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Bicycle couriers bring unique service to
Boise
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The Idaho Statesman, August 18, 2005 By Melissa McGrath Chris Scuglia and Patrick Sweeney recently started Northstar Cycle Courier, which they say is the only bicycle courier company in Boise. The two men met 11 years ago when they both worked as bike messengers in San Francisco. The friends lost contact after each moved away from the Bay area, but they reunited in Boise about a year ago. Unknowingly, the two friends had both moved to Boise at different times in the past two years. They ran into each other one day at a gas station on Bogus Basin Road. After talking, both realized how much they missed riding their bikes and decided to start the bicycle courier service. Why does Boise need bicycle couriers? With the increasing cost of fuel and the effects of vehicle emissions on the valley's air quality, Boise is overdue for an alternative method of delivery. And for deliveries within Boise, especially downtown, a bicycle is quicker and more efficient than a van. What kind of items do you deliver? We deliver pretty much anything within reason. Legal filings and copy work, X-rays, blueprints and design artwork, to name a few. We're also a mobile notary service. Who gives you the most trouble: pedestrians or motorists? And why? Folks in Boise seem to be fairly aware of cyclists so we have yet to make that distinction. From our experience riding in bigger cities, we'd have to say the jay-walking, cell phone-talking pedestrians were the most troublesome. What's the most dangerous thing about being a bicycle courier? Well, probably the most dangerous thing would have to be an encounter with a bus. Yeah, an auto-cyclist collision would have to take the cake. What would surprise people to know about you? People might find it surprising that we both ride track bikes. They are fixed-gear, one-speed bikes with no brakes. |
