news from tokyo...

cmwc2009tokyo...

it's not time but it's almost time. hope you cats have been saving up...sh*t, i hope you cats have your tickets already. looks like the kids over and tokyo are putting on a race to be talked about for years and years to come...check out the jerseys...

click here to enlarge...

along with a great race, party, and so on comes an opportunity for people to show off their art skills. Lord knows the messenger community is filled with artists with all kinds of greatness and tokyo has acknowledged it by putting together an art rush...

Please send us your original work.
Print, hand drawn, stitched, re-make, the format does not matter.
Use a T-shirt as your canvas; entries are open, as long as the image is related to messenger.

check out all details here. also, don't forget to not only register but also pay up. remember, the earlier you pay the cheaper it is...

Entree fee paid by end of June: 7000Yen
Entree fee paid between July and by end of August: 8000Yen
Entree fee paid between Sept and by the day of race: 10000Yen

*The price will vary depending on the day of payment,
not the day of registration!!!
*Your registration will be finalized by the payment.

keep an eye on their main site and the blog. good luck to any and all who show up and play in tokyo. wish i could join you cats...peace.

congratulations...

this isn't really a congratulatory story but you'll see where im headed in a few. anyway...before i begin please know that not all our messengers are as special as this man. to keep it even more safe i won't say his number but for the sake of argument we will refer to him as dan? yeah...that works.

so...i didn't receive the call but was around when the other order taker was telling us the story. a customer called to complain about one of our drivers. before i continue i would like to say that thank God it was one of our drivers and not our bikers. although we have special bikers our drivers are a bit more "unique"? i'll continue...the customer had a couple complaints about dan. first, when he showed up to the pick up he immediately, without asking permission, went around the counter and treated himself to some water and used the sink to rinse his arms and hands...wtf?! what a maniac. i know it's hot out but at least ask permission. im sure the ladies would have been more than gracious to help dan out.

he finally leaves and im sure the ladies would have let that slip if it wasn't for the next half of the story. at the drop he delivers flowers, sorry, forgot to mention he picked up flowers. anyway...he delivers the flowers and in a raised voice says..."congratulations, you have a package". i know, i know...you don't get it yet...whats wrong with that? first off, it's kinda silly to say congratulations. i understand that they are flowers but why say anything beyond..."i have a delivery for so-and-so"? well...turns out the flowers were for someone who just had a death in the family...oops! who the f*ck says congratulations to someone who is mourning the loss of someone?!?! i told you we have "unique" drivers. i have no idea what will happen to the driver but i know it won't be pretty.

will this be a lesson learned? i have no idea but i hope all you messengers who actually read this silly sh*t learn to not be a jerk like dan...peace.

did the world stop?

no it did not. it kept turning and turning just the way it's supposed to but...for a few minutes, it felt like it stood still. no, i take that back...things were still moving. calls were still coming in for orders. we were still dispatching orders. we were still on top of things but we were all glued to the tv or internet waiting to hear if it was true. i apologize if you thought this was a bike messenger story...michael jackson has passed...



so many hits to chose from...so many memories. my mom even called me to tell me the news and she started telling me stories about how i had the red jacket. how i used to steal buttons from my sister to take to girls at school. how i practiced the moonwalk time and time again. i understand that many don't care but i do...why? memories i guess. im a sap? who knows...i just felt like saying something. R.I.P M.J...peace.

heat warnings are funny...

it's that time of year when things go from complaining about the cold weather to complaining about the hot weather. personally...i've always enjoyed hot, hot, hot weather. 90+ feels good to me but then again...i am no longer riding so who am i to say anything. that being said, the weather people in the chicagoland area have issued heat warnings...

Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90’s Wednesday, and the heat index could climb as high as 105 degrees, the weather service said.

To avoid illnesses, drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room and stay out of the hot, sweltering sun.

check article here...

i always loved how the news would always report to stay inside on really cold days and really hot days. what if your job consist of being outside for 90% of the time? sure there's down-time and Lord knows it's been slow but messengers still have to go out there. can somebody call discovery channel and them to do a show about messengers? you know, like deadliest catch? bike messenger has to be up there with some of the most dangerous jobs...right? traffic and weather? anyway, stay hydrated kids...heat stroke is nothing to mess around with...peace.

step your game up...

man.o.man...have you kids seen these...

click on pics to enlarge...

boston is not messing around. the naccc's aren't too far away and the boston crew is getting things done right. these saddles are too nice. check out these limited edition saddles over at brooks and don't forget to check on the boston naccc's page randomly cause im sure surprises will keep popping up. at least i hope so.

speaking of the naccc's...the new york crew is setting up a race/ride from new york to boston for the naccc's...

click on flyer to enlarge...

