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This
is no ride in the park
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Delivering on busy streets
can be like "Zen and the art of bicycle messenging"
The Oregonian, Monday, August 28, 2006
By Helen Jung
James Adamson's job? As easy as riding a bike.
That is, riding a bike with a 40-pound bag strapped to your back
stuffed with architectural drawings 3 feet long. With daydreaming
pedestrians crossing in front of you and drivers cutting you off with
their right turns. Oh, yeah, and throw in some rain, considering that
winter seems to be Adamson's busy season.
He's not complaining, though. As a Portland bike messenger for
Precision Images, a reprographics company, Adamson relishes that he's
not tethered to a desk job and can earn a paycheck -- albeit one that's
a lot less than about six years ago -- pursuing an activity that he has
loved since his youth.
"I started with a paper route when I was 13, and it seems like I've
been doing the same job ever since," said the 31-year-old, originally
from Seattle.
Cycling has gotten a lot more complicated since Adamson's
paper-delivery days, however. A quick read of local blog
BikePortland.org -- with accounts of clashes between cyclists and
motorists, cyclists and radio DJs, and cyclists and police – attests to
the prickly politics of biking in Portland, as well as the entrenched
views on all sides.
Adamson, as a board member of Portland United Messenger Association,
finds himself spending more time attending the city's Bicycle Advisory
Committee meetings and offering input on bus mall renovations affecting
downtown cyclists.
On a recent Friday, Adamson's work clothes consisted of a black
T-shirt, dark green shorts, bike shoes and sunglasses. His uniform does
not include a helmet, which he said he prefers not to wear.
Still, much as he enjoys biking, he considers quitting to go to
graduate school or pursue some other possibility. It's neither the
hazards nor the politics, but the pay.
"I don't wake up and think about the dangers," he said. "I wake up and
think of the financial woes."
He's making less than during the dot-com boom when he was a messenger
in Seattle and clients hired messengers to send notes to friends across
the street, he jokes.
But for now, Adamson said, he's still enjoying the ride.
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