Bike Couriers are a Dying Breed in D.C.

I was standing in front of a hotdog stand near Union Station, not too far from where I work taking with a bike courier. I'm a cyclist myself and I've always been intrigued with the messenger service. I enjoy watching them zip around town, in between cars stuck in traffic, flying up Penn Ave., the embassies and around China Town. While talking I asked him how he enjoyed being a courier. Of course he loved it, being outdoors not restrained to a desk but he also said business is very slow. Things have changed in the Bike Courier business over the years. On May 11, 2011 In the Washington Post Local columnist Petula Dvorak did an article on the oldest cyclist in D.C. named Kevin Keefer, who retired at the age of 61 after cycling for 25 years. "The business isn't what it used to be." Kevin Said. The city's once booming courier business is slowly fading into the background. What makes this so sad is that bicycling is coming back to D.C. with Capital Bikeshare, Washington Area Bike Association, bike lanes being placed on many roads, bike maps of the city and many cycling events. A true renaissance is taking place. Here is a quote from a July of 1997 issue of Bicyclist "Couriers are a breed apart from your average cyclist or desk jockey. They live hard, ride hard and sometimes die hard. The only time you probably notice them in your daily life is when they are pressed up against you, dripping with sweat in a crowded elevator, or as a high-speed blur as one flashes by in front of your car." Once upon a time they were the modern day Pony Express but gone are the glory days of racing important documents to their destination. Many have been reduced to delivering laundry, groceries, cakes and many other items. I find that degrading and sad for a bike courier. I believe that courier services are still needed in D.C. and they will not totally fade away. Only a small number of couriers will be left to battle the traffic and elements to get critical documents to their destination.  Just watch out the corner of your eye for that blur flying by, they are still around.

Melvin Wylie