STAGE 1 TUESDAY JULY 28 NYC-NEW HAVEN
(APPROX) 77 MILES GMAP PEDOMETER ROUTE

STAGE 2 WEDNESDAY JULY 29 NEW HAVEN-PROVIDENCE
TBD (APPROX) 120 MILES

STAGE 3 THURSDAY JULY 30 PROVIDENCE-BOSTON
TBD (APPROX) 50 MILES

it's a three stage race but for those who don't want to treat it as such are still welcome to join in the fun. check out the details here. thank you cyclehawk for the heads up on the saddles and the race. don't forget to register for the naccc's...we're less than two months from boston showing us a good time...peace.

umm...really?

well...enough with the good times. time to get back to work. got a call from 1117 the other day at 71 south wacker...

1117...seventeen.

j.dot...what up? what up?

1117...package isn't at the messenger center. do you have anymore information?

j.dot...umm. wait...you're picking up from the 71 south wacker manangement.

1117...yeah but they don't have their information. no number and they don't know where they are in the building.

...wtf?! i seriously don't know whats wrong with people. if you read the above situation and still don't know whats wrong with this picture i will pray for you. we are picking up at 71 south wacker and we are picking up from the 71 south wacker management...get it?! how do they not have the information of the management of the building? how do they not know where in the building management is and how do they not know how to get a hold of them? i had a phone number so after about 15 minutes the messenger finally had the package in hand. ridiculous.

on a similar silly people note...we had a driver pick up from some location out in the burbs. no big deal. everything went fine but we got a phone call about a complaint anyway. i sort of wish it was me who picked up the phone but apparently the client was p*ssed off that the driver had an anti-olympics in chicago bumper sticker. he called to express his disgust and could not believe how anyone would not want the olympics in our great city. while i do hope that chicago does get the olympics in 2016 i also will not get all crazy cause of someone expressing their opinion about something like this. especially not over some bumper sticker. the man threatened to jump ships and never use us again. we told him what he wanted to hear but honestly...what does one tell the driver?

hey...get rid of that bumper sticker. i know we ask you to use your own vehicle but you have to get rid of it?

i honestly don't know if the driver was talked to but i seriously hope he wasn't. that sh*t is just ridiculous. i also hope that we don't send that driver to that pick up anymore...ha! we can't afford to lose any work...especially over some silly sh*t. on another note...it's supposed to rain all week...



at least it's going to be warm? ride safely, everyone...peace.

chicago did it's part...

velocity hit chicago this weekend. big thank you's to everyone and their mama who help put this together and to those who came out to play. it started off friday with a poker run. it wasn't a race...instead it was just a time limit and best hand wins. about 35 riders total but it was a group of three riders and among them one who won. don't know his name so if you read this and know who he is or you know who you are...please step forward. not only did he win but he also donated all the winnings back to the ccu...wtf?! how nice is that? the night ended early for some and later for others. i, in true form, did not attend...ha!

i did manage to get myself out of bed and make it to the track for the main event...

pic by Just.Max...

the day started off rainy and cloudy. by the time i got to the track there was no one there but the weather was turning in our favor. some phone calls were made and little by little we had about 25 riders total...give or take a few. they started off with warm ups followed by a very small clinic. most of the riders already had some experience on the track.

al urbanski and christina, sorry i don't know your last name, won for the messengers catagory. i believe she came by way of san francisco? andrew yeoman and val brostrom won for the non-messenger category. imo...the match sprints were the most fun to watch. the last two races in both categories were pretty close and came down to the line...

messenger...al vs perkins...



non-messenger...andrew vs stanley...



check out my set of pics here and dispatch101's very own photographer's set here...

pic by Just.Max...

pic by Just.Max...

pic by me...

thats right simon...you heard me. i got my own photographer...raising the game...ha!

all in all...it was a great time. thought i would make it to the saturday night relax and drink madness but didn't have it in me to get up from the couch after eating. sorry kids. im sure you guys were able to drink the beer without my assistance. thanks again to everyone who help put this together. a special thank you goes out to ben and, like most events that take place around here...augie...

pic by Just.Max...

keep an eye on the cuttin'crew site...im sure they'll have more specifics about the event. anyway, get ready san flan...you cats got next...peace.