Paris Courier Champs 2nd May 2009
12.02.09 by Buffalo Bill
Les coursiers de Paris organised last years ECMC pre-event. Moving Target’s correspondent, Nhattattack, made it sound it a lot of fun in her report. So the news that the Paris guys are once again organising a big event this summer comes as welcome news. Taking place on the 2nd of May, it will no doubt feature the same blend of racing, silliness and mayhem as last year. There’s a few more details on the forum here.
In the meantime, students of bicycle courier history will be well aware that Paris was home to the first known bicycle messenger race, le Critérium des Porteurs de Journaux, which ran from 1895 to 1964. According to the archive article at messengers.org, in the 1920s
the event… …ran as a free-form race with 8 controls along the route, where riders were required to exchange their load, pick up a token, or perhaps even jettison part of their load - and then gradually evolved into a fixed course rather than a test of navigation and decision-making (more out of the fact that there was only one obvious route between the checkpoints than out of any mandatory routing…).
< disCONNECTED party 21st Feb Andre Street E8 · 1940s cycle speedway in Hackney >
My great, great grandfather, Boom Speedfast won the le Critérium des Porteurs de Journaux back in 1895.
— Zack Speedfast 12 February 2009, 09:24 #
cheers Bill, see you guys in May!
chistoooollleeeeeeeeee
— jo (j001) 12 February 2009, 18:54 #