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Don’t Shoot the Messengers : The bike courier Olympics skid into Canada
Explore Magazine, July / August 2004
This Canada Day, 300 bike couriers converged in Edmonton for five days to compete at the 12th annual international showdown. It’s a big year for couriers in Canada—the North American Cycle Courier Championships will invade Montreal in September.
At the championships, couriers compete in a four-hour main race, delivering packages along a maze of one-way streets. For the cargo race, they load their bikes with empty propane bottles and kegs of beer, and drop them off at a specific destination.
Then there are special events for the “fearless and gearless”. Fixed-gear bikes—with one gear and no brakes—are light, require little maintenance and are therefore common in the industry. In one competition, fixed-gearheads lock up their back wheels and skid for as long as possible. At the track stand event, riders balance on their pedals. After five minutes, contestants must remove first their hands and then feet from their bikes. The last one standing wins.
Bill Thain, one of the organizers, has been a courier in Edmonton since 1982. Like many couriers, he would never trade his bicycle for an office cubicle.
“You can stop to have coffee whenever you like--you’re able to be free,” he says. “Plus, I’ve never had job where I’ve been thanked so much in one day. Everyone’s happy to see the messenger.”