nothing but trouble.

from the get go things were looking bad at the 2nd annual mill city cx, hosted by the hub cycling league in powderhorn park. minneapolis' only "true" ghetto cx race!

as we rolled up to the scene, dodging crackheads and warring gangs crossfire, we noticed a large amount of caution tape in the park. our fears were soon put to rest though, it was not a crime scene after all... it was the cross race!

things started to go downhill again though with the realization that some other event must have been scheduled in the park that day as well, because peace coffee, burnsville subaru, pizza luce, giant bicycles, surly, red bull, and scion were all setting up almost right on top of the course!

then the minneapolis fire dept showed up. i didn't see the fire, but it was probably one of the nearby crack dens... they must have been rookies because they ended up getting a bunch of water all over part of the course! i though maybe no one would want to race in the torrid conditions, but i guess over 200 people registered anyway. go figure.

to my knowledge no one fell in the mud. although there were 3 drive-by shootings, 4 car-jackings, and 2 arrests by uscf officials for soliciting prostitution. (thanks alan... jeez).

here are some photos.

i know what you're thinking, "what a physco! who would bring a $150 digital camera into the ghetto!?"
well that's how much i care. sometimes risks have to be taken, like riding through mud at a cx race.


[caption: "where's the fire? what a bunch of retards."]



[caption: "dag was one of the early drive-by victims. get well soon."]


[caption: sick boy might have thought that his presence at the race was monumental after his public decrying of the mud, and assurance that he would not attend. but the crowd, yawning in the background, seemed unimpressed.]



[caption: hollywood found it relativly easy to score a decent rock in the immediate area, and proceeded to excel on the course with an average heartrate of 236 bpm. this may also explain some erratic riding that took out paul from the hub. even in his state hwood was all class and turned back to check on his fallen competitor.]