in the film. The 2000–2002 television series Dark Angel had the main character Max Guevara, played by Jessica Alba, as a bicycle messenger at a courier service named Jam Pony. The show took place in a post-apocalyptic Seattle where motorized transportation was costly and therefore couriers were more prevalent and bicycle messengers were seen as a prominent position. The 2012 film Premium Rush, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is also set in the world of bike messengers. In the TV show Suits, Patrick J. Adams often has flashback scenes to the previous job as a bike messenger. The main character of the game inFAMOUS is also a bike messenger who possesses amazing skills in parkour and urban exploration. News media have made portrayals of messengers ranging from innocuous urban libertines to reckless, cliquish nihilists. The latter portrayal is often sparked by local incidents involving bike messengers in collisions with other road-users or run-ins with authority figures. These incidents also occasionally lead to proposals for, and dispute over, new ordinances and regulations on messengers and messengering. Fashion The influence of bicycle messengers can be seen in urban fashion, most notably the popularity of single-strap messenger bags, which are a common accessory among people who do not ride a bicycle regularly. The rise in popularity of fixed-gear bicycles in the mid-2000s, complete with affectations such as spoke cards (gathered from "alleycats" typically), is attributed to bicycle messengers. Casquettes, or cycling caps, are available in many designs and patterns, and are worn when not cycling or by non-cyclists as fashion items. Events Since 1993, Cycle Messenger World Championships, CMWCs, have taken place at national, continental and world levels. These events are held as much for fun and messenger networking as for competition. Bicycle messengers also take part in formal cycle competitions at all levels, and in all disciplines. Nelson Vails, silver medalist on the velodrome in the 1984 Olympics, worked as a bicycle messenger in New York City in the early 1980s. Ivonne Kraft, who competed in the 2004 Olympic cross country mountain bike race, is a multiple former Cycle Messenger World Champion, and worked as a bicycle messenger in Germany for a number of years. See also Cycle Messenger World Championships Alleycat races Bicycle culture Courier Telegraph boy Double Rush (sitcom) Cargo bike Outline of cycling Package delivery Paperboy or papergirl Premium Rush (movie) Triple Rush (reality TV) References External links The International Federation