check out the site...cmwc2009. no details yet but the flyer is nice and im sure this will be an event most of us will be talking about for years to come. im gonna start saving up now...peace.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
start saving up...
thank you moving target for the heads up...
check out the site...cmwc2009. no details yet but the flyer is nice and im sure this will be an event most of us will be talking about for years to come. im gonna start saving up now...peace.
check out the site...cmwc2009. no details yet but the flyer is nice and im sure this will be an event most of us will be talking about for years to come. im gonna start saving up now...peace.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
good job...
as some of you know...the first stage of the irosprint series took place last night at the cobra lounge. i was there for at least 6 or 7 minutes but certain circumstances didn't allow me to stick around. im bummed because it looks like it was a great time...
once again...chris dilts takes some great pics for us who could not be there. check out more pics from the night here. also...don't forget, this is just the first stage. team beer'd has more to come.
dude looks intense as hell...
andrew's game face...
aww...
once again...chris dilts takes some great pics for us who could not be there. check out more pics from the night here. also...don't forget, this is just the first stage. team beer'd has more to come.
here we go again...
it's that time of year. the time when we lose some and others prove that they are one of us...wait, am i still considered one of us? anyway, on monday december 1st messengers woke up to the beautiful chicago weather...as some of you know...that day was tame in comparison to the "broken record" day...
if you look close you can see the sears tower...tallest building in chicago just behind the middle post. stay dry and stay warm out there...peace.
if you look close you can see the sears tower...tallest building in chicago just behind the middle post. stay dry and stay warm out there...peace.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
only one way in...
some people may or may not know that president-elect obama has his transition headquarters located at 230 south dearborn. there's been an increase in security because of it...not a big deal. messengers are used to dealing with security so this is just an extra annoying step but a very understandable annoying step.
well...we have a client call in a package going to one of the people on the team obama is building. pretty exciting...right?! i send 1168 to take care of the situation...not because he's good or is a vet and knows how things work but because he's a block away from the pick...ha! he gets to the drop and...
1168...six-eight.
j.dot...what up?
1168...this package is undeliverable.
j.dot...umm, okaaay. want to tell me more info?
1168...well, this man at security, also known as the fbi has graciously notified me that the only way this is getting up to those floors is through the united states postal service.
j.dot...ok. i'll give the client a call and let them know it's coming back to them.
...the package goes from being a one-way to being a round trip. more money for the messenger. as a side note, it's good to see that the president-elect and his crew have faith in the u.s.p.s...especially in chicago. our mail in the city is known as some of the worst mailing facilities in the nation...ha!
1168...you should have seen the fbi agent. the man looked like urlacher but bigger.
well...we have a client call in a package going to one of the people on the team obama is building. pretty exciting...right?! i send 1168 to take care of the situation...not because he's good or is a vet and knows how things work but because he's a block away from the pick...ha! he gets to the drop and...
1168...six-eight.
j.dot...what up?
1168...this package is undeliverable.
j.dot...umm, okaaay. want to tell me more info?
1168...well, this man at security, also known as the fbi has graciously notified me that the only way this is getting up to those floors is through the united states postal service.
j.dot...ok. i'll give the client a call and let them know it's coming back to them.
...the package goes from being a one-way to being a round trip. more money for the messenger. as a side note, it's good to see that the president-elect and his crew have faith in the u.s.p.s...especially in chicago. our mail in the city is known as some of the worst mailing facilities in the nation...ha!
1168...you should have seen the fbi agent. the man looked like urlacher but bigger.
BEAR DOWN!!
why should i?
we were sort of busy on the car board but the bike board was lacking a bit of work...i decided to see if we could help them out. not a big deal...we do stuff like that all the time. the car board cleans up and the bikers make more loot. it's a win-win...sort of. anyway, i notice an order says...one piece at eleven pounds. it's coming out of 190 south lasalle and going to 230 south clark...too easy, right? it's only a couple blocks. i call up twenty-one. he's always down for car work and i know the man can handle boxes...
