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Video: Bike messenger races taxi across Chicago

A race of freeways versus city streets

What's faster across the city of Chicago, a top bike messenger or a taxi? In this video, we find out.

Nico Deportago-Cabrera is one of the world's fastest bike messengers, according to Red Bull, who made this clip. Does he know the streets of Chicago better than a cabbie? And if he does can he get from downtown to the northern centre faster?

They set out at the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower and the tallest building in the world from its completion in 1973 until the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia claimed the title in 1998.

Their destination is Wrigleyville, location of the Chicago Cubs ground at Wrigley Field, which you may remember from the movie The Blues Brothers.

It's 5.6 miles by bike, 7.2 miles by car, but the cab can take the fast freeways while Nico has to battle surface streets with their traffic, lights and slow-moving buses.

Who's fastest? Whose machine reigns supreme? Watch and find out.

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

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25 comments

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Fifth Gear | 9 years ago
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I'd far rather my parcel was delivered by a cyclist than a motorist. It is amazing the visceral hatred of cyclists that you find even on a cycling site.

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Fifth Gear | 9 years ago
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I'd far rather my parcel was delivered by a cyclist than a motorist. It is amazing the visceral hatred of cyclists that you find even on a cycling site.

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brokenorange | 9 years ago
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Ha ha ha! For once I agree with all the abuse levelled at this guy. Good job guys  24

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parksey | 9 years ago
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How to make everyone hate cyclists in 4 minutes...

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parksey | 9 years ago
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How to make everyone hate cyclists in 4 minutes...

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Colin Peyresourde | 9 years ago
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Why all the negative comments?

Because he's cock cheese.

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ct | 9 years ago
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Did James May come last again?

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PaulBox | 9 years ago
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Absolute prick.

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chokofingrz | 9 years ago
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Red Bull - live till 35, die under the wheels of a bus.

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Scoob_84 | 9 years ago
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What is cool about riding like an arse and forcing cars to break and pedestrians to stop to avoid getting hit by him as he goes through red lights.

What a prat and quite irresponsible of red bull

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dodgy | 9 years ago
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Oh just f**k off.

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sean evans | 9 years ago
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This is a walk in the park compared with the nutters on the Line Of Sight film  3

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briano 55 | 9 years ago
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What an arse.

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marche | 9 years ago
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Redbull again…

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crikey | 9 years ago
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My pizza is cold and all the topping is a mess.

Honda C90 every time!

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hitchings | 9 years ago
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Perhaps if he used a decent bike he would have beaten the taxi. Or cut his hair. Not very aero

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Joeinpoole | 9 years ago
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Why does he keep wiping his hands down the sides of buses, even when there is plenty of room?

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Mrmiik replied to Joeinpoole | 9 years ago
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Joeinpoole wrote:

Why does he keep wiping his hands down the sides of buses, even when there is plenty of room?

It's something the fixerarti do. Looks kinda cool I suppose.

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Mrmiik | 9 years ago
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It's like 2006 all again!  35

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Jonny_Trousers | 9 years ago
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Oh dear.

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darrenleroy | 9 years ago
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He probably had to stop to urinate all that Redbull crap out his system.

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jasecd | 9 years ago
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Not sure why we're supposed to be impressed at this guy?

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simonsays replied to jasecd | 9 years ago
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He is enjoying riding his bike and sharing that with us. Whats not to enjoy. You all work for Health and Safety? Nothing here looks very dangerous, and nothing as threatening to safety as the av. poor driving we take for granted every day. Wake up people!

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I love my bike | 9 years ago
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nowasps | 9 years ago
0 likes

asedrt89

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