Bicycle messenger in Atlanta doing a track stand.

Bicycle messengers (also known as bike or cycle couriers) are people who work carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business districts of metropolitan areas. Businesses and individuals use bike messengers to send items quickly within a city, where bikes can often travel faster than automobiles by maneuvering through city traffic. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (887x1296, 236 KB) Track stand at the Atlanta, GA, USA Critical Mass File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bicycle messenger Track stand Metadata This file contains additional... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (887x1296, 236 KB) Track stand at the Atlanta, GA, USA Critical Mass File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bicycle messenger Track stand Metadata This file contains additional... The track stand is a method that bicycle riders can use to stay balanced on their bicycles without putting a foot down and while moving only minimal distances. ... A courier is a person or company employed to deliver messages, packages and mail. ...

Modern technology–such as encrypted email, and electronic documentation (ex. e-ticketing)–has somewhat reduced the demand for the services of bicycle messengers. Notably, there were expectations in the 1980s that the fax machine would spell the end of the bicycle messenger business, but the industry remained strong^[1]. Some portion of the continued demand is a result of need to send items which can not be sent by digital means (such as corporate gifts and original artwork), but a much larger part is made up of legal documents, checks and sensitive information. This demand can be seen as a result of continued distrust of digital cryptography^[2]. Also common is for bicycle messengers to deliver digital content across the city on optical media or hard disks. Although with the introduction of high speed internet connections, the speed of delivery is no longer the main reason for the delivery of physical media, as it may have been in the past^[3]. Furthermore, in some instances bicycle messengers are used purely for the air of importance the delivery method lends to a package. “Cipher” redirects here. ... An electronic ticket or e-ticket is used to represent the purchase of a seat on a passenger airline, usually through a website or by telephone. ... In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is flat, circular, usually polycarbonate disc whereon data is stored. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ...

The laws regarding the employment of bicycle messengers varies from country to country. In some places messengers are independent contractors paid on commission and do not receive benefits such as health insurance, despite a high risk for on-the-job injury. In other places they will be regular employees of the courier company enjoying all the benefits thereof. Still, it is very common for the job to carry a low degree of compensation relative to the risk and effort required. Yet, there is rarely a shortage of willing couriers, due largely to the freedom offered by the job and to its continual romanticization^[4]. The payment of commission as remuneration for services rendered or products sold is a common way to reward sales people. ...

History

Western Union bicycle courier, 1912

Almost immediately after Pierre Lallement developed the forerunner of the modern pedal-driven velocipede in 1864, people began to use the bicycle for delivery purposes. David Herlihy's 2005 book on the early history of the bicycle contains several references to bicycle messengers working during the late 19th century, including a description of couriers employed by the Paris stock exchange in the 1870s^[5]. During the bicycle boom of the 1890s in the United States, Western Union employed a number of bicycle messengers in New York City and other large population centers. In a curious foreshadowing of contemporary Western messenger culture, these couriers generally rode bicycles equipped with a single fixed gear.
Image File history File links Wubikecourier. ... Image File history File links Wubikecourier. ... Pierre Lallement (1843?-1891) was the inventor of the bicycle. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Western Union (NYSE: WU) is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Equipment

A fixed-gear bicycle

The most essential piece of equipment is a bicycle. Messengers can be found using all different forms of bicycles, including road bikes, hybrids, mountain bikes, and even BMX bicycles. Fixed-gear bicycles are preferred by some for their light weight, responsive handling, and mechanical simplicity which reduces maintenance. Although not ridden by a majority of messengers, the fixed-gear bicycle is often portrayed as a totemic symbol for bike messengering and urban aesthetics. Image File history File links Fixed-gear-bike. ... Image File history File links Fixed-gear-bike. ... A road bicycle is a bicycle designed for use on roads, as opposed to rough terrain. ... A hybrid bicycle is a compromise between a road bicycle and a mountain bicycle. ... ... A BMX Race. ... A fixed gear bicycle This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