6721...twenty-one.
j.dot...what up?
6721...alright, first of all i've been here for like 28 minutes. the messenger center people are rookies and didn't know what to do. second of all, when i finally was escorted up the 1 piece turned into 3 pieces. not only that...there's no way this is 11 pounds. it's more like 100 pounds. umm...i got them, i'll carry them over...
j.dot...what?! umm...you sure you're good? i'll switch it all up for you. i got you on the time and weight and stuff. it's up to you.
...he ends up carrying about 100 pounds to it's destination. when he gets there they notify him that the company moved to another building another block away...wtf?! i know it's just one more block but carrying 100 pounds cannot be fun. so now i have to get him the add stop charge...wrong address means more loot. this order is beginning to shape up pretty profitable for the messenger but he's working alot for the money.
we call up the people sending the order out to notify them of everything...the waiting, the weight, and the wrong address. then the old "why should i pay for car service if you sent a biker?" argument breaks out. this is not good. the client is angry that they are being charged for a car service...completely understandable but...well, it's the way it goes.
first off...the biker still needs to be paid for doing the job. are we gonna charge a bike rate for a 100 pound package?! hell no!! thats ridiculous. what if the client calls in a bike order but the bike board is slammed so we get a driver to take care of a few orders? do we then switch the bike rate to a car rate because we sent a car?! nope. also, if thats the case...the bike board would never help the car board and there's no way we as a whole would hit our numbers/percentages.
it took some convincing but in the end the client understood and the packages were delivered safely. our drivers are good but i've always trusted my crew of bikers to get the job done better and more efficiently. im glad twenty-one got the job done and more importantly...got paid.
6721...twenty-one.
j.dot...what up?
6721...alright, first of all i've been here for like 28 minutes. the messenger center people are rookies and didn't know what to do. second of all, when i finally was escorted up the 1 piece turned into 3 pieces. not only that...there's no way this is 11 pounds. it's more like 100 pounds. umm...i got them, i'll carry them over...
j.dot...what?! umm...you sure you're good? i'll switch it all up for you. i got you on the time and weight and stuff. it's up to you.
...he ends up carrying about 100 pounds to it's destination. when he gets there they notify him that the company moved to another building another block away...wtf?! i know it's just one more block but carrying 100 pounds cannot be fun. so now i have to get him the add stop charge...wrong address means more loot. this order is beginning to shape up pretty profitable for the messenger but he's working alot for the money.
we call up the people sending the order out to notify them of everything...the waiting, the weight, and the wrong address. then the old "why should i pay for car service if you sent a biker?" argument breaks out. this is not good. the client is angry that they are being charged for a car service...completely understandable but...well, it's the way it goes.
first off...the biker still needs to be paid for doing the job. are we gonna charge a bike rate for a 100 pound package?! hell no!! thats ridiculous. what if the client calls in a bike order but the bike board is slammed so we get a driver to take care of a few orders? do we then switch the bike rate to a car rate because we sent a car?! nope. also, if thats the case...the bike board would never help the car board and there's no way we as a whole would hit our numbers/percentages.
it took some convincing but in the end the client understood and the packages were delivered safely. our drivers are good but i've always trusted my crew of bikers to get the job done better and more efficiently. im glad twenty-one got the job done and more importantly...got paid.
Monday, November 24, 2008
cranksgiving...
i was not in attendance...i apologize. most cats know that i usually say i'll show up and then bounce but i honestly did want to make it to this race in particular. even in my absence the organizers were able to put on a great race...
words from brean...
i counted 48 racers who returned to the finish at adam's garage (thanks again to adam and the cuttin' crew!). a few more people stopped by the party and donated food and money. we raised $90 for the track cats and donated $748.52 worth of food to sister mary of the gospel. she said that god was happy about that, and that all you kids are good people.
the winner of the coveted dan mariner most generous award: padraic spent $56.58. he wins a sweet backpack and $56.58. another person spent $87.42 but didn't go to all the stores.
kevin clark won the race part, in a photo finish with adam h. whiskey chris(what a good guy) came in at third overall. allison p. and christina p. took fourth and fifth overall, and first and second women. emily w. showed her love of active transportation by seizing third place in the women's category.
race report from the winner...
