Stand in the place where you live-Thoughts on bridge building and burning

Somebody once told me that you shouldn't burn bridges, and I agree. I am going to roll with the analogy however and hopefully the reader can figure it out.

Sometimes bridges are built in the wrong location and for the wrong reasons-like as a memorial to the builder or financier. Sometimes the world changes and a bridge is no longer well placed to provide access to where people want to go. This is when a new bridge needs to be built. A bridge that serves the true purpose of what bridges are for-giving traffic a way to get to the other side at the right spot where it is most needed.

When a bridge is built that makes more sense in terms of where it gives access to and from, and if it provides that service universally as opposed to selectively, traffic will naturally flow to that easement and access. As less traffic uses the old bridge, preferring the alternative, the old bridge may feel burned. It's not, it still exists, no one burned it down, it is just less relevant to the present public.

This is why Clutch Couriers was built-because the old bridges were no longer providing for the public at large. Santa Cruz needed a better alternative for providing professional courier services. Santa Cruz deserved a professional bike messenger company that was not wedded to a political ideology, and a better choice than the unsustainable all-motorized companies.

This is why the traffic is flowing to our bridge-because we are providing a legitimate link between commerce and ecology, and universal access to where it is most needed.

There are still many bridge building opportunities in Santa Cruz County. This is a beautiful place-why wouldn't you want to help make it work?

"That's why we got P.M.A." (Bad Brains)

In all sincerity,

Rick Graves

Santa Cruz Good Times Article by Linda Koffman

As a young boy growing up in New Zealand, Rick Graves used to ride to school on the back of his older brother’s bike, holding on for dear life as his brother would tear down gravelly roads in an attempt to knock off the pint-sized passenger. At the age of 10 his family moved to Santa Cruz and, now, with those early recreational bike days and a stint as a professional bike messenger in New York City under his belt, the 39-year-old is the one tearing down local roads on two wheels. Transplanting the cut-throat tradition of the Big Apple’s urban bike messenger system to Santa Cruz since starting Clutch Couriers in 2006, Graves helms a model green business that’s seeing the rewards of putting the pedal to the pavement.
Initially a one-man operation founded with a $1,000 investment and operating out of Graves’ home, Clutch Couriers has grown into a six-person crew that can service businesses, personal deliveries and legal filing from Monterey to over the hill, and also provides in-house print jobs. Aside from the occasional use of his Honda Civic Hybrid (for access to the furthest spots), the company has built itself up by going back to the basics: high quality delivery at a low cost via bicycles. The ultimate low-emissions approach that also means less parking hassles, less mechanical maintenance and less insurance fees, the company’s overhead is also less so that the price for the consumer is cheaper. It’s not just a green alternative, Graves says, it’s the best alternative.
“I don’t know how many times you’ve been sitting in traffic and watched a bicyclist pass you, but if you really want something across town quickly that’s the way to go,” he states, sitting in bike attire in his new but modest River Street office, band posters printed on 100 percent recycled paper laid out on the floor ready to be plastered around the county by his team, his phone ringing non-stop. “Whether it’s for increasing the efficiency of your business or for the environment, it’s the best option for social change and it’s also the best option for good business.”
With a clientele you’re unlikely to find mingling in the same room, Clutch Couriers caters to the flyering needs of the Museum of Art and History, the Watsonville Brown Berets, Santa Cruz’s Hell’s Angels, Moe’s Alley and Temple Beth El, to name a few. Major daily accounts include handling the full-service banking for a local raw-foods company, delivering the mail for the Nonprofit Insurance Alliance of California and the Santa Cruz Metro Transit District, along with constant court filings from top Bay Area law firms. Establishing a route between Santa Cruz and Watsonville since last April, Clutch Couriers has hooked up the two regions so that commerce can now go back and forth in a sustainable way. In addition, Graves is a certified process server and notary. Just because he’s on a bike doesn’t mean he can’t answer the call of the white-collared conservatives.
“Ultimate change for the planet is going to come from the business community, because those are the people making what we consume and what we put out into the environment,” he says of his inclination to work for lawyers and corporate clients just as much as your local grandma sending cookies or your local rock band advertising a gig. “If you’re only promoting yourself to like-minded individuals, you’re not expanding your reach into conservative markets and you’re doing the environment a disservice.”
Covering important ground philosophically and physically, Graves rides up to 60 miles on his bike each day, and together his team racks up approximately 700 miles each week. His commitment to exceed customer expectations and prove that you can make a career out of something that’s a win-win situation for everyone and the environment, is what keeps his wheels turning.
The other reason he toils past you in traffic each day? Good old-fashioned fun.
“The personal aspect to it is, I won’t lie, it’s absolutely the most fun physical labor I’ve ever done and that’s why I’ve been addicted to it and worked so hard at it for over 15 years,” Graves explains matter-of-factly. He then muses in a softened tone, “At the end of the day, doing what you love just adds to your soul.”
Learn more about Clutch Couriers at clutchcouriers.com or 466-0560.

