Most track cyclists are ten times the athlete that most messengers are. But they don't wear cut-off jeans so they aren't cool. Oh well.

It's also hard for people to get into sports that they don't see on tv all the time. I mean, watch some track racing, it looks cool, but most people have no clue whats going on. I like to watch cycling when its on tv and I've only caught just enough track racing to figure out how the sprint works. I have no idea how keirin works.

This constant association with messengers and fixed gears is also annoying. They don't all ride fixies. A lot do, just as many don't. Some ride fixies when it's raining. Some ride geared bikes year round. Some ride singlespeed mountain bikes.

Still it was amusing when I went into a shop that sells a bunch of fixed gear freestyle stuff wearing my work jersey. They definitely treated me a bit better than they otherwise would have.
They looked at me as though they thought I was pretty cool. I was laughing on the inside thinking how quickly they'd change their mind if they knew how much of a noob I am at this.

While I don't think messengers can hold a candle to professional athletes the guys I work with are pretty awesome and are great riders. Where was it that I read about the pecking order of urban cyclists? There's messengers at the top, then girls on fixies, then everyone else on fixies and then the guy with the rearview mirror and the visibility vest and then the guy with brakes on his track drops running his "track bike" as a single speed cause he decided fixed was to scary.

note... that last comment is not meant to be taken seriously at all and there is also nothing wrong with freewheels. The point is, a lot of people do see it that way. It is kind of nice that at least some people think messengers are cool. After dealing with tons of offices that use your services but still treat you like **** its nice to drop something off at a design studio and have the hipsters be real nice to you.