I wont say I was nervous about Cranksgiving as much as I was apprehensive. I hadn't done an alleycat in almost a year. I had actually written the race off before I even started – I just wanted to do my part by donating some food and having a little fun. I rolled up to Navy Pier and saw Andrew right away. I proclaimed my disinterest in the race to him. We started talking about 'cross racing the next day and that made it worse. But, when I got to the line I felt better. I even had a premonition of where the 1st checkpoint Brean was to send us would be. He confirmed my suspicions and said GO! At that point all bets were off.
I really didn't want to be too much of a jerk or too unsafe, but I did ride the wrong way down Illinois until McClurg. There I took N. Water under everything and popped up at Kinzie and State. The first store was my old Dominick's at Roosevelt and Canal, so I pushed south on State and made my 2nd "move," which was to ride west in the eastbound bikelane on Roosevelt. This helped me with my left onto Canal and it's also where I converged with a bunch of the other leaders.
Then came my first miscue. There's a gate at the southeastern most point of the parking lot, but it was locked! I hustled back and was in and out pretty fast after that. Upon leaving I saw kids hopping the (tall) gate. Whatever. Once I was south on Canal I thought I was by myself. I kinda eased up on pushing it into the wind here, but by the time I was east on 26th someone had my wheel.
I pulled Adam into the next checkpoint at 35th and King. We both got the same stuff and exited at the same time. Up to this point we were able to leave our bikes in the watch of Salvation Army ringers. I guess he was "bribing" some of them, but I wasn't able to pick up on that at the time.
He and I rode together north on the Drive till it became Cermak to a right on Clark. There we were able to go under Roosevelt and we would take that to Harrison and under the Congress via Franklin. We also had a tailwind at this time and we were cooking. Over the river on Randolph. A half block of Milwaukee on an angle. Fulton, then north on Des Plaines and we were at that new Jewel on top of the Kinzie "hill."
This is were things shook up. There was no one from the Salvation Army (too close to HQ just up the block?). I locked up here but Adam did not. We were both able to get through fast as it was not crowded at all, but by the time I had unlocked and was rolling on Milwaukee towards Ashland he was out of sight.
I was only caught up on MKE at the Augusta off-ramp. When I got to the "Wicker Park Jewel" Adam was there trying to convince a store employee not to let me in via the exit only door. I freelocked here but he had taken his bike in the store with him again. We had to get cookies and there were conveniently located Cakesters right by the self-checkout! (Un-breakable and delicious?) We both got the same things but he was out well before me. He also left his gloves at checkout and I kindly returned them to him (what a guy)! But, I had to take the chain off and put it back around my waist while he sped off.
I was able to catch both the Milwaukee and Division lights when I was south on Ashland, so that helped. By the time I was west on Chicago I could faintly see him. This is where I started gunning it. This is also where I'm pretty sure I ran the only red of the night at Damen. It must've just turned against my favor so I gritted my teeth and "excused" my way across. To get back up and spinning hurt the legs a little, but he and I arrived at the final store at the same time.
Again, Adam decided to forgo locking; leaving his badass LOOK leaning against a wall at Chicago and Western. "To each their own," I thought. I locked up and was able to locate the necessary item before him. At the counter I declared that it was going to be a "sprint for the finish and he agreed," but… because his bike was (thankfully) still there right outside the door and I still had to unlock mine, he was off and getting away.
