The Future of America

Are you, like our very own Ella Neurohr, a LADY JUNIOR? Are you a lady junior who placed in the top 5 in your category (10-14 or 15-18)?

If so, then we have a medal or ribbon for you! Some of you have very kind and patient parents who stuck around to see you stand proud on that podium. And, understandably, some of you had to return to the life that is outside of cyclocross.

If you are a lady junior who didn't get a chance to grab your medal or ribbon from Hopkins Park, Chicago Cuttin Crew will have it for you at Dan Ryan Woods this weekend! If you aren't going to be able to make it to Dan Ryan, then email us at chicagocuttincrew AT gmail DOT com, and we'll mail it to you.

For the rest of you: The Official Mumford Race Report

mumford hopkins alter

First and foremost I would like to state that I won cat three Hopkins Park last year. So on Saturday night I had a team get together at my condo. Many folks were in attendance. In the morning Mike drove me to the race in his 2004 Toyota Tacoma TRD. Its black and in top working order. He brought two Cannondales with him. At registration I snuck up behind Chris J and grabbed his butt with both hands. He turned around with a flustered look on his face and grumbled "I would have punched you in the face if it wasn't you." Lesson learned, don't grab butts. I rode two practice laps all slow with no feeling of how the course would feel fast. In the future I will be scrumping my practice runs just like DH. On the start line I was all nonchalant and the whistle caught me way off guard. During the race those awful people who watch cyclo races were all like "hey catch Scott and Brian." If I could have I would have. DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DO YOU'RE NOT MY BOSS! I got third in the mans race.  Mike got some real nice looking wheels from Rob at P S I MET. We took them to Roscoe Village Bikes to get tires glued. Then I bought a single can of beer from Lush. You see I can have one beer and feel real good. I have a low body mass index thus making me sensitive to caffeine and alcohol. Oh yeah and big ups to my competition. Dave Lombardo I know you have my number, it's only a matter of time before you beat me. Keep it up. However by then Matt Silvia will be beating us all.

Mumford Gets Air

Photo courtesy of SnowyMountain Photography

So I get to da race and I'm feeling good. I do a good warm up by riding fast. I ride the course with Chase, he rides real fast. I see the single barrier, I can jump this. I go to the start line. I'm not nervous because I have done loads of races this year. Some of these folks I have raced in the woods. I have a consistent start, got away from the start crash. CRASH! I race Scott (pictured). He is a good rider. He is a handsome man. I got second.

5th Annual Chicago Freedom School Benefit

Chicago Cuttin Crew has the best sponsors, including a 2012 addition: Chicago Freedom School!

CFS is amazing in many ways, especially in times of need. Open during the CTU strike, Freedom School is providing programming to youth and parents about the history of labor movements, freedom schools, and specifically CPS.

Because they're working around the clock to provide these resources, we are asking for our fans' support!

On November 1st, we will join CFS for Moments of Justice: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington at the beautiful National Museum of Mexican Art.  Tickets are $50, but partying with Cuttin Crew is FREE! We'll be there to share  stories, drink some drinks, eat all of the food, and throw down some dollars at the auction.

Please consider supporting Chicago Freedom School by buying a ticket today! We've got a solid contingent planning to dress to the nines, so dust off that tie and prepare for a night of fun!

If you aren't able to join us on November 1st, you can contribute any amount on their website!

Jason "Fergie" Fergurson

You've seen him at the track, slingin' meals on wheels in the Loop, and strolling around with his lovely wife Olivia in Hyde Park. His infectious laugh and interesting facial hair styles have finally gotten to us.

It is with great joy that we share our newest member to the tribe: Jason "Fergie" Fergurson! Toting an arsenal of anecdotes, hilarious "down state" colloquialisms, and the confidence of a tiger, Fergie is locked n loaded to provide a whooping to all those who dare to race him.

Grab his card HERE!

10 Notes for Relay Cross

By Maria

1. Think of elaborate and varied team names, some examples include:

Team Awesomesauce CHET STEADMAN'S MUSTACHE Belgian Knauffles Midpack Hipster

In the future may everyone be named after Lumpy Space Princesses and Kinky Llamettes.

2. Bring appropriate attire. For increased safety, some participants wear bright clothing to increase visibility while racing. Elaborate costumes can sometime distract the competition, and help them to underestimate how fast you are. No-one could be fast if they're wearing fake boobs or a penguin costume right? And the Hamburgler couldn't possibly have been training all season...could he?

1 brandon

(photo credit:Ed White)

2 sue

(photo credit: Burnham Racing)

3. Bring your pain face, wear it with pride, then make a .gif of it and release it to the Internet.

3 maria

(gif by maria/photo credit: Ed white)

4. Watch the juniors race. Cheer them on. You might just see a display of grit and determination that you can apply to your own racing career.

