kon'nichiwa!

Christina Peck: 3rd place female 2009 Cycle Messenger World Championships

Oh man, I just got back from the Cycle Messenger World championships in Tokyo, and it was crazy. The messengers in Tokyo sure know how to throw a race and show the world a good time. Congratulations go out to the winners: Juri from Tokyo, Shino from Tokyo, and Porno Stevie from Zurich took the top three spots on the men's side. For the ladies it was Jojo from Stockholm taking the top spot, with Yuri from Tokyo taking second, and Chicago's own Christina Peck taking home the Bronze in the 2009 Cycle Messenger World Championship. This was no small feat, as the course and the race were intense, and the competition fierce. The top placing male from Chicago was Nico Cabrera, finishing an impressive 16th place in a field of over 300 competitors.

Nico!

Unfortunately, Chicago narrowly lost the bid to host the 2011 CMWC to Warsaw. I feel like Chicago placed a more solid bid, but Warsaw was a sentimental favorite. They lost a worlds-bid a few years ago, and followed that up by hosting one of the better European Cycle Messenger Championships in recent memory. The city of Warsaw has recently constructed a world-class velodrome, and the messengers in that city have secured use of it for the 2011 CMWC, which was a big selling point.

NATIONAL VELODROME PRUSZKOW

Chicago isn't going to give up, though. We are planning on heading down to Guatemala next year and putting in a bid for 2012.
What impressed me most about my experience in Japan was the sheer scope of what the Tokyo Bike Messenger Association was able to pull off. The 2009 CMWC really was a world-class event. Over 300 bike messengers from all over the world competed for top honors. The TKBMA worked with the City of Tokyo to ensure that a great venue could be secured for the two days of racing. I have attended quite a few prestigious pro-level cycling events throughout the Midwest, including Superweek races and the Chicago Criterium. The CMWC in Tokyo rivaled all of these and surpassed many of them in the level of quality and organization of the event. And the whole thing was put together by working messengers.

Group shot!

Yoshi was the main organizer of the CMWC 2009, and he rules!

I left Tokyo with a renewed sense of community, and the feeling that messengers can do anything if we set our minds to it. During one of the toughest years in the history of the industry, many bike messengers were able to find our way to the other side of the world to compete and socialize. Even though the main focus of the week was on the race, after it was over all competition was left on the course. The main reason that most messengers attend these events is for the community, to catch up with old friends, and make new ones. There is something special about this job.