Clutch Couriers Weblog

Videos of Zack Parke memorial ride this is 1 of 4

2011-12-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Cq4gqCt34

2011-12-19T16:39:00.003-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLKQEPeN-mY

2011-12-19T16:39:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjtwzsVehmw

2011-12-19T16:38:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjtwzsVehmw

2011-12-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clutch-Couriers/104853234922

2011-12-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEBnfzz7dJ4

Positive Health Effects of Apple Cider Vinegar

2011-08-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

Back in March after dinner I was sent to the hospital with violent puking to the point of blood. This had happened before recently and they were concerned. Lot's of morphine and $18,000 worth of tests-which I have no insurance for-later they didn't know what was wrong with me and sent me home. When it kept happening I went to my doctor who diagnosed me with bleeding ulcers caused by h-pylori bacteria in my stomach. After massive antibiotics and antacid medicine my symptoms were suppressed, but came back with a vengeance when I tried to eat regular meals. Scary. That's when my friend Peter Glynn told me about Apple Cider Vinegar. since I've been taking it a couple of weeks now. I have very little nausea and I am beginning to be able to eat normal again! Thanks Pete! check it out http://www.homeremediesweb.com/apple_cider_vinegar_health_benefits.php

RIP Zachary Parke

2011-06-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Zack was an exceptional human being.
When I first met him and he told me he wanted to be a Clutch Courier I wasn’t convinced that the skinny kid I saw in line with the bushels of lettuce and avocado would have what it takes to get the job done. But he kept pestering me, and I told him if he took my old Italvega road bike (with gears and brakes) instead of his fixed gear bike he could have the job. Over the years he became my most reliable rider.
Zachary loved mountain climbing and spent most of his weekends in Bishop or Yosemite. When he came back down off the mountain I could still see it in his eyes. Here was a man who had found a way to get as close to God as possible, and he wrapped his whole life around getting back up there as often as he could. Sometimes that competed with my priorities as a business owner, but I had to give it to him, and it was a joy to see someone pursue their dream so completely.
Zack always looked for and pointed out the good things in people and in life. He exemplified them too, always having the time to listen to you, and the generosity to offer a friendly, encouraging perspective.
He poured himself fully into the life of his choosing and we have to give him that. I keep expecting to pick up the phone and hear his voice on the other side, “Hey Rick, it’s Zack. Made the drop with Jim, postering all done, keys are back. I’m off to climb Half-Dome!’
Copy that, Good Buddy. Except this time you don’t have to come back down off the mountain.
Rick Graves

Zachary Parke

2011-06-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our dear friend and crew member Zachary Parke was killed by a hit and run driver while bicycling home from visiting a friend. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends. Words cannot express our sorrow and loss. Zach, we love you!

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_18230663?source=most_viewed

Messenger Profile #8-Andrew Weyland!

2011-05-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

We call Andrew the Super Rookie, whether it's banging out a medical delivery in under a half an hour, or handling a complicated filing, Andrew brings next level performance to his job because he cares about what he does and always wants to improve. It's a joy having you on Crew Andrew. Keep up the good work!-RG
Yo,
I consider myself lucky to be able to say that I live and work in beautiful Santa Cruz as a professional bicycle messenger. There aren't as many of us in this town as there are in bigger cities like New York and San Francisco, but we are working to change that every day. From day one I have been impressed with my fellow messengers' work ethic and positive attitude in even the most stressful situations. I would like to give a big shout out to my boy Brandon for helping me get my foot in the door when I was just a broke kid living in San Francisco struggling to get by; and to Rick for being a teacher and helping guide me along the path to becoming a good messenger. He doesn't accept anything but the best and that has made me better day in and day out.

I was born in Castro Valley, California; my family moved to Arizona when I was about one. My parents decided to move back to California in 2000 and we settled into Aptos. I attended Aptos High School and played varsity soccer for three years. I earned the rank of Eagle Scout in August of 2008. I had always hoped to play soccer in college and since I could walk I wanted to play professionally. But my life didn't turn out like that. After graduating high school in 2008 and not being accepted at any colleges with a soccer scholarship, I began to take classes full-time at Cabrillo College.