4 ella

(photo credit: Ed White)

5. Ensure full contact in the exchange, as missed high-fives can lead to disqualification.

6 sarah lu

(photo credit: Ed White)

6. Practice barriers again and again until you can appear graceful, elegant and demure.

7 marie

(photo credit: Burnham Racing)

7. Choose a lightly coloured kit to accentuate the muddy aspect of cross. Those mud stains are tough to get out, but luckily people will see them and think 's/he must be a cross badass' and not 'what a filthy/dirty bike messenger type'

8 mariea

(photo credit: daphinator)

8. If someone should have amazing custom Levi's jackets made for you with your team patch sewed on you should definitely wear them, as it can get a little chilly when spectating, but you can also let people know how punk and cool your team is...

9 andrew jeff

(photo credit: daphinator)

9. Get photographed by one of the awesome photographers, such as Ed White, that line the course. You can then use these photos as a facebook profile picture (credited of course) and everyone can see how you're going fast/looking graceful/falling on your face for the whole season.

10. Show up. Race. Spectate. Cheer. Cowbell. Get way too excited. Heckle (not too hard). WIN!

Thanks to everyone who helped organise and run the whole day. This is one of the best races of the whole season!

Oh ya, and Teeners and Nico got 4th in the Co-Ed

10 coed

(photo credit: daphinator)

p/b Chicago Cuttin Crew

You better bring your fanciest steez and your racing legs because we've got the Best Team Names p/b Chicago Cuttin Crew collected for Relay Cross this Sunday.

We might even find a couch for the celebration.

<3 ccc

IN THE MONEY!

Photo courtesy of Allison

CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME (the true Chicago way)

Thank you so much to everyone that came out to the track to help, hang, race, and/or all of the above! Special thanks to Dylan leading the group ride to and fro!

Too many stories to highlight. I hope you all have shared plenty amongst yourselves by now.

Here are the results of the money-makers. Make them buy you a beer!

CATEGORY A - (Pro/1/2/3)
Place	Sprints	Scratch	Tempo	OMNIUM
1st	Al	Patrik	Al	Al
2nd	Kesha	Joe	Patrik	Patrik
3rd	Matsudo	Matsudo	Sam	Joe
4th	Jack	Sam	Joe	Sam

CATEGORY B - (Experienced/4/5 calibre)
Place	Sprints	Scratch	Tempo	OMNIUM
1st	Max	Max	Sam	Max
2nd	Johannes	Johannes	Crihs	Sam
3rd	Joseph	Sam	Herman	Johannes
4th	Ryota	Herman	Brennan	Crihs

CATEGORY C - (Grip it n Rip it calibre)
Place	Sprints	Scratch	Tempo	OMNIUM
1st	Rob	Sam	Sam	Sam
2nd	Sam	Andrea	Andrea	Andrea
3rd	Arium	Arium	Jimmy	Rob
4th	Jimmy	Raphael	Arium	Arium

LADIES - (we all know some baller fast chicas)
Place	Sprints	Scratch	Tempo	OMNIUM
1st	Anita	Teeners	Teeners	Teeners
2nd	JRho	Anita	JRho	Anita
3rd	Teeners	JRho	Anita	JRho
4th	Allison	Astrid	Josephine	Allison

AUSTRALIAN PURSUIT - (hero status calibre)
Place
1st	Joe
2nd	Alex
3rd	Crihs
4th	Hern
5th-15th (in no order)	Jack, Brennan, Johannes, Joseph, Astrid, JRho, Kevin, Ian, Andrea, Max, Sam
DFL	Josephine!

CATEGORY CHAS - (most times throwing up all over the damn place)
Place
1st	Chas

If you are on this list, your name is not Chas and you did not collect your payout, come to the Cuttin Crew Checkpoint (anti-winner since 2008), and we'll have it for ya! Also, if you rode yer bike up, you rule, and we will have limited edition Marcus shirts for you too!

Thanks!

Marie & Jeff

CMWC Track Day

Lots of dollar$ to give out to 4 different categories, including the ladies! The schedule includes 5 different races that will allow for both sprinters and the endurance riders to show off. Here are brief explanations of each:

• Match Sprints are 3-lap races involving 2 to 4 riders who begin in a standing start. These head-to-head sprints involve just as much smarts and tactics as they do speed and power.
• A Scratch race is simple even for you hungover folks: be the first to cross the line on the bell lap and you get the dollars.
• And even simpler for you rookies, the Chariot is a one-lap drag race between 4-8 people. First person to cross the line grabs the gold. Just be sure you can stay still for another standing start.
• The Tempo awards points on each lap: 2 points for the first person to cross the line, 1 for second. We’ll do some simple mathematics, and decide who’s accrued the greatest amount of points. Most points is the winner.
• Lace up those boots and get ready for a race as rare as a kangaroo in America itself, the Australian Pursuit! Our exhibition race lines the riders by ability equidistant from each other. The object of this game is to catch the riders ahead, therefore eliminating them from the race. The lone rider is crowned victorious.