I gave whatever I had left getting south to Grand as fast as I could. I wasn't going to make the light so I swerved left thorough the liquor store parking lot on the corner. Then I leaned into a hard right onto Oakley and a left for the finish on Hubbard. I wasn't expecting to see Adam in front of me there but I did. He got to the front of the building at least a hundred yards in front of me but was confused as to where the door was. This is where I swept in and opened it first; providing Brean w/ my manifest and opening my bag to display the food items.
I have to give Adam props; that was a great race. I think his bike is a bit nicer than mine (the wheels are for sure). I would've locked that sh*t up every time! But enough about the race. The real story should be about how Brean and Val and others organized a race for a good and tangible cause (nuns were at the party). And to all the others that came out just to give something back. And to how this proves I could've been one of the greatest messengers ever! Just kidding… don't hate me!
how the hell did you people let a sox fan win?! this is outrageous!! not only that...he isn't even a messenger...wtf?!!
all kidding aside, good job to everyone who was there. good job to the race organizers brean and val. from what it sounds like...the whole event was a huge success and even better...it was fun. don't forget...the december irosprints are coming up and thats for a good cause also...messengers!
words from brean...
i counted 48 racers who returned to the finish at adam's garage (thanks again to adam and the cuttin' crew!). a few more people stopped by the party and donated food and money. we raised $90 for the track cats and donated $748.52 worth of food to sister mary of the gospel. she said that god was happy about that, and that all you kids are good people.
the winner of the coveted dan mariner most generous award: padraic spent $56.58. he wins a sweet backpack and $56.58. another person spent $87.42 but didn't go to all the stores.
kevin clark won the race part, in a photo finish with adam h. whiskey chris(what a good guy) came in at third overall. allison p. and christina p. took fourth and fifth overall, and first and second women. emily w. showed her love of active transportation by seizing third place in the women's category.
race report from the winner...
I wont say I was nervous about Cranksgiving as much as I was apprehensive. I hadn't done an alleycat in almost a year. I had actually written the race off before I even started – I just wanted to do my part by donating some food and having a little fun. I rolled up to Navy Pier and saw Andrew right away. I proclaimed my disinterest in the race to him. We started talking about 'cross racing the next day and that made it worse. But, when I got to the line I felt better. I even had a premonition of where the 1st checkpoint Brean was to send us would be. He confirmed my suspicions and said GO! At that point all bets were off.
I really didn't want to be too much of a jerk or too unsafe, but I did ride the wrong way down Illinois until McClurg. There I took N. Water under everything and popped up at Kinzie and State. The first store was my old Dominick's at Roosevelt and Canal, so I pushed south on State and made my 2nd "move," which was to ride west in the eastbound bikelane on Roosevelt. This helped me with my left onto Canal and it's also where I converged with a bunch of the other leaders.
Then came my first miscue. There's a gate at the southeastern most point of the parking lot, but it was locked! I hustled back and was in and out pretty fast after that. Upon leaving I saw kids hopping the (tall) gate. Whatever. Once I was south on Canal I thought I was by myself. I kinda eased up on pushing it into the wind here, but by the time I was east on 26th someone had my wheel.
I pulled Adam into the next checkpoint at 35th and King. We both got the same stuff and exited at the same time. Up to this point we were able to leave our bikes in the watch of Salvation Army ringers. I guess he was "bribing" some of them, but I wasn't able to pick up on that at the time.
He and I rode together north on the Drive till it became Cermak to a right on Clark. There we were able to go under Roosevelt and we would take that to Harrison and under the Congress via Franklin. We also had a tailwind at this time and we were cooking. Over the river on Randolph. A half block of Milwaukee on an angle. Fulton, then north on Des Plaines and we were at that new Jewel on top of the Kinzie "hill."
This is were things shook up. There was no one from the Salvation Army (too close to HQ just up the block?). I locked up here but Adam did not. We were both able to get through fast as it was not crowded at all, but by the time I had unlocked and was rolling on Milwaukee towards Ashland he was out of sight.
