Cascade Couriers

Finally.....a blog post

2009-05-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Geez,

It's been awhile...

For starters, a community bike workspace is coming together behind the Bend Community Thrift Store on Franklin Ave. John Aho is working with Heart of Oregon Corps. to get this much needed program off the ground. So far they've assembled a list of over 100 volunteers, turned in a grant for operational money written by former Bend mayor Bruce Abernathy, repaired 10 bicycles with residents at the Bethlehem Inn(Bend's emergency shelter), repaired 35 bicycles for Commute Options and have received significant coverage from the press...Next Tuesday, May 5th, there will be a town hall style info and planning meeting at Bend's Community Center. I encourage anyone interested in being a part of this program to attend...

A few weeks ago, Our friend Laura turned 30....What better way to celebrate than to dress up in pink and have a good old fashion cruiser pub crawl..It was a blast and personally, I can't wait for the next one..

On Wednesday, May 20th, Bend's 3rd Ride Of Silence will take place..This is a worldwide ride to honor those injured or killed in cycling accidents with motor vehicles. Last year in Bend, 2 people lost their lives while commuting by bike...To give some perspective, Portland, which is about 7 times the size of Bend, had 0...That makes the ride this year very important for us...Find out more here and check back for specific details about Bend's ride.

Earth Day Fair was a huge success..The weather was much nicer than last year and our curbside composting program gained about 20 new customers. It was very encouraging to see so many people concerned about recycling their food waste...

Pheewwww...I think that covers most of it..

Bicycles are for lovers

2009-03-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day...In between the morning composting route and afternoon's "The Source" route, my wife Amy and I picked up something that we have wanted for a very long time....A tandem bike...It's not the Co-motion racing tandem of our dreams, but it sure is sweet...Here's a picture..It needs some TLC and as of right now, the bike is in pieces at my shop, but it should be a fun project..I'll post pictures when it's done.

Who likes Cargo?

2009-03-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

I received an e-mail today from Josh Lipton, president of BikeTrailerShop.com. Turns out in this miserable economy, people are starting to see the value in moving larger loads by bike. BikeTrailerShop is experiencing some steady growth and looking to hire another employee at their Flagstaff, Az location for the spring. This seems to be a great opportunity for anyone passionate about utility cycling..For more info, check out their website.....

What is this.....Eugene?

2009-02-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful day...If you're into gray skies and rain. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. By most standards, this was a very modest rainfall...As a matter of fact, I actually enjoyed it. I grew up on the Oregon coast so days like today remind me of the good ol' days. What was funny(in an annoying sort of way) was that even with the little rain we did get, a lot of streets were beginning to flood. This goes back to my frustration with the whole urban growth boundary expansion that the City of Bend is pushing...I guess I'll never get their logic...You don't spend all of your money to build an addition on your house if your roof is leaking...You fix the freakin' roof...Oh well...I guess they have convinced themselves that Bend gets 365 days of sun/year and anything else is just a fluke...I'll take the rain...it means spring is coming

On another note, tomorrow is Webcyclery movie night at McMenamins. This month's movie is "PRO". Admission is $5 and the proceeds go to support Central Oregon Trail Alliance

Media Spots and the Ultimate Warrior

2009-02-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, looks like somebody has been slacking on his blogging duties...

It's been a busy few weeks...On Feb. 2nd, Ethan Lindsay rode with me for my downtown compost route. He is the Central Oregon correspondent for OPB....It was cool to have someone tag along and record what we do. The radio spot aired the following week and can be heard here.

Business is going well...I'm riding a lot more than this time last year which is great and the cargo bike has proven to be a great addition to the fleet.

Last night was the infamous Ice Criterium up at Swampy Lakes Snow Park...This year Cog Wild hosted the event. About 20 competitors raced around the parking lot to see how many laps they could do in 15 min. The organizers brought up a snow blower to ensure the corners were properly "iced"(there were definitely a few crashes).....They also set up a jump over a pit of fire to please the spectators. I decided to bring back the Ultimate Warrior for the race as there was a prize for best costume....I didn't win, but I did get cold!! I also got interviewed by the local news KOHD. I'd say it was a successful event.

Stop sign......what stop sign?

2009-01-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Bend's daily paper printed an article on a proposed law that would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yields. I was contacted for my perspective and I think the reporter did a fine job expressing the pros and cons...Check it out here

I have been paying a bit more attention to my habits as a cyclist over the last couple of weeks and I've got to tell you...This law makes even more sense now than it did before.

Most of the arguments that I've heard aren't generally against the law itself but more against how the law will be perceived by motorists and cyclists...I don't think that is a good enough reason to prevent a step forward for commuting cyclists.