A bag is also generally a requisite piece of equipment. Bags with a single strap that wraps diagonally across the wearer's chest, which have become popularly known as messenger bags, are popular among messengers because they can be swung around the messenger's body to allow access to the compartment without removing the bag. Bags made specifically for professional messengers also feature clasps which can be adjusted with one hand (ideal for riding), clips or pockets on the strap for holding a cell phone or two-way radio, and deceivingly large capacities (up to 50 liters or 3,000 cubic inches, large enough to hold a box of ten reams of paper). Similarly specialized two-strap backpacks are also available for messengers, which must be at least partially removed to access the storage compartments, but distribute the weight of the bag across both shoulders. Baskets and racks, mounted on the front or rear of a bike, can also provide carrying space, and at least one messenger service (in New York City) equips its riders with specialized three-wheel cycles, which have a large trunk in the rear for carrying items, in lieu of bags. Messenger bag by Timbuk2. ... Motorola T2288 mobile phone A mobile phone is a portable electronic device which behaves as a normal telephone whilst being able to move over a wide area (compare cordless phone which acts as a telephone only within a limited range). ... A two-way radio is simply a radio that can both transmit and receive (a transceiver). ... A Ream of paper is a quantity of sheets. ... The simplest form of backpack (also rucksack or knapsack) is a cloth sack carried on ones back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders and below the armpits. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Messengers communicate and are dispatched to assignments via hand-held communication devices including two-way radios, cell phones, and BlackBerrys. The BlackBerry is a wireless handheld device introduced in 1999 which supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. ...

Finally, most messengers carry a lock to secure their bike during deliveries. Simple chain and padlock systems are used by many messengers, who wear the locked chain around their waist like a belt while riding. U-locks (also known as D-locks) are also popular as they are sturdy locks as well. For further security, some messengers are known to paint their bikes in ugly, clashing colors to make them less attractive to potential thieves. The front wheel is locked with a U-lock but the rest of the bicycle has been stolen, as locking the front wheel is not a sufficient security measure. ...

Culture and media

Many messengers see their occupation as a sport as well as a job. Bicycle messengers in most cities hold fairly regular urban cycle races known as "alleycats". These races are held informally - without a permit and spread mostly by word of mouth - on open roads and in heavy traffic, to simulate the messenger's working conditions. In addition to these regional events, the Cycle Messenger Championships take place at North American, European and world levels. These events are held as much for fun and messenger networking as they are for competition. In recent years some messengers have taken an interest in racing track bicycles in velodromes, where they can shed their heavy bags and test their speed and fitness uninhibited by other traffic. This cycling-related article is a stub. ... A track bicycle A track bicycle is a type of fixed-gear bicycle specially designed for track cycling in a velodrome. ... Bicycle racing on a velodrome A velodrome is a sporting arena purpose-built for track cycling, i. ...

Messengers have been used in fiction media as symbols of urban living, and have been the subject of novels, memoirs, feature films, television series, songs, operas, and anthropological studies. News media have made portrayals of messengers ranging from innocuous urban libertines to reckless, cliquish nihilists. The latter portrayal is often sparked by local incidents involving bike messengers in accidents with cars or run-ins with authority figures. These incidents also occasionally lead to proposals for, and dispute over, new ordinances and regulations on messengers and messengering.^{[6] [7]} Nihilism, literally, means belief in nothing. ...

The influence of bicycle messengers can be seen in urban fashion, most notably the popularity of single-strap messenger bags, which are a common accessory even among people who do not even ride a bicycle. The recent rise in popularity of fixed-gear bicycles, complete with affectations such as spoke cards, may also be influenced by messenger culture. A fixed gear bicycle A fixed-gear bicycle, also known as a fixie, is a single speed bicycle without a freewheel. ... Spoke cards are used to identify competitors in alleycat races held between bicycle messengers. ...

Messengers worldwide

The Swiss cycle messenger championships under way in 2004.

Although the idea of modern bicycle messengers is thought to have originated in North America, it has now spread throughout the developed world. The attraction of this service is that it provides a cheap and fast method of sending messages around an inner-city area with heavy traffic. The bicycle messenger is most common outside America in northern and eastern Europe, with large and organised bodies of couriers in such cities as London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Zurich, Warsaw, Budapest and Dublin, among others. In London motorcycle couriers are as common as bicycle couriers for historical reasons and most couriers services provide both motorbike and bicycle couriers. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (425x640, 202 KB) Photographer: David Haberthür from bern, Switzerland Title: SUICMC04 press pictures Description: Rachel Picard, Female Winner Mainrace (photo by Martin Bichsel) Taken on: 2004-10-02 11:27:11 Original source: Flickr. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (425x640, 202 KB) Photographer: David Haberthür from bern, Switzerland Title: SUICMC04 press pictures Description: Rachel Picard, Female Winner Mainrace (photo by Martin Bichsel) Taken on: 2004-10-02 11:27:11 Original source: Flickr. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Copenhagen (IPA: or ; Danish: IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark and the countrys largest city. ... Location within Switzerland   Zürich[?] (German pronunciation IPA: ; usually spelled Zurich in English) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... Motto: Contemnit procellas (It defies the storms) Semper invicta (Always invincible) Coordinates: , Country Poland Voivodeship Masovia Powiat city county Gmina Warszawa Districts 18 boroughs City Rights turn of the 13th century Government  - Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz (PO) Area  - City 516. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Spire at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: 01, +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

An annual European Cycle Messenger Championships (ECMC) is organized in a different city on the continent every year. Strangely, the concept has not become especially popular in southern Europe, the heartland of world competitive cycling. There are very few bicycle couriers in Portugal, France, Spain, or Italy.

