VELOCITY 2011

GET READY BECAUSE IT IS HAPPENING! DETAILS HERE.

VeloCity Chicago 2010

What a perfect day. The sun was shining, the motor pacer was pacing and Washington Park velodrome in Kenosha, WI, was looking great. Lots of people, messengers and city bikers, rookies and experienced racers, families, kids, and curious locals showed up to watch and take part in VeloCity Chicago 2010. Here are some pics I took of the action.

The warm-up paceline.

The custom bars Aaron made for the winner of the city biker category.

People admiring the bars.

Ben Fietz giving the rookie racers a lecture on track safety and etiquette.

Andrew Yeoman of Team Pegasus going up against Al Urbanski of WDT in the sprint final.

The field coming out of turn 2 during the scratch race.

Al killing it.

Ben getting ready to do a few motor-paced 200s.

Messenger winner Nico trying to come around in the sprint final.

Andrew has a quick look over his shoulder to make sure his move worked. It did.

In the turn during the scratch race.

Ted B with the next generation of racer.

Big thanks go to everyone who organised the event, especially to Ben, Julio and Squid. It was great to see everyone again, and great to be at something that really encourages people to get into track racing. In this respect, VeloCity has been a huge success over the years, and lots of people in Chicago who are now regulars at the track had their first taste at one of the previous VeloCitys. Check out Dispatch101 for more pics and video, check out Sage's flickr for even more pics, Time Out Chicago for yet more pics, and the Chicago Cuttin' Crew for the full breakdown.

611 and VeloCity

These are the bars that Aaron made as one of the main prizes for VeloCity Chicago 2010. They're even more beautiful in person, and everyone at the track wanted them, but they were won by Al Urbanski of WDT. Well done, Al! I'll have a full report of the day with more pictures up soon. Julio and Ben and Squid and everyone did a great job organizing it this year. The bars got their great paint-job from ChesterCycles.

Photo by Sage.

Velo City 5

Coming soon to a city near you! Details over at CycleHawk.

[UPDATE] Chicago date now set: May 22nd. Put it on your calendar!

Appropriate...

Velocity rolled out (harhar) a special edition B43 just for Vegas:

Asphalt

There's still time to win a set of ELVS B43 rims from Velocity, Laekhouse and Prolly. You have about 4 days before the contest is over, so head over to the the Asphalt page for details, and leave a nice message and donation for Gabe Allen.

Chicago Messengers Killing It

Chicago messengers have been destroying the competition lately, with wins at VeloCity finals in New York and at the NACCCs in Boston.

The winners of the 2009 North American Cycle Courier Championships, both from Chicago: Nico on the left and Christina Peck from Chicago Cuttin' Crew on the right. Photos by Tyler from IndyFab.

Also, Chicago Cuttin Crew riders Al Urbanski and Molly Godlewski won themselves tickets to the Cycle Messenger World Championships in Tokyo when they beat all comers at the VeloCity finals. We may not have many barspinners, but damn, Chicago is fast!

Andrew Beating Stan

Meant to put this up before, but that's Andrew from Team Pegasus beating Stanley of Chicago Cuttin' Crew at to win 1st place non-messenger at Velocity. Photo by toecutter.

VeloCity Chicago/Milwaukee 2009 Photos

Thanks to Gavin Gould and Andrew Nordyke (with his late 1960's Polaroid 250 Landcamera) for these pics of the action at VeloCity 2009 at Kenosha. Seems like the Chicago Cuttin' Crew put on a great day. Props to Squid (the man, the legend) at Cyclehawk for starting the whole deal, and to all the sponsors who contributed prizes.

Non-messenger scratch race, with Team Pegasus well represented. Sad to see, however, that Frank doesn't race in deck shoes anymore. Photo by Gavin Gould.

Racers chilling on the bleachers between heats. Photo by Andrew Nordyke.

Early match sprint heat, non-messengers. Andrew, Tyler and Sage of Team Pegasus, and Val of Bouledogue Tout Noir. Photo by Gavin Gould.

Stan feels ill while Andrew gloats. Photo by Andrew Nordyke.

Another match-sprint heat at the line, this time with Andrew Nordyke risking death to take a polaroid. Photo by Gavin Gould.

j.dot of dispatch101 calling out laps in the points race. Photo by Gavin Gould.

Al Urbanski of the Chicago Cuttin' Crew getting ready to own his match-sprint heat. Photo by Andrew Nordyke.

Read a full report of the day over on the Cuttin' Crew page, or at dispatch101.

Velocity 2009

Hell yes!! It looks like the Velocity 2009 tour, presented by CycleHawk, will be the biggest yet, with plans to visit 8 cities! The dates for LA (April 19th), San Franciso (June 26th) and New York (July 25th) are set, while the dates for Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Portland, and Toronto are TBA. If you live in any of these places, you MUST go to Velocity. It is, hands down, the single funnest day of track racing you can have, and is both a great introduction for beginners and a good day's racing for the experienced. Squid, you're a star. More details here.

Velocity 2007 Race Report. Yes, 2007...

Thank you, I am well aware that this race report is almost a year late. I’m also aware that the article from the first issue of Cog Magazine makes whatever I have to say here more or less redundant. I think you should stop complaining and deal.

