|
Pedaling prom is a ride on wild side
|
|
Spokes men and women have
message for SUVs and cabs--bicycles' enemies
Chicago Tribune, August 23, 2005
By Jon Anderson
Like all proms, there was a band, the Spoken Four.
There were lots of people in formal wear and party dresses, though many
of the women had colorful tattoos.
What was unusual was the pinata, hanging from the ceiling, ready to be
whacked with all the energy that 300 partygoers could muster.
It was in the shape of an SUV.
"That's your enemy, right?" asked a reporter.
"Yeah, absolutely," replied one guest at Chicago's first Messenger
Prom, a gathering of many of the city's 300 bike messengers that took
place Saturday night at a music venue in the warehouse district on West
Kinzie Street.
"We're going to bang the ... out of it," added another messenger, the
missing word lost in the din.
The evening began with dinner at Handlebar, a messenger-friendly bar
and restaurant at 2311 W. North Ave.
Prom guests gathered on the trellis-covered back patio to dine under
colored lanterns. Attire included white boots, strings of pearls,
elegant cigarette holders and, for the men, black-tie pants, shirts and
suspenders with, or without, jackets.
"I'm riding in my dress and my high heels," said Darcy French. Like
many promgoers, she wore a crash helmet.
"I was fine, then all of a sudden--sweat!" moaned one guest, pointing
up one problem of the evening: how to stay fresh on a hot Chicago
night. From the dinner to the dance site, for example, was a 2.2-mile
cycle ride.
Life is never easy for bike messengers, others said, citing problems
with pay scales, working conditions, job security and benefits, if any.
"There's a lot of hostility out there, particularly from cabs and
SUVs," said one of the evening's organizers, who asked that his name
not be used. Yet, even in an age of computers, he added, "people still
need us. They need to get things delivered--or signed and
returned--fast."
Indeed, one purpose of the evening was to raise funds to launch the 4
Star Courier Cooperative. An owner-operated messenger service, the
co-op's five initial members--all working messengers--hope to be up and
biking by the end of September.
"We want to bring a personal side to the messenger industry. We'll be
the owners. We'll care," suggested one founder. "But we need to keep
our names unknown for a short time more," he quickly added, for fear of
being fired from their current positions.
At the party, which lasted into the wee hours, the mood was top-gear.
"It's kind of a prom for people who never went to a prom," said one
organizer, noting that messengering "attracts a populace who don't have
a lot of other options." No training is required. No licenses are
needed to ride a bike. And one's background is one's own business.
A hard-riding messenger, with a good service, can make upwards of $500
a week--and also stay in shape.
"I dropped 40 pounds in two months," one messenger said, "and I was
eating as much as I wanted to."
|
|
