On 12/1/06, Paul Sorenson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > For Frank - from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's web news - 9 inches of > snow so far, and still falling. > > -P > ---------------- > *Bicycle messengers riding out the storm* > > The streets in downtown Milwaukee are a mess of snow, testing cars and > plows at each intersection. > > Not the bikers. > > Breakaway Bicycle Courier, a downtown messenger service, has five riders > on the streets this morning, plus one who is using a car. Neither rain, > nor snow, nor .... It goes for bicycle messengers, too. > > "We never stop here," said dispatcher Eric Von Munz, in between handling > a steady volume of calls. > > He said the riders, who carry items from office to office, don't have to > worry as much about cars, since the traffic is slowed. And they can > follow in the tread marks of cars, which press a path into the snow. > > "It's a lot easier than you think," Von Munz said. > > But wouldn't the riders prefer a nice warm day, the sun shining and a > gentle breeze blowing? Not necessarily. > > "We love it," Von Munz said. "This is great."
After 9 winters on the road, I can say that I never "loved it" in the winter! <g> I also never missed a day due to weather. Those days with lots of snow were actually not that bad - it was slushy days that killed me. Snow's dry and one can ride a bike on it quite well - and I used my skinny summer road slicks! Today in Toronto is the worst of all biking days. It's +3C, and raining hard. These are the days that I hated on the road. Shivering on the bike, close to hypothermia. As you likely know, I'm currently dispatching bike messengers, and so far, 3 of my bikes have had to bail on me, due to near hypothermia. It's bad out there. I wish it was snowing! ;-) Thanks for the story, Paul. I can relate to it! cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
