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Bike messengers
have pedal power
Couriers combat traffic and nasty weather to make their deliveries on time
American Observer, February 11, 2004
By Lauren Evoy
Washington bike couriers struggle with horrible weather, exhaust fumes and
their bikes' need for frequent care and maintenance.
They do it for one simple reason — they love to ride their bikes.
"We are constantly tuning our bikes the way a violinist tunes their violin,"
said Shawn Bega, of DC Courier.
Since Bega, 33, started DC Courier in 1996, he has employed up to seven messengers
at one time and currently employs three.
Sheba Farrin, 30, works for Bega part-time. She and Bega have been working
and riding together for seven years. Although she works in a male-dominated
field, more women are becoming bike couriers.
DC Courier delivers all over Washington
and into the surrounding suburbs, partnering with a car courier service for
longer trips.
Photo Courtesy of Washington State Department of Transportation
The messengers deliver everything from legal documents requiring signatures
to architectural blueprints, gifts and misplaced cell phones.
Mile after mile
One day, Bega rode 61 miles. Riding at 14 mph, he can cover a lot of ground.
Farrin said the average for a Courier bike messenger is 30 to 40 miles per
day. Because Washington has a relatively small downtown area, riders do not
cover as many miles as they would in a bigger city.
According to Bega, one reason for the difference in the average miles covered
from city to city is the height of the buildings.
San Francisco is the same as Washington, Bega said. “The actual downtown
area is so small and the buildings are so tall that you can spend a lot of
time delivering without doing any miles," he said.
A metropolitan necessity
Farrin said the need for bike couriers started in New York City. Bike messengers
could avoid gridlock by using their bikes to cut across Manhattan to deliver
packages.
Not only are bike deliveries better and more environmentally sound than using
cars, but in urban areas bikes tend to travel a little faster across the
city, Farrin said.
Another courier, Brad Saaks, 25, works for a different messenger service.
He also finds his bike more efficient when traveling in Washington.
"You can pretty much get anywhere within the area that most couriers work
in 15 to 20 minutes, from Georgetown to Capitol Hill,” Saaks said. “It's
the easiest way to do it."
During the winter, one might wonder if bike couriers get snow days. You have
to take the good with the bad as far as weather is concerned, Bega said.
The best messengers will ride in any weather.
"It's the rainy days make you worthwhile to your company," Bega said.
Saaks recommends that riders get the best all-weather gear their wallets
will allow. "That's all you can do, just brave it out," he said.
Other modes of transportation
Both Farrin and Saaks share cars with family and friends. It is part of the
communal culture they live in. Farrin occasionally uses the car she shares
with her mom, but still uses her bike as much as possible, even to carry
groceries.
Bega described the lack of reliance on cars as a cultural phenomenon.
"You get engrossed into a whole culture that is you and your bicycle and
other people who ride bikes, both messengers and nonmessengers," he said.
"It's not that we don't want to drive cars or have cars, it's just not as
important to our life,” he said.
Bega said that people like him design their lives in a closely knit bicycling
community so that a car does not need to be part of it.
He lives in the district and is within walking or biking distance to friends’
homes, a grocery store and Asylum, his local hangout in Adams Morgan.
Team Bega
Bega, Farrin and Saaks are part of a riding team called Team Bega. They are
sponsored by DC Courier, Asylum and Bianchi, a bike manufacturer.
In September, Farrin won the 2003 Cycle Messenger World Championship. Team
Bega has had up to 20 riders at any given time, but currently has a core
of 10.
Bega is also involved in the The District of Columbia Bicycle Courier Association,
or DCBCA, a nonprofit organization that advocates the Safe Streets Campaign
and Bike to Work Day. The DCBCA is just one of several organizations that
unite bike couriers.
GiantFood Bike DC, a yearly ride hosted by the Washington Area Bicyclist
Association, was cancelled this year because of the damages the district
incurred during Hurricane Isabel. This annual 30-mile ride has about 10,000
to 15,000 cyclists participate.
DCBCA helps by providing volunteers, and Farrin rides with the mayor or other
dignitaries.
"We help with Bike DC, we're cyclists, that's the most exciting thing that
happens all year,” Farrin said. “That kind of involvement in the community
… kind of keeps us together."
Lauren Evoy is a graduate student from North Cape May, N.J. She is studying
interactive journalism in AU’s weekend program.
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