The Dead City Alleycat
Ghosts of the DC Streets
this Alleycat was a nod to DC past...
Old Barrelhouse Liquor...
Old 930...
Compassion Ministries...
Etc.
and then
there were some photos wheat pasted to utility boxes and construction fences around town
these photos acted as checkpoints where racers had to answer various questions...
there were these images of now deceased DC Messenger Chris Soda with his tag "DEBT"
at the 2200 Block of Wisconsin Avenue racers were to
Write or Draw the tag...
on the plywood construction fence there are three of each of the Chris Soda images
pasted in a pop art fashion
showing some love to a member of the messenger community who died too soon and is missed by many
then there was a Bonus Checkpoint at Grant Circle
the image of David Confer was posted on a Utility Box there
the question was, "Who brings the noise?"
DJ FATHOM!!!
DJ Fathom would be the correct answer... not David Confer... but I guess I would have accepted David or David Confer...
David lost his battle with cancer just over a year ago
the first Check Point was The Tour de Bike Lane
Dave's partner Cate Cohen represented that checkpoint by carrying on the Spirit of Dave Confer
after fulfilling the tasks at this checkpoint... a cast of volunteers migrated across town to the Holy Rood timed lap check point in upper Georgetown\Glover Park
David was a friend to so many...
David lead so many great rides and events...
David touched so many lives...
David is missed by many...
then on a utility box on Q Street NW just past the Dumbarton Bridge was posted an image of Derwin
Derwin was a long time messenger who was easily recognized by his head to toe camouflage and then also having his bicycle wrapped in masking tape
some people called this bike rapped in masking tape "the mummy bike"
leading to the question, "what sort of bike did he ride?"
Mummy Bike!!!
Derwin was a fixture in the messenger community for a long time
Derwin is unknown to many of the messengers of today
but is missed by many of the older messengers
for that... I gave props to Derwin
then there was a nod to Jay Moglia
Jay Mogila was a LEGEND
Fast and Smooth
not hanging in the park
strictly business
not working as a messenger as a job that he can smoke pot all day
messenger work was a means to an end
Jay Moglia was multifaceted
Jay was a writer...
Jay was a musician...
Jay was a bicycle racer...
Jay was a mentor and a friend...
Jay worked his ass off and build a cyclist Field of Dreams
Jay build the Lost River Barn where he ran the Raw Talent Ranch
teams would go to his training facilities and Jay would run different rides and training weeks or weekends
it was really special
Jay invited me countless times... like a fool I never went
Raw Talent Ranch on the Gwadzilla Page
oh... almost forgot
on a utility box at Columbia and Kalorama there were some spoke cards from an old race the John Dinn of Pibble Racing had hosted...
although at the time... I was not aware of who ran the race...
the spoke cards were printed and placed with wheat paste on the utility box
but on race day... they had been removed
which caused issue with the racers... a selfie at that spot sufficed
the question was
"Who was this Alleycat for?"
Rico, Rico Suave, Rico Palacios would have worked
Mention of Pibble Racing on the Gwadzilla page
or maybe better
(use that search in the upper right hand corner of the blog)
then lastly...
somehow when I finalized the manifest this last bonus got lost in the shuffle
this last image was at Fort Slocum on a Utility Box
"Designed by who? Write it or Draw it..."
Ultra would have been the correct answer
