About the
(Dis)organizers

Chellishe/her

Yo! I lived in Madison and Western Massachusetts before moving to Minneapolis in 2017 to get my MFA in creative writing. My first year here, I accidentally joined a track cycling team and started racing at the Blaine velodrome (RIP). That was my gateway drug into the Minneapolis cycling scene. From there, I started racing cyclocross, learned to mountain bike with Midwest Dirt Legion, worked at Behind Bars Bicycle Shop, and eventually joined handup racing, where I served as a disgruntled board member for four years. I love organizing bike events, from bike-in movie nights to handup’s annual crop top ride. I’m super stoked to bring SSCXWC to Minneapolis and can’t wait to show everyone what our city has to offer. PS, if you think “flyover city” is a diss you haven’t done enough cyclocross races. Flyovers rock!

Worst bike injury: I broke my jaw at theo wirth in 2022 and had it wired shut for a month. By the end of the month I was so desperate for real food that I put meat in my blender.

Fave SS Whip: my all-city nature boy zona with dynamo lights and sexy snek bag 🤙

Kadencethey/them

Howdy, y’all! Originally from ATX, I properly learned how to ride a bike at the age of 20 after winning a road bike in a game of blackjack (don’t ask me about my failures). The bike was a too-big 1985 Panasonic DX-3000 from Tsunami Cycles on SoCo (RIP), which I relentlessly rode around town before moving to the Twin Cities. MPLS is where I completed my metamorphosis into a full-time year-round commuter turned alleycat, crit, road, mtb, track, and cx racer with a penchant for bikepacking and hauling dumb shit to/from IKEA and Costco in all szns. I’m not a serious racer by any means, but years ago someone once asked me if I’d rather give up chocolate or bike racing; I chose chocolate. Rest assured I’ll help to ensure that you have an opportunity for both at SSCXWC so that you don’t have to choose between a sugar high or sweet, sweet victory laps.

Worst bike injury: Honestly, my pride. I’ve been very fortunate to escape broken bones, but I managed to sprain both my jaw and shoulder in separate crashes in a single summer.

Fave SS Whip: the All-City Nature Cross Team Edition in lime, which I modeled and landed my ass on a Bicycle Pubes bottom bracket appreciation post (but seriously, my buns were cropped to focus on the tech - thanks, Jeremy!).

Nikkishe/her

As a teen my dad was teaching me to drive and I got into a slow-speed head-on collision directly in front of our house. Terrified to drive again, I leaned into bike commuting. In bikes one thing leads to another– for me that was a 14 year career as a bicycle courier. In that time I raced and bike toured on 4 continents in 18 countries, raced local track, gravel, and cyclocross, and organized a lot of parties and bike events. When I retired from bike messengering 4 years ago, I had a lapse in judgement where I thought I wanted to compete in cyclocross at a high level. I trained with a coach and was getting pretty good, but then realized my true love in cycling is just goofy-urban-diy-bike-shit and shreddy-bike-hangs-in-the-woods. I’m dedicating the remainder of my adulthood to those two pursuits– Helping organize SSCXWC seemed to fit right in. Can’t wait to see you in Minneapolis in October!

Worst bike injury: Crashing on the skinnies at Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Milwaukee in February 2011. I was on a first date– dude drove us all the way from Chicago. I shattered my right hand, requiring permanent plates and screws, my pinky was dislocated, bones were protruding out of my skin. After 8 hours in the ER together we went out to eat. I ordered a sandwich that ended up being too big for me to hold in one hand and I had to ask the dude to feed me.

Fave SS Whip: Proto-type Super Professional. Thanks All-City. RIP.

Reneeshe/her

I'm a born-and-bred Minnesotan who has never met a pickle I didn't like. Bike-wise, I started working in bike shops and “racing” crits in college (I was very bad), then gifted myself an “intro to track” class for my 20th birthday. It was there on the NSC Velodrome (like Chelli said, RIP) that I really fell in love with racing bikes. From there, I joined the Midwest’s premier FTW track team – Koochella Racing – which launched me into track, single speed cyclocross, road, and mountain biking at the speed that only an overly eager cat 3 20-something could achieve. I've hopped from team to team over the past decade and raced all across the Midwest including Marji Gesick, Jingle Cross (5x), Trek Cup (3?x), and countless other events closer to home. I've also volunteered with organizations such as Little Bellas, and helped organize a handful of bike races in MN. These days you’ll find me competing in technical mountain bike events, trail running with my dog, and racing SSCX locally. I'm excited to design a SSCXWC course that will surprise, delight, and enrage.

Worst bike injury: Probably when I crashed at Trek Cup and sliced my jaw open with my top cap requiring stitches. I was bleeding so much that concerned spectators held a sweatshirt to my throat thinking I was going to bleed out. I finished the race and continued to race the next day too. There's probably still some of my blood on the flyover.

Fav SS Whip: My Koochella-edition All-City Nature Boy (pictured) decked out in pink Chris King hubs, bb, and headset. She will always have a place in my basement and heart 🩷 and I still race her all the time!