Timetable for the CMWCs and the BFF

Time has been crazy lately with life and in getting prepared for Tokyo. The fine people at 8^th Inch should be sending me the new bike by the end of the month. They asked when I needed it by and I told them I would like to do at least the September First Friday race as a field test. I have been riding on the exact handlebars that will come with the new bike and am adapting nicely to them…they are quite a bit different then the drops I was riding for the past year.

The TKMBA (Tokyo Bike Messenger Association) has updated the website for the event and listed the rough timeline for everything…in Japanese. Luckily I can wing it with the Japanese and get some idea of what is going on. Registration is between Noon and 9pm starting the 21^st at a place located in Shibuya Tokyo called B1. It looks like they will have registration open for the first 3 days. On the 20^th at a bar called Club Asia, which is also in Shibuya, they will host their welcoming party where they will be doing Goldsprint competitions. I’m pretty excited about that since it’s something I have wanted to try for a while know and thankfully will be getting my first taste of it at the end of this month in town (more on that in a bit).

It doesn’t seem like much is going on the 21^st, but that will probably change. The 22^nd is the start of the race, with test runs and the qualifying rounds happening between 11am and 5pm. They will also be doing the backward circle competition at this time. After these events it looks like they will be doing some group photos, followed by people competing in best backward circles.

The 23^rd is the final day of the main competition, starting off with the final rounds of the main race and the skid and sprint portions. Later in the night will be the award ceremony then the party…which apparently goes until the 29:00 hour!! Not only will I be biking on the opposite site of the road but I will also be experiencing times I have never experienced before.

While I have not written about my First Friday races for a while, and probably will continue on that path, this months race is of note. Friday, August 7^th, saw cool and rainy weather. I rolled to the bar earlier than usual because I was working late and opted not to go home first. I sat and drank and chatted with O’Gallagher, which was fun. He questioned whether he was going to race if it was raining and I wasn’t so sure myself. Eventually a few more people showed up, waiting for the race to start. Every August now Pete from Cog has put the race on, dubbed the Aqualeader Race, after his old messenger call sign. Eric from Cog showed up to tell everyone that Pete had called off the race and everyone who showed up would get a free ticket to the up coming Bicycle Film Festival. I also found out that there was going to be a race on the 15^th, the 4^th annual 8-15 race by Shaggy, who is an ex-messenger and messenger bag manufacturer. I was unaware of his race last year but after hearing about the one from two years ago I had wanted to do his race…so here’s my chance for some insanity.

In addition to that, after writing Pete and email about the ticket, he told me that there would be a sprint race from the theater the fest is being held at (which is in my neighborhood) to a bar in Riverwest for an after party and Goldsprint competitions (thus my chance to test the system out with people I knew. The Bicycle Film Festival is taking place August 28^th and 29^th at the Times Cinema, so go check it out and maybe stop by the Stonefly Brewery for some after party activity, Goldsprint mayhem and one of the best burgers I have ever had on the 28^th.