I was only caught up on MKE at the Augusta off-ramp. When I got to the "Wicker Park Jewel" Adam was there trying to convince a store employee not to let me in via the exit only door. I freelocked here but he had taken his bike in the store with him again. We had to get cookies and there were conveniently located Cakesters right by the self-checkout! (Un-breakable and delicious?) We both got the same things but he was out well before me. He also left his gloves at checkout and I kindly returned them to him (what a guy)! But, I had to take the chain off and put it back around my waist while he sped off.
I was able to catch both the Milwaukee and Division lights when I was south on Ashland, so that helped. By the time I was west on Chicago I could faintly see him. This is where I started gunning it. This is also where I'm pretty sure I ran the only red of the night at Damen. It must've just turned against my favor so I gritted my teeth and "excused" my way across. To get back up and spinning hurt the legs a little, but he and I arrived at the final store at the same time.
Again, Adam decided to forgo locking; leaving his badass LOOK leaning against a wall at Chicago and Western. "To each their own," I thought. I locked up and was able to locate the necessary item before him. At the counter I declared that it was going to be a "sprint for the finish and he agreed," but… because his bike was (thankfully) still there right outside the door and I still had to unlock mine, he was off and getting away.
I gave whatever I had left getting south to Grand as fast as I could. I wasn't going to make the light so I swerved left thorough the liquor store parking lot on the corner. Then I leaned into a hard right onto Oakley and a left for the finish on Hubbard. I wasn't expecting to see Adam in front of me there but I did. He got to the front of the building at least a hundred yards in front of me but was confused as to where the door was. This is where I swept in and opened it first; providing Brean w/ my manifest and opening my bag to display the food items.
I have to give Adam props; that was a great race. I think his bike is a bit nicer than mine (the wheels are for sure). I would've locked that sh*t up every time! But enough about the race. The real story should be about how Brean and Val and others organized a race for a good and tangible cause (nuns were at the party). And to all the others that came out just to give something back. And to how this proves I could've been one of the greatest messengers ever! Just kidding… don't hate me!
how the hell did you people let a sox fan win?! this is outrageous!! not only that...he isn't even a messenger...wtf?!!
all kidding aside, good job to everyone who was there. good job to the race organizers brean and val. from what it sounds like...the whole event was a huge success and even better...it was fun. don't forget...the december irosprints are coming up and thats for a good cause also...messengers!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
some good people...
well...after posting all the sillyness with the hit-n-run i get a some good news...first, i might be able to get my hands on a bike for phillip. the man needs to get back on the street and make his loot. second...there's an irosprints(goldsprints) series for the month of december and it benefits the bicycle emergency fund...
IRO Sprints - Cobra Lounge- Mondays in December 2008 from Matthew on Vimeo.
six main facts about the irosprints...
1) Each night will have slightly different rules, but the rules will
not be different enough to affect your time
2) On one night there will be team relays, 2v2.
3) On one night there will be a guitarist playing speed metal while you race.
4) There will be a frame given away to the overall fastest time, male and female.
5) There will be a tournament each night for the other prizes.\
6) all proceeds go to benefit the Bicycle Messenger Emergency fund
this will hopefully bring some fun to these cold winter days. have i mentioned it's been getting really, really cold here in chicago? high 30's is no cake walk...peace.
IRO Sprints - Cobra Lounge- Mondays in December 2008 from Matthew on Vimeo.
six main facts about the irosprints...
1) Each night will have slightly different rules, but the rules will
not be different enough to affect your time
2) On one night there will be team relays, 2v2.
3) On one night there will be a guitarist playing speed metal while you race.
4) There will be a frame given away to the overall fastest time, male and female.
5) There will be a tournament each night for the other prizes.\
6) all proceeds go to benefit the Bicycle Messenger Emergency fund
this will hopefully bring some fun to these cold winter days. have i mentioned it's been getting really, really cold here in chicago? high 30's is no cake walk...peace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)