In my experience, I generally travel through intersections at about 5 mph...I am up higher and can see, in most situations, for at least a half of a block in either direction before I even get to the sign...In a car, you are much lower and back about 6 ft. from the front of the car. Add the ability to hear and you have a legitimate case for cyclists being able to determine whether it is safe to proceed or not.

As to whether it will effect driver/cyclist relations....Hopefully it wont..Drivers don't need to change their driving habits to accomodate this law as it does not give right of way to the cyclist at a stop. I personally think that we should accept sooner rather than later that bikes are not cars...There are laws that make sense for both groups to follow such as using turn signals(when it's safe for a cyclist to do so), stopping at traffic lights, etc. There are however laws that simply don't appreciate the differences between the two forms of transportation...For those that think cyclists should follow the same laws as motor vehicles, I challenge you to ride down Reed Market at 35mph.

If you would like to find out more about this proposed law, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance has a great FAQ that can be found here

New Year - New Bike

2009-01-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's tough to stay excited about a business that makes no money and takes so much time and effort....Usually when I get to the point where I wonder what the hell I was thinking starting a bike courier company in a resort town of 70,000 people, something happens to re-fuel my passion...

The new year marks a new beginning for Cascade Couriers...Starting this week, we will be handling the P.O. Box mail delivery for Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort...Also starting this week, we have a new cargo bike...I've been drooling over pictures of the long haul from Human Powered Machines ever since I saw Colin from Strictly Organic using one to deliver coffee to downtown businesses...Well, about a month ago I ran into Colin delivering with a B.O.B. trailer and asked what happened to the long-haul. Turns out they were just borrowing it from Jim Field's who happens to own Field's Farm where I take all of my food waste. I asked Jim if he'd be interested in selling and now we have ourselves a cargo bike. Here it is

We'll be using this bike for our P.O. Box deliveries and for our more urgent deliveries...It's fun to ride and looks a bit more professional than the trailers.

So there it is...A new bike, a new customer, a new year....I'm pretty excited about 2009

Hills+Snow+Bike=:(

2008-12-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm glad that week is over...

Ben headed to Mexico for Christmas so I was on my own for deliveries this week...A little nostalgic but also a bit rough...We had tons of snow and by the time Wednesday rolled around for The Source deliveries, the temps had risen and what was left was a sloppy mess...I must say, in the 18 months of this business, I have felt more defeated, but this was certainly up in the top 10 worst days I've ridden in. The support I received was very rewarding...People were sliding all over the place in their cars so the fact that I was on my bike, not to mention carrying 500lbs, was impressive to the folks downtown...Here is a little clip of a NICE part of the route...As you can see, not much plowing going on...

The weather is changing from heavy snowfall to rain which should help next week go smoothly...I even had a pleasant surprise at the shop this morning....The pipes were un-frozen!!

What a difference a week makes...

2008-12-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

So last week, I picked up the keg of Jubelale for our Holiday Extravaganza by bike in pleasant fall weather and the very next day, we started getting storm cycle after storm cycle...As I look out my window right now, I'm estimating about 8 inches of snow in spots...Deliveries were interesting and there may be potential delays this coming week...It's a bit frustrating that the city of Bend does little to maintain bike paths(or the roads for that matter)...and by little, I actually mean nothing...It's a vicious cycle...People won't ride in the winter because the bike paths aren't clear and the city won't maintain the bike paths because nobody is riding...It puts me in the situation where I have to ride in the road with traffic passing by within inches...Oh well, perhaps someday Bend will become a bike friendly town, but as it is now, my nerves are being put to the test...We had a storm move in last night that probably put another 3 inches on the ground with more to come tonight...The roads look awful...I have my downtown route tomorrow that should go on time but I'm skeptical about Tuesday...

On a lighter note...Skiing has been fantastic..There was an inversion today so all of that dry powder from last week is turning into a solid base for Mt. Bachelor. This means less chance of damaging my skis...

Who said Ponderosa's don't make good Christmas Trees?

2008-12-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

My wife Amy and I waited a bit longer than usual to get our Christmas tree this year...I think we were holding out for that big snow storm that never came...For the last two years we have skied in for our tree but this year wouldn't allow it. It didn't occur to me until about a week ago that the only way for us to get our tree this year, with clear roads and beautiful weather, was by bicycle. Yesterday, we hopped on our bikes and headed up Skyliner. We rode a bit more than halfway(about 6 miles) to Tumalo Falls and took a forest service road that was closed to motorized vehicles and began our hunt for a suitable tree...Turns out, below 5,000 feet, your not getting anything but a Ponderosa..We searched for about 30 min. before we settled on a beautiful Charlie Brown christmas tree..Sure, it may not have as many needles or branches as a Noble, but the honks and looks we got on the way home were enough to satisfy even Amy on our choice. Hmmmm. perhaps next year we will ride AND ski to get our tree......