Get yourself out to Northbrook for a solid day of bikes--and if you're up for watching some pros, stick around for Thursday Night Racing, featuring the crowd pleasing Madison! If you're a real tough guy, grab some grub and stick around and show the new kids what sanctioned racing is all about.

Directions BIKE UP/ CARPOOL: Meet at 10:30 am at Upgrade - 1130 W Chicago. Otherwise, Mr. Yojimbo's himself suggests either taking Milwaukee or Elston up to Waukeegan OR North Branch Trail to Willow (you'll have to pull out the map to figure out the residential street directions). He also mentions that there is a REAL good ice cream shop on Waukeegan a mere 2 miles from the track!

DRIVE: You're a messenger! Smartphone your way to  1479 Maple Ave, Northbrook, IL

METRA: From Union Station take the Milwaukee-North train towards Fox Lake. Get off at the Northbrook stop. Walk/ride north toward Walters Avenue and turn right. Continue on Walters, then turn right on Orchard and continue til you see that big ol' velo

See you out there!

We Came, We Saw, We Crushed. Meow.

It starts in 2010. The guys of the Cuttin Crew rolled into Riverwest for their 24 hour bike race, and charmed the pants off of every volunteer, checkpoint worker, community member, and fellow racer while simultaneously biking like madmen and taking home the W. We had a lot to live up to this year, and a big goal of our own. We wanted to see an all-female team make it to the podium. We wanted to prove that we didn't need a separate category, and that we were just as capable to throw down with the guys. This would also be our first race all together as a team: Jamie, Christina, Marie, Maria, and myself.

We knew we had to CRUSH and keep CRUSHIN until we could CRUSH no more. Things started off steady and as results started to pour in we found ourselves in a good place. But we had to maintain fast laps and not waste too much time at checkpoints. Christina pulled some speedy laps in the late night shifts and then Marie was sent out around 4am to close out the night. Shortly after we get news that Marie has been in an accident. A cat and a bicycle both met their end, and Marie was fortunate to escape with a sprained wrist. Now we are down to 4 riders, with 14 hours to go.

Highlights from the next 13 hours:

• Glitter ramp after Checkpoint 1 created by Team Fun Bags= Mad air

• Tuxedo Thunder proving they're not just stylish, well dressed hansom types, but well prepared, thoughtful friends, bringing a supply of nutrition and snax that could have fed 30 Crushin' Crews

• This

• Nap Pranks

• Checkpoint two: Robert (the best Checkpoint worker out there who cheered us on the whole way and always offered a shot of whiskey)

• Alex who's yard we completely overtook with 3 tents and countless water bottles and snacks. He was SO TOTALLY COOL

Laps and bonus points kept trickling in. At one point we were in 1st place. Pretty remarkable since we were four people and the other top competition all had 6 people per team. I'm going to brag here, because I am so proud. I love my teammates and I love racing with them. In the last hour of the race we head over to the start/finish and started doing HOT LAPS, alternating riders every lap, hammering hard during the lap.

It was now 6:30PM. In thirty minutes the race would be over. We want that podium spot. If I can't get back to the start/finish by 6:45PM, then we will not be granted another lap which we desperately need. I'm doing the math and finding this an impossible feat. The entire race our best lap time was 15:16, and at this point we've been racing for nearly 24 hours.

I head out, hoping for the best. I pull in to the start/finish, having no idea what time it is, screaming towards the wonderful and charming race coordinator Mike McGarry "ONE MORE LAP?! ONE MORE??" He responds favorably. It was 6:44PM. Lap time: 14:47. I hand off the manifest, everyone is cheering, and Christina bolts out for the last lap. She has to be back by 7PM or else the lap doesn't count.

It is now 6:59PM. McGarry starts the countdown.. 10..9..8.. No Christina. ..7..6.. No Christina. ..5..

AND THERE SHE IS, WITH 3 SECONDS TO SPARE: 23:59:57.

To quote Maria Larkin:

"Seriously when Teeners came around that corner, I almost had kittens. Marie and I were screaming and jumping as she went past and they were counting down. When I was running back to clap her on the back people just started putting up their hands and it was like Hi-fiving a million angels!"

2nd place for Team B, first ladies ever on the podium, 3rd place OVERALL. We CRUSHED teams that had 6 people when we were only 4. Smiles for miles. Thanks to Mike and Max for all the support, and the Riverwest community for welcoming us and cheering us on all through the night.

Crushin' Crew

Remember the rain of 2010? The heat that wouldn't end in 2011? The reliable unlimited buffet breakfast that brought you back to life?

We wouldn't change a damn thing about Riverwest24, and that's why we're coming back for more!

This year we're outfitting a team with some of the strongest performances the Crew has seen in recent history. With major wins, omnium domination, and skill across nearly every discipline of cycling, Cuttin Crew is pleased to present its 5 beautiful ladies as:

CRUSHIN' CREW

We'll be donnin' the pink, but don't think we'll show you any mercy on your soul. Only advice we can give ya is ya better hydrate. No. Holds. Barred.

See you in Milwaukee! =)