Asher Wilson-true fighting Irish!

Asher is our most seasoned rapper/messenger. It's a good thing to have the old curmudgeon on the crew who likes to work hard and inspire others while making us all laugh.

Cheers Asher, even if your profile is playboy bunny style-Big ups to you!-Rick

Name:Asher
DOB:7/22/82
Likes:Puppies, Jujitsu, Hardcore, The Beach, Cartoons, Bikes, Jesus, High-Fives, Marvin Gaye
Dislikes:The State, Whiners & Crybabies, Injuries, Kooks, Rent, People Who Can Afford Fancy Track Bikes
Fav. Food: Tie: Vegan Sri Lanken/Soul Food
Fav Color [?]:Blue?
Fav Place:Tie:Lost Boys Train Bridge/Garden of Eden off 9
Fav Songs: Start Today-Gorilla Biscuits/What's Goin on-Marvin Gaye/Rise Above-Black Flag
Fav Breed of dog:Norweigan Valhund
Parting Words: "Stay Positive"

David is the SUPER COURIER

Here is our third messenger profile featuring David Rothschild or as we like to call him "Super Dave".

"A couple of weeks back I went home for a few days to Sonoma Valley. Spring break had just started and Mom's cooking was calling. I always have mixed emotions about going home and I'm sure you can all relate, but this trip was different. I enjoyed all the old faces and places and the trip helped me appreciate where I am in life. I've got a sweet job, school is taking me places I could never have imagined and I have good people in my life that make it all worthwhile.

After spending a few days doing some hardcore relaxing, it was time to saddle up and get back on the bike. On my last day my buddy Taylor one of my oldest friends and I bike riding machine, took me on one of his training routes through the backroads of the Sonoma and Napa Valleys.Although he dropped me when we hit our biggest climbs, he at least had the common courtesy to wait for me at the top and take pictures of me as I struggled to catch up. The next day I was back at work and heading down to Watsonville. Even though I was on the clock, I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather be doing."

Owners Note-I met David mashing back from Watsonville and hired him on the strength of his moxie. It's been a real honor watching him grow and find his way, we'll miss him when he leaves on June 1st to bring affordable nutrition options to the backwoods of Arkansas.-Rick

Juliette Pelligrini -Clutch Courier and Good Citizen!

Our second messenger profile-

A bike incident-Juliette

Sunday evening I headed down from the westside. I took a left turn onto Cedar street into the bike lane. All of a sudden a man took a left hand turn out of the Poet and Patriot alley into my lane . I hit the breaks and paused, bracing myself as he passed me. I took a moment and shook my head. I rose to find a young man running holding a laptop, closely followed by a younger gentleman running screaming, "that kid has my laptop" repeatedly with every last breath. The man who just missed me by inches followed the man with the laptop alongside boy without a laptop. I took a right onto the alleyway and was able to intercept laptop man as the near bike crash man rode directly into laptop man. Sending the laptop crashing onto the pavement. I picked it up and returned it to a very out of breath boy. The man got away but not with a laptop-bikes save laptops-

-Keep Rolling-

Juliette/Clutch Couriers

Fixies get Kanyayed

I'ts over Hipsters! You have been officially Kanye'd. You must now all install shutters in your Raybans. ;)

Holla!-Rick

New Life

Spring has sprung! And with it new ways of seeing the world:
Just when I was getting all ageist this kid writes me this amazingly eloquent email about his love of fixies, the Tao Te Ching and Clutch Couriers-If he represents just a part of the future of urban cycling I am inspired and refreshed by his attitude. Andres, I hope that your practice of Wu Wei can help keep you from getting hit by "that car".

