Nerves of Steel - autographed by the author Rebecca Reilly

Nerves of Steel is the first comprehensive book about American bike messengers; a portrait of past and present. It is a compilation of seven years of on-the-road research of a profession that is 104 years and six months older than the Pony Express...In the 40 years of the modern messenger, a public forum has discussed the bike messenger in the media, and in city government across the United States. Politicians, journalists and business leaders have proposed licensing of messengers, eradication of the profession, enforcement of traffic code, and job pricing without considering the effects on bike messengers or the wider business community. This archive voices the views of the messengers in their own words.

Author Bio

Rebecca "Lambchop" Reilly began this trek as a bike messenger in Washington, D.C. in 1993 after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Business and Equestrian Studies.  For her skills on a track bike, with no gear and no brakes, she holds the 1998 and 1999 Cycle Messenger World Championship title, "Fixed Gear Queen."  She is a Colleague of the Creative Education Foundation, and a facilitator in their annual Creative Problem Solving Institute.  An avid reader of the Wall Street Journal, she is fluent in French and a student of Mandarin, Cantonese, and German.  When not on the road, she lives in Kenmore, New York with her cat, Porkchop.