Media Spots and the Ultimate Warrior

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?

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

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=:(

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...

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?

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?

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..