Velocity was my favourite day of track racing last season. How could it not be? Organized by some of the best people alive today, Squid, Brean, Val and Josh, Velocity was basically a party at the track. There was also an alleycat (where I finished second last, I think) and an IRO Sprints roller race party. It was basically a weekend of events. The main day started with everyone meeting up in a rainy Dominick’s parking lot, and ended… I don’t remember how it ended. But in between that parking lot and wherever the hell I ended up that night was some of the most fun track racing evar!!1!

Group photo by PeteD of Cog Magazine.

After we loaded our bikes into the trailer that Val and Brean were towing (not me, I managed to get my bike on Aaron’s truck with the other bikes too sexy to mix with the proletarian rabble) we all boarded a school bus for the trip north to Kenosha. We got lost twice. Once while still in downtown Chicago. I think the driver was legally blind.

The "sexy bikes" truck that I somehow managed to get my average bike onto. From left to right: Henry's ICE, my Concept, Michelle's Watanabe, and Aaron's Gentili. Photo by Chris.

We made it to Kenosha eventually. Bikes were unloaded. Tyres were pumped up. Race numbers were distributed. Infield chilling space was claimed. Barbecues were lit. There were lots of people there, lots of racers but also just a lot of people hanging out and having fun, watching the races and cheering the racers on.

Non-messenger ladies scratch race start. Pegaus well represented. Photo by Amanda.

The peanut gallery. Photo by Lyle (my nemesis) of Cognition Caps.

The racing was split into two big groups, messengers and city riders. The top male and female messengers won plane tickets to Dublin to compete in the Cycle Messenger World Championships, and a bunch of other stuff like custom Chrome bags. Fancy!

The races were a blast. In my first scratch heat I came third behind Lyle and TJ. I won my second heat. Here’s a picture of me making my “comedy smug bastard” face as I cross the line ahead of TJ:

What a twat... Photo by Amanda.

Then, in my last scratch race, I decided I’d jump coming out of turn 2 of the last lap, and try to keep it going. I got a good jump, and I had no idea where anyone was so I thought I’d caught them napping. I hammered away at the pedals, and coming out of the last turn and into the straight I started to smile. I slowed a bit and did the my “comedy smug bastard” face as I crossed the line. I even included some “smug nods to the crowd.” Except I had made a mistake… I had slowed enough to let Lyle, barrelling along behind me like the fast lunatic he is, pass me. Right. On. The. Line. Did I mention that everyone was sitting right there at the finish? The howls of derisive laughter will haunt me till I die. I had fecked it up by celebrating too early, and ended up looking like a total gobshite. Mortified.

I don’t remember much after that. There were points races and miss’n’out (which I think I came 3rd in). We raced, I was made fun of, people not racing drank, prizes were given, I was made fun of, people tried to tell Josh how to run a race, I was made fun of, whatever. Andrew Nordyke and Jen Greenburg won the messenger category and got their tickets to Dublin. Lyle and Val won the city biker category. I was proud to come 4th overall in the city rider category, behind Lyle, Ted, and Henry, three great riders.

Josh, either screaming at the kids or eating a microphone, I'm not sure which. Photo by Chris.

Group photos were taken, beers were downed, bikes dismantled, and buses boarded. The day had gone by so quickly, but I realized that I’d learned more in that one day of racing than I had in all of the track clinics and Friday night races I’d done at Northbrook. Plus, just hanging out with everyone was great, and it was cool to see so many people try track racing for the first time.

Aaron and I warming up. Photo by PeteD of Cog Magazine.

Velocity is not coming to Chicago this year, because Chicago has the NACCCs. But if it’s coming to a city near you then you have to go, and if you race, and you think you’ve won, don’t celebrate too early…

Go here for details on Velocity 2008.

Goldsprints and Velocity NYC.

Looks like a fun weekend was had. Apparently, it was 38 degrees at the track on Sunday, with 20mph winds, but a good crowd still showed up to race. That's the power of Squid, the guy is a legend and puts on a great event. Thanks to John Prolly for letting me use his pics!

Massan from MASH versus Kyle from DQM. I wonder who won?

SPINNNNNN!

Messenger Scratch.

Damn that looks cold, but all of a sudden I want a burger...

Prize giving.

Which reminds me, I should really put up my report from last year's Velocity Chicago, which was a blast.

Team Pegasus

The annual Team Pegasus party is in Milwaukee today, so I'm missing it. The team is basically a bunch of friends from Chicago and Milwaukee that likes to ride bikes. We race track, road, cross, mountain bike. If it has two wheels and pedals, we will race it. And, we'll look good doing it. Which is the most important thing, right? Here's a few photos of the team in action. I miss you guys.

Obviously, this is only the important members of the team. Not pictured: hangers-on and losers. Photo by Kat.


Michelle and Aaron warming up at VeloCity 2007, Kenosha WI. Photo by PeteD.


See what I mean about looking good? Damn, son! ChrisP's glamour shot. Yes, I spell glamour with a u.

ChrisE (cough, raver, cough) at the Washington Park Halloween Cyclocross Classic. Photo by Callie.

Ben, Chris and Henry standing around at VeloCity 2007. Photo by Trevor.

Josh showing how it's done at the ChiCrossCup race in Jackson Park. Photo by Amanda.

Great photo of Henry sprinting at Northbrook by Trevor.

Shawn and Henry going into turn 3 of the Brewer's Hill criterium. Photo by Josh.

KatySnaks on her way to becoming Wisconsin State Cyclocross Champion! Photo by Kat.