Outside Europe, there are large bicycle messenger services in Japan—notably Tokyo—and also in New Zealand and Australia. Bicycle messengers are also very popular throughout Africa and Asia where the bicycle is a more affordable mode of transportation. Many Latin American countries also use bike messengers in cities with heavy traffic congestion. Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada created a popular icon of a marijuana-smoking bicycle courier everyman in his 19th century engravings.   , literally Eastern capital) is a unique subnational administrative region of Japan with characteristics of both a prefecture and a city. ... Posada in front of his workshop Calavera Oaxaqueña, 1910 José Guadalupe Posada (2 February 1852 – 20 January 1913) was a Mexican engraver and illustrator. ... In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bicycle messengers

• Alleycat races

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... This cycling-related article is a stub. ...

References

1. ^ http://twocitiestwowheels.blogspot.com/2006/07/economist-and-bike-messengers.html
2. ^ http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub92/lynch.html
3. ^ http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,54739,00.html (written in 2002 or before)
4. ^ http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2006.00645.x?cookieSet=1
5. ^ Herlihy, David V., Bicycle: The History Yale University press
6. ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19990908messenger1.asp
7. ^ http://www.messmedia.org/messville/BOST_LAW.HTM

External links

• www.myspace.com/cmwcxv - The 15th Annual Cycle Messenger World Championships in Dublin
• www.ecmc2007.com - The 12th European Cycle Messenger World Championships in Oslo
• cmwc.sydbma.org - The 14th Annual Cycle Messenger World Championships in Sydney
• ecmc2006.com - The 11th European Cycle Messenger Championships in Helsinki

The Spire at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: 01, +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ... County District Viken Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ... The Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour Sydney (pronounced ) is the most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of 4,119,190, and 151,920 in the City of Sydney, as of the 2006 census. ... Nickname: Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - Lord Mayor Jussi Pajunen  - Mayor Pekka Korpinen  - Mayor Ilkka-Christian Björklund  - Mayor Pekka Sauri  - Mayor Paula Kokkonen Area  - City 187. ...

Messenger associations

• The International Federation of Bicycle Messenger Associations
• The District of Columbia Bicycle Courier Association
• The London Bicycle Messenger Association
• The New York Bike Messenger Association
• Sydney Bike Messengers Association
• Cycle Banditos Illegal - messengers in Budapest
• The Portland United Messenger Association
• Minneapolis Bike Messenger Association
• The San Francisco Bike Messenger Association
• The Windy City Bike Messenger Association
• The Denver Professional Bike Messenger's Association
• The Atlanta Bicycle Messenger Association
• Dutch Messengers Association
• The Helsinki Bike Messenger Association
• Toronto Hoof & Cycle
• Oslo Bike Messenger Association
• The German Bicycle Messenger Association
• Frankfurt's Finest Messengers e.V. - Frankfurt's Cycle Messenger Association
• Messengers Bonn - Cycle Messengers Bonn
• Melbourne District Messenger Association - Melbourne, Australia
• Messenger Courier Association of the Americas Messenger Courier Association of the Americas - MCAA

This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Miscellaneous sites

• Bicycle Messengers- A Short Film by Joshua Frankel
• Moving Target, the world's most useless messenger e-zine
• Trackstar
• Bicycle Messenger Emergency Fund
• About New York City Bike Messenger Lifestyle
• Messenger Memorial Site
• The Muppet League
• La Velopostale Geneva in the train
• The Messenger Institute for Media Accuracy
• Speed, Skill and Sausages, London Courier Track Day
• Red Light Go - Alley Cat documentary
• Mess - Messenger Internet & Video Magazine
• Eleventooth.com - Denver Messenger Sanctuary
• Messenger Of Doom - Tales From A Newbie Bike Messenger
• The Times and Trials of a San Francisco, California Based Messenger Company
• fixie-king.dk Messengers of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Cycling Culture
• Rollapaluza Messenger Roller Racing in London UK