Stay alive to see another Spring! Rick

Hey my name's Andres. 19 years old hailing from Davis, CA now living in San Francisco. I stumbled upon your blog on google when i was looking up the story behind Lucian Gregg. I heard his story through a few friends but no one seemed to have details on how or why he died. But this email isnt about Lucian, its more or less about the love of cycling for what it is. Growing up in Davis, i got a lot of things other kids my age in other areas didn't get and thats first hand exposure to bike culture and i mean the kind of bike culture that is rarely seen in this day. My best friend in elementary school is a bike fetishist and makes a shit ton of bikes from spare frames/parts he finds around town. He specializes in unconventionaly yet totally practical bikes. This was my first experience with fixed gears. At that age, i didnt understand the appeal, i just thought of it as ancient technology and what not. I stuck to a lower-end mountain bike in my youth, a Specialized Hot Rock. I rode to school everyday and took pride in perfecting whip skidding to a halt on the greenbelt by my house. Since high school i remember being opinionated about single speeds, thinking that stripping my bike down to a single gear is retarded and remained firm on this ideology until early 2008.
In my senior year of high school i picked up a road bike from my uncle, a 1987 schwinn circuit with full Suntour Sprint components in fairly good condition. My dad and his brothers had been into cycling in the late 80s and i was in the midst of getting over a very very very devastating break up (i was 17 and stupid-er than i am now)and i wanted to pick up some new hobbies to rebuild my life. I started pushing myself harder on a bike after that day. I fell in love with cycling and it helped that i was already really comfortable on a bike. Fast forward a couple years where i get over my hate for ss/fg and get my very own track frame in october of last year and become skilled at handling traffic and hills in sf.
For a long time i've felt isolated in my view of bikes. I dont hate on hipsters with brand new bianchi pista concepts with matching celeste aerospokes, i appreciate the look of their bike but i do hate that when i talk to those people, i realize we're on two different planets. Im working as a mechanic at a bicycle co-op at my college and a couple of the guys that help out there are new to biking and especially new to fixed. But what really pisses me off is the attitude of some messengers/friends of messengers that think that track bike use on the street is EXCLUSIVE for messengers. You can see why this sucks and you hopefully feel like i do. I keep my bikes practical and like Peter Wagner, the Davis Bike Fetishist (http://daviswiki.org/WhymCycles), i ride for the pure joy and release. At the end of the day though, when i get on my bike, all of the previous statements made by whatever dickheads that day get brushed of my shoulder by the strong breeze from going so fucking fast. While i'm new to san francisco, i still consider myself a skilled cyclist. Im taking a class on Taoism and i saw on your blogpage that you are familiar with the Tao Te Ching. I find that biking increased my skill in tai chi which in turn helps my biking. The lessons taught by the Tao are exactly my attitudes about biking. Being in harmony with your enemy, the young and reckless Benz driver, and accepting defeat, slowing down before yellow lights, has kept me breathing and healthy to this day. I've met a few messengers and they've felt the same way i do about bikes and i'm glad i stumbled on your blog because you are an exceptional example of what my philosophy seems to lead to. Consider an alleycat in the present day. You show up and see a group of messengers, and a few feet away is a mass of hipsters, next to them is a group of older people on mountain bikes, of course some more hipsters show up, and lastly there is always one or two guys with the nicest road bikes you've seen in a while. With so much diversity before the race, its rare to see members of each group mingling with other groups. Start the race, wait a couple hours and after enduring the hardships and dangers of racing on the city street, everyone who finishes has a newfound respect for one another and enjoy a few beers together ending the night with a few new friends. This is why i bike. This is why im proud to bike. I know that i am bigger than the hate that gets flung at us, even by our own kind and i can come out on top at the end of the day.

For the record, i dont run brakes on my fixed gear in the city. It's stupid and dangerous and i definitely dont reccomend it. I do it to train myself not to waste energy and try to plan my path by slowing down as little as possible, i try to avoid skidding as much as possible as well as im a broke college student that cant afford a new tire every month. I do however put a brake on my bike when i go back home to davis because its definitely not worth getting ticketed by the police. I know one of these days my number will be up and i'll get hit again by a car for not having a brake, i just hope i'm wearing my helmet and am able to walk away.
Good luck
-Andres