Where's Winter?

2008-12-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

So it's December 2nd....The mountain has yet to open, and today was a balmy 55 degrees....What a winter.

The lack of snow has me thinking a lot about spring and the direction I'd like to take the biz. I have been enjoying the curbside composting service and will continue to grow this aspect of Cascade Couriers but I've decided to really push the "messenger" services starting around April/May. In the mean time, I'm just getting the logistics figured out so that if it does do well, I'm not overwhelmed by a lack of planning. I am hopeful that businesses will see the value in this service...Gas prices are down but I think if this summer has taught us anything, it's that our dependence on oil can put us in a very bad situation quickly. Hopefully this lesson won't be lost and we all will continue to find better alternatives..

One more month

2008-10-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

I just checked NOAA to see what the weather had planned for next weeks deliveries...Looks like winter is just around the corner...I always feel a little schizophrenic with news of snow...I love to ski and most of the time, deliveries in the snow are just as easy as they are any other time of the year. There is not much that compares to riding around Bend with a fresh white coat covering everything. That being said, there are times where even staying upright is a challenge. I remember one particular day last year. The snow had been falling for about a week with not much being plowed due to a combination of poor planning by the city and a heavier than average snow season. There was about 3-4 inches of snow and on that day, it happened to warm up significantly. The result was a layer of black slush that was almost impossible to navigate by bike(or by car). One block in particular saw me falling over more than once. This lead me to Webcyclery to purchase my dream bike......THE PUGSLEY....Once I got there, the guys at the shop talked me down and I ended up with a much more practical Salsa El Mariachi...The 29er got me through the rest of the winter without any issues and before I knew it, I was riding in 90 degree heat wishing it was winter....Well, here it comes. I've got a lot more business this time around so we'll see how it goes.

Curbside Composting by bike

2008-10-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

One of the Services that I provide my customers is a curbside composting program. Currently the city of Bend does not offer a service like this. I started thinking about how much food waste we've kept out of the landfill since we began...My best estimate is around 5,000 gallons. This is with a fairly small customer base(about 50) in about a years time. With these numbers, it's exciting to think about what next years totals will be. The goal of course, is for the city to offer this service eventually but to be able to do this now, and by bike, is pretty cool....So stop throwing away your food, and if your city doesn't offer a food waste collection service, START ONE...And if you live in Bend...Sign up

"You're pulling how much?"

2008-10-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday, Ben and I take on the task of delivering "The Source", which is a weekly independent newspaper in Bend. Out of all of the jobs we do, this is the one that really illustrates to people what is possible by bike. As I was rolling away from a stop yesterday, someone asked, "So how much weight are you haulin'?" The answer always raises an eyebrow..."Oh, about 500lbs." To most people this seems impossible. How can a bike pull this much weight? The truth is, it's not that difficult. Sure, the hills can defeat you with this amount of cargo, but in most situations, pulling a loaded trailer just means going slower and gearing down. So here comes the challenge of owning a business like this...I know fully well what me and my bike are capable of...Convincing others is the real work. Even the most progressive businesses will be a bit skeptical at first. I always look forward to Wednesday afternoon for this reason...It is rewarding to see someone's perception about bikes and what they can do, change instantly.

A day in the life......

2008-10-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

So I am starting this blog for a couple of reasons.

One: When I decided to start a bike cargo hauling business back in May of 2007, I found very few resources on what it was actually like to ride a bike for a living(or try to). There were a few. The trailers I use are made by Bikes At Work who published a book about starting a service like this. I have read and re-read this book at least a dozen times. Another group based in Northampton, Ma go by the name of Pedal People. I got the idea for a curbside composting service from a pilot program that they started. Those were the two main sites that shaped my business in the beginning. I'm always searching for more as I find comfort and excitement reading about others doing the work that I aspire to make my career. I intend on writing about the problems I face as well as the happiness that hauling 300+ lbs of weight with a bicycle brings, and everything in between.

Two: Riding a bike for a living opens your eyes to things that go on in your community that might otherwise go unnoticed. The city of Bend, Or is a great place to live and I plan on sharing things that I see while out on my bike(good and bad).

Hopefully this blog will provide some insight on what it is like to own a bike cargo delivery service in Bend and perhaps help those who would like to start one in their own community.