Help Us Send Hodari Depalm to the CMWC in TO!
In a few short weeks, New York’s sexiest bike courier, Hodari Depalm, will travel to Toronto, Ontario for the Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC). There he will defend his cargo bike racing title.
Help us send Hodari Depalm to Toronto to defend his Cargo Bike Racing
title at the CMWC. Momentum has committed to pay for Hodari’s travel
expenses because we want to see him in action! All funds raised will go
to Hodari’s Cargo Bike Championship Fund. Donate now! Your contribution will help us help Hodari kick fashionista trackstar messenger butt in TO!
Depalm is a veteran of eight international messenger races: the CMWC in San Francisco; DC; Philadelphia; Budapest; Seattle; New York, and the North American Championships in Toronto and Philadelphia. At the 2005 CMWC in New York City he captured his title. No cargo bike races have run in the ensuing CMWC in Sydney (2006) or Dublin (2007), meaning that Depalm still holds the title. Beyond defending his victory, Hodari has another goal for 2008: “I want to be the first guy to qualify for the finals of the main race on a cargo bike”
Hodari in the film Red Light Go
Depalm owns Checker Courier, the only all-cargo bike courier service in New York City. In his daily work, Depalm rides a bike made by Bilenky Cycleworks of Philadelphia: “The best goddamned bike in the world – and I want you to quote me on that.”
Momentum is supporting Hodari’s bid for the cargo bike racing title. 1,000 cycle messengers from around the globe will descend on Toronto for the Championships in Toronto & Toronto Island from June 13-16, 2008.
Hodari is Momentum Magazine’s New York City distributor. We’ll be rooting for him as he competes in TO – and we’d like to gather support and interest for a very timely competition – the Cargo Races. We’re betting on the cargo bike races to be the sleeper event of the CMWC. Hodari’s main rival for the title is Martin Larsen of Denmark who will be challenging again this year.
As far as Momentum is concerned the cargo bike is the evolution of bike messengering. There are a lot of items you simply cannot fit into a messenger backpack and the cargo bike makes the bicycle delivery business viable in our information age when many of the documents formerly delivered by bike are now sent electronically.
“Here in New York there’s a lot of fashion and graphic arts so you’ve got small props for photo shoots, wardrobe for television and film and magazine shoots, and a lot of printing as well. It just makes sense to have a bike that can handle that kind of load….Unless you’re moving furniture, 80 to 85% of the stuff (being couriered) is bike-able. If you have a cargo bike you can do 80 - 85% of the work.”
Help us help Hodari. Donate early, donate often.