I just didn't fit in and I moved to San Francisco to get a change of scenery and experience city life. In SF I worked at the Freewheel Bike Shop as a mechanic. It was in San Francisco that I was first exposed to the messenger culture. Messengers would come into the shop during down time and I was so envious of their freedom of movement and autonomy. My boss was right in the other room, ready to crack the whip at any time, while these messengers were seemingly free with only a radio to answer to. I would see them gliding through traffic or hanging out at the statue and while the weather wasn't always perfect or the cars respectful, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I tried to get a messenger job in the city for a couple months, but no one was hiring, especially not a rookie with zero experience. In a phone conversation with Brandon, I told him I wanted to be a messenger and he told me that Clutch might need another rider. I jumped at the opportunity.

I have learned, since beginning work for Clutch Couriers, not only how to ride my bicycle farther and faster than I thought possible, but other life skills that have made me a better person. Learning to anticipate that door that someone in a parked car is going to open on to you has taught me to be aware, and then being able to stay calm and collected after it happens for the sixth time in a day has taught me patience. Accidents do happen, but most can be avoided through anticipation and careful positioning. I am happy to say that I have not had a serious accident as a courier, and I defy anyone to call this a dangerous job for idiots. Do you want your legal filing being executed by some brainless idiot with a death wish?

In my free time I love to play bicycle polo, a mix between horse polo and hockey played in all major cities and elsewhere around the world. I also love to play electric and acoustic guitar as well as my bluegrass mandolin. I like coffee, books, beer, music, friends, long rides, laughter, findings gaps in between cars that you wouldn't think existed, and wiggling my ears. Before I wrap up here I want to say a big thank you to my wonderful girlfriend Carrie. Without her love and support I wouldn't have made it through some of my tougher rookie days.

Thanks for reading. Yall keep yer noses clean and the rubber side down!

This job cannot be outsourced

2011-04-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

Clutch Couriers is old school meets new school. Whether it's instant email notification on your documents, and satellite radio dispatch, or just getting from A to B quickly; we get the job done with the perfect mix of skilled labor, and the best of 19th through 21st century technology.

the fruits of our labor are too sweet to hang low..

2011-01-10T23:30:00.001-08:00

What are the hours of your life worth? The time you spend working that you never get back.
Labor is undervalued.

A messengers labor has always been undervalued, and ever since the first messengers were killed upon their delivery of said message, this profession has been taken for granted.

Ever since my entry into the delivery business almost 17 years ago, and ever since entering the workforce at 16 I have known that this is true. The only weapon against this, barring a college degree, is to set a higher standard to constantly improve, and therefore over time, by working sharp angles and building solid relationships, you can incrementally increase your value in the market.

You are after all the ultimate freelancer, and as an independent contractor you can sell yourself to the best company and the best dispatcher in that company and that is incentive to improve. The more skills you have, the more services you offer, the more professional and wide reaching those services the higher price you can command.
This improves the industry and the messengers lot, one courier at a time.
Then came the 2000's and youtube and eco-groovyness, and fixed gears ridden by posers doing tricks and the whole idea of being a messenger turned on it's head. All of a sudden in the young, modern public's eye the value of being a messenger was in the cool points and the whole idea of it being something that you do for a living was lost.
Except for those that are still doing it. For a living.
Clutch Couriers who stick with it know the value of the hours of their life. They will not devalue them by subsidizing their job with social status and charging grossly below the standard to get business. We will up our game so that we can expand into new markets, earning new respect and pushing the profession upward to a more sustainable payscale. We will not participate in a race to the bottom because we are invested in the future of our job in this beautiful place. This is the real shit. A job we love and will fight to protect.

A perfectly normal job.

