenting a podium with sweet prizes after the Cat 4/5 & Fatbikes Etc race. 

A F T E R G LO W pt V

For the fifth straight year the Chicago Cuttin' Crew presents Afterglow - A Cyclocross Race, taking over the Douglas Park Golf Course Saturday, December 20.

The shortest day of the year will feature cross action from dawn to dusk with races for juniors, masters, single speeders (separate races for men and women), fat bikers and the infamous two-up showdown with the winner claiming Sweet Justice. We welcome any and all season-long rivalries to duke it out, including Best Dressed Tandem.

For those hearty enough to tackle multiple races, the Insanedemonium category will reward the riders who complete the most cumulative laps throughout the day. All riders are welcome to participate! If you have questions about which categories you can register for, consult USAC or shoot us an email at chicagocuttincrew at gmail dot com.

Once again proceeds benefit Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes, two organizations that continue to promote and facilitate youth cycling in Chicago. Call ups will be based on donations!

Bring your dollars, weird bikes, and smiles! & we'll try to bring da mud back.

Photos by Rod, West Town Bikes, Cory, Blackstone Bikes, and Lindsay

Afterglow - A Cyclocross Race bringing racing and donations for Chicago youth cycling

With the increased license fees for the 2014 USA Cycling season, Chicago Cuttin’ Crew and ROBOTS <3’s fundraising initiative aspires to increase donations to Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes.

Chicago, IL (December 2, 2013) -- For a fourth year, Chicago Cuttin’ Crew and ROBOTS <3 have partnered to bring Afterglow - A Cyclocross Race to the Douglas Park Golf Course in Chicago on December 21, 2013. Pre-registration is available at www.bikereg.com/Afterglow, and day-of registration will open at 9:00 am. Like last year, proceeds from the race directly benefit two Chicago youth cycling not-for-profit programs, Blackstone Bicycle Works in the Woodlawn neighborhood and West Town Bikes in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Blackstone and WTB were able to use last year’s race donations for their youth racing clubs, working with youth between the ages of 10-18. Both clubs aim to practice teamwork and sportsmanship; promote fitness and healthy lifestyle habits; and provide sponsorship, mentorship, and coaching to underrepresented populations in the cycling community who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in cyclocross events.

Blackstone and WTB use the donations for team registration, USAC insurance, USAC licenses, race/practice food and nutrition, and race registration. Nearly a third of the donations from Afterglow offset Blackstone and WTB’s youth USA Cycling licenses.

For the 2014 racing season, USA Cycling plans to implement a 50% increase to the one-day license fee and a 16% increase to the annual license fee. This increase will be yet another challenge these youth will face in participating in competitive cyclocross events. Afterglow seeks to provide even more fiscal support through donations in order for Blackstone and WTB to continue their mission of making cyclocross bike racing an accessible option for their youth, benefiting not only the youth involved, but the cyclocross community by creating diversity and providing a broader perspective.

For additional information on Afterglow - A Cyclocross Race, visit www.bikereg.com/Afterglow. Donations for Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes will be accepted at BikeReg and on site at the race.

Contact:
Marie Snyder
Chicago Cuttin’ Crew
chicagocuttincrew [at] gmail.com
www.chicagocuttincrew.com

Chris Jensen
ROBOTS <3
robotspblove [at] gmail.com
robotspblove.wordpress.com

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Photo Credits: Blackstone Bicycle Works and West Town Bikes

Off-Season Training

With Afterglow a mere 3 weeks away, let's check in with our contenders for Sweet Justice...