by Wendy
from Voice of Da #4, Spring 1997
I have to hand it to the messengers in Toronto. Even though that city is pancake flat, they have to deal with tracks on practically every other street. And on top of that, quite literally, the streets are covered in ice and snow.
These were the conditions in Toronto when I arrived to witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre Race. The race itself took place on a frozen section of Lake Ontario. Huge blocks of ice were cut out of the lake and placed in a figure eight. At about 8:30 at night 35 people were ready to race for $100. Some had studded tires, some wee on fixed gears, some on cargo bikes and then there was Kevin, "Squid", from New York on his fixed gear with no studs. Rubber on ice. Crazy.
Watching everybody race around that figure eight was amazing! There were a few close calls, one t-bone accident where the track crossed itself, and plenty of wipe-outs. But nobody got hurt or fell through the ice. This despite the huge wrought iron double headed dragon they had in the center of the track that they were setting on fire at the start of each heat. Two San Francisco messengers now riding in Toronto, Chris "Tractor Tavenner and Alex Vaughn, both came in third in their heats, and The overall winner was Albert DeCiccio. I had fun, even though I couldn't feel my feet, and I'd like to go back next year and actually race...or maybe I'll just watch again. Good Luck to Ritchie and Lee who are going to Toronto for the Human Powered Roller Coaster. Hopefully there won't be any, or at least as much, snow as when I was there. Keep warm and ride safe. That goes for all of you.
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