Moving Target

House of Pistard back on-line
18 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

London’s most useless messenger shirt manufacturer is back! Read the usual mix of courier news from an actual working courier, utter nonsense and see pics of messengers in various states of disarray over here.

Leicester cargo bike service a success
12 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

I don’t know that I would call it a courier service, but it certainly is a bicycle delivery service, so I guess we can stretch a point.

Rollapaluza Winter League
12 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

Mid-week roller races from my friends at Rollapaluza. First 2 are Wednesday 19th November at the White Hart, 1 Mile End Road and 3rd December at the Horseshoe, 24 Clerkenwell Close. Qualifying from 6, finals from 9. £5 entry, and there’s an open mic spot for wannabe MCs, and open decks for wannabe DJs. More at Rollapaluza’s web-site.

More from the Met Traffic Unit
9 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

This press release direct from the Met Police Press Office:

Encouraging lorries and cyclists to safely share the road is the aim of a targeted three-week operation kicking off on November 10th. Working across six boroughs, traffic officers and local Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be out and about in force during rush hour to interact with cyclists and lorry drivers. The aim is to educate both groups about the dangers they pose to each other, which tragically can all too easily result in death.

Team Awesome Day 15th November
8 November 2008 by Ms Nhatt Attack

THIS SATURDAY!!!!!!
Team Totally Awesome are having a day of drinking and games to convince all you all to be more awesome.

Bendy buses have not killed any London cyclists
8 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

I missed this article when it came out, but as you may remember, Boris Johnson last year labelled bendy buses cyclist killers, saying they “wipe out cyclists, there are many cyclists killed every year”. But there aren’t.

The latest official figures, obtained by Val Shawcross, Labour’s transport spokesman on the Assembly, show there have in fact been no fatal incidents involving cyclists and the buses and only four serious incidents – where the cyclist may have required medical treatment – in the last four years.

Seattle courts to accept e-filing - messengers out of work?
7 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

Court filings are, or were, a big part of US messengers pay-packets. However more and more districts are now accepting electronic filing. This from Seattle:

The move by King County has several messenger companies in Seattle worried. Ron Belec, who owns North West Legal Support in Seattle, said that many bike couriers lost their jobs when the federal courts system shifted to electronic filing. He predicts many of the remaining 100 to 150 bike messengers will also be out of work when King County makes the transition. “That will be the death for all messengers,” said Belec. “If they do it like they did it in the federal system, the messenger system will just go away.”

JoAnne Good has a go at cyclists on BBC London
6 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

Just got this email:

As an occasional reader of your fine online zine, I read your comments about what the Met Traffic Police are doing with relation to HGV/cyclist collisions. Good opinions well voiced. I thought I’d draw you attention to what I heard on BBC Radio London that same morning when they commendably chose to cover the event with an outside broadcast unit.

More awareness raising stuff
5 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

You might remember the ‘dancing bear’ ad, which, despite its faults, drew people’s attention to how easy it is to miss things when you are not looking for them (if you don’t or missed it at the time, see the MT article here). There’s more of the same clever stuff here. Thanks to TfL for the effort and energy.

HTFU Alleycat this Friday
5 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

Bike lanes in New York City
3 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

Even in their absence bike lanes proved a source of frustration. Back in sleepy Brooklyn I often get yelled at by drivers on streets without bike lanes. ‘What do you think you’re doing? Ain’t no bike lane here!’ In New York City a bike has the same rights and responsibilities as any other vehicle. It’s illegal (and dangerous) to ride on the sidewalk and you certainly don’t need a bike lane to ride on any street you want.

Thoughtful article on the benefits (and otherwise) of bicycle lanes in New York.

Project Messenger
3 November 2008 by Buffalo Bill

This pic is nice, but not so sure about the accompanying blurb, which says that ‘Projectmessenger is a long term thematic and lifestyle exploration of the bike messenger community that will be printed as a book in 2010. This exhibit scratches the surface of a much larger body of work that Jerome has shot over the course of the past 11 years.

Known for his striking portraits, razor sharp style and ability to capture softness in that which is often not soft, Jerome’s connection to the people he shoots is intimate, personal and tribal. On and off the road as a Montreal bike messenger from 1997 to 2004 while building up his freelance business, Jerome’s artistic development and sense of self has been very much affected by biking thousands of hours in the urban core – rain, snow or shine.

More often than not, being a messenger is not just a job, it’s a fast paced 24/7 lifestyle. Jerome’s photographs extract the individuals from the daily drind, capturing isolated moments in time that have stories of their own.’