Brightest Young Things

No Handsies
Issue 6

Features:

• Messenger Issue
• Bike Babes Dudes
• Gear Stuff and Things
• Riding Tracks

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Bike Babes Dudes

Rider: Roland

Location: 14th and P (ally across from Logan Traven)

BYT: So how long have you been a DC messenger.

Roland: I’ve been a messenger for about five months now, but everyone calls me rookie of the year, cause of how well I play in traffic.

BYT: Is racing around the city in traffic something that was in your DNA or is this just a job.

Roland: Yeah man, I’ve always been a sort of a hard core adrenaline junkie, I grew up skating really hard and riding freestyle bikes.

BYT: You do any tricks on that thing.

Roland: Right now I’m locking down no handed track stands, one of my favorite things to do is going up to a girl on the street and say to her : ok,  stay right there and then riding backward circles around her, I’m even trying to one-up it by learning one handed backwards circles.

BYT: What’s your favorite bike shop around town for repairs and shooting the shit.

Roland: I would have to say Rollin Cycles, cause I’m cool with a couple of the dudes over there.

BYT: Any events or races coming up.

Roland: Yeah I got an Ally cat race coming up toward the end of month.

BYT: Whats Bmore Fixed.

Roland: Some dudes for Baltimore who made some pretty dope Fixed freestyle videos.

BYT: Best crash story.

Roland: Damn I almost had one of those on the way here, I was moving pretty fast where my legs could barely keep up with the pedals I come to the intersection and like 9 people hop out against the red and no one’s looking, I was able to barley find hole and blasted right thought, but nearly clipped this lady.

Another time not too long ago, I was in a tight spot in-between cars, to keep me from hitting this car I ended up holding on a cab by the spot where the trunk and the back window intersect, the cab sees me and trys to shake me off, well my hand gets stuck and I get pulled off the bike so then I’m pretty much skiing on the wheels the cab keeps going and I'm losing my bike but I keep holding on with one foot to the bike and I got dragged for three blocks before the cab stopped.

BYT: So firing around the city all day, what's the dodgiest street or intersection.

Roland: Certain parts of K street for sure with the service lanes and the pot holes but I've been practicing hitting them with no hands, New York is up there too and going the wrong way up 12th st but I make it work regardless.

BYT: So is that a Knog light in your hub.

Roland: Yeah, I got one in each hub, looks badass at night with the wheels spinning, got the white ones to match the hub so it makes it harder see and steal when its parked.

Roland: Alright ride safe man, I know I won't...

Gear Stuff and Things

Messenger Bags - for hauling around your laptop, books, top secret shit or just a 12 pack of Natty Bo. These have long come in handy for both couriers and average riders alike for transporting stuff.  Long considered a staple of urban riders, I was first inspired to get a messenger bag around the time Puck was on the Real World San Fransisco.

So, if you're in the market for a bag , I'm going to run down a few choice options from custom bags to satchels made from old bike tubes.

Chrome
Best known for their seat-belt closure strap Chrome has been making bags for 16 years, starting out of a garage in Boulder Colorado they now have retail spots in NYC, SF, and now in Chicago. If you're looking to support your local shop, most bike shops in DC carry Chrome bags. If you're afraid that you'll be rocking that same bag as some other khacki wearing peddlers in the city, differentiate yourself by slapping  a Warchild or The Points patch on it, or get this LTD Motorhead  bag from Chrome's backdoor sale.

Or really support local biz and get a Durkl x Ortlieb Messenger Bag (scope this promo vid shot around DC)

Reload
Reload, pioneers in the custom bag making business they got their start in the Philadelphia messenger community in 98 and took off after some well-known vets asked them to make them custom bags. What Reload has always tried to do, is allow people to express themselves through their bag design. Even from the beginning, they offered color choices for all parts of the bag.

One of their bags designers Gerik Forston makes absolutely sick graphics, he was adorning bags with images of the undead way before zombies were cool.

Reload has run its share of limited edition bags, including a music tribute series by one of the founders Ro, honoring the musical legacies of his favorite artists.  I remember seeing this particular tribute bag for the late J Dilla in the window of the Philly shop years ago.

Burro Bags
Burro bags based in Jacksonville FL, has a solid marketing aesthetic that I'm down with and they make pretty sick bags as well. Check out this lookbook of their 2012 line of goods.

Alchemy Goods

In addition to custom jobs, bags made of recycled materials are another option, Alchemy Goods compares themselves to medieval alchemists who sought to turn lead into gold; these guys strive to turn blown-out inner tubes, old seatbelts and advert banners into useful stuff like bags and wallets.

Wheelman

Chances are if you have some tweed or seersucker in your closet or a Linus bike parked in your efficiency, then you might dig on these classic looking bags made of authentic Italian fabric.

The Italian Poplin "Minuteman" messenger bag. This bag might just be the finishing touch you need for your fancy bicycle fashion shoot.

To be sure no one else in the photos has your bag, SewMuchStyle sells messenger bags/laptop sleeves made from used suit coats, so no two bags are alike.

More Bags

Find your style and get something to carry your stuff in, whatever that might be..

Riding Tracks

Back in high school I used to hang out with this chick who was a pretty legit Riot Grrrl dressed like Lori Petty in tank girl. We would ride our bikes to punk shows at our local venue, Sea Sea's and exchange music. As a result I ended up adding Grrl bands like Bikini Kill, Sleteky Kinney, L7 and Cold Cold Hearts to my tape of a CD rotation. Like these earlier bands, Wild Flag resurrects the aggressive their spirit, but cuts it with the right amount of "indie" rock. I'm throwing out this video because my galpal grew up to become a bike messenger in Philly and Wild Flag's also right at home playing in this bike shop at a little festival down South.

Previously in no handsies:

• 1/27: No Handsies - Bike Column NYC issue
• 10/13: No Handsies: Issue 5
• 8/18: NO HANDSIES: A Biker's Guide
• 7/15: NO HANDSIES: A Biker's Guide
• 6/24: NO HANDSIES: A Biker's Guide
• 6/17: NO HANDSIES: A Biker's Guide