2010-09-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Being a Bike Messenger in Santa Cruz is a little like being a Muslim in America. Reviled by some, glorified by others, but universally stared at and set apart from the mainstream.
Some of this may be self-perpetuated, and some messengers are reactionary.
What we need to do is use the animosity as fuel towards reaching out to those that fear, and see the flattery for what it is, a desire to understand better.
Don't call us 'bike punks', or 'pedalers for peace'. Call us your friends and neighbors, and you may learn that we are delivering your paycheck, or your Uncle's divorce papers, or your Mother's biopsy.
Clutch Couriers is Santa Cruz's professional bike messenger company. Doing a perfectly normal job, the way that makes sense.
-RG

We are in a hurry so others don't have to be.

2010-08-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

We are in a hurry so others don't have to be.
We are not racing you, we are delivering a service that has a specific time frame. A time frame that the competition can't or won't make. That's why you see us chirping away on our Nextel radios. Not so that we can be clowned by people with smart phones, but so that we can ...communicate directly and efficiently about jobs and positioning on the most reliable network available without dropping calls or running out of battery power.
Some examples of items that need to be hand delivered in a hurry: Legal documents like restraining orders or contracts that need to be signed, medical specimens, water samples for purity testing, camera parts for a delayed photo-shoot, or modified bicycle parts for your Burning Man extra-cycle.
Clutch Couriers is about getting it done, getting it done right, and getting it done right now. That's what coming through in the clutch means.
So if we take the time to smile and wave its because we like you, stranger, and we love our job, no matter how misconstrued it is.

Courtesy in the Courier's World.

2010-08-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Recently we were approached by a New York columnist who wanted to know the rudest questions we were asked about our job for a book he is writing featuring Miss Manners and other notables. It brought up the larger subject of common courtesy and how it relates to our job as we go about in traffic and through people's work environments.
It occurred to me that some bicycle couriers might be seen as discourteous and maybe that could have something to do with the supposed decline of the industry as a whole.
In truth you can't be a successful courier if you are rude or unaware of how your actions effect others around you. One of the keys to a smooth career or day as a courier is an acute awareness of your position and relationship to others on the physical plane. In traffic it's a matter of survival. You can't barge through a car even if they are trying take you out, and a pedestrian is better passed from behind, so as not to have them skitter in front of you and get hit. The main principle is not to impede the flow of traffic, which bike messengers should be great at because of their superior maneuverability.
Towards that end, Clutch Couriers practice letting people out of the door before entering (just like in NYC subway cars) and holding the door for those entering behind us. Other less obvious (and misunderstood) favors include moving to the front of the line at the red light so that the cyclist can be clearly seen, and get out of the intersection quicker when the light turns green.
There are a million ways that modern life has made us believe that "I am the center of the universe" and this disease is spreading like an epidemic. Being a good bicycle messenger is the one of the best ways that I know to combat this in myself.
Remember that common courtesy is really looking out for number one by realizing the symbiotic nature of society.

Flowing like water from the mountains to the sea...-RG

Watsonville Same Day Filing!

2010-07-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

Same Day Filing drop-off and Attorney bin pickup service to Watsonville Courthouse..Only $100 per month for Santa Cruz-Capitola Attorneys! Same Day Filing and Return including all Document Retrieval and Inter-Office Attorney Delivery only $150 per month for Santa Cruz-Capitola Attorneys!

Messenger Profile-Brandon Bailey!

2010-07-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Brandon has brought a unique enthusiasm and competence to our crew. He knows that you have to love what you do, and the better you get, there's more to love-Thanks Brandon, it's a pleasure and an honor having you on the team.-RG

Hi,
I'm Brandon, and I work for Clutch Couriers. Here's the shortened run-down on me,
I started working as a courier in Baltimore, MD after realizing a few things. One,that my commute to and from my crummy kitchen job was the only part of the day I enjoyed and two that I was always the person running the the store for my friends because I wanted to be on my bike inside of sitting inside. After working in Baltimore for about 2 years I moved to Milwaukee, WI. I became a courier there for a brief time before fracturing my neck and coming back to MD to recover, and then moving out here to beautiful Santa Cruz. I tried to get a bike job here for a while, but I had no luck. And I wasn't about to get a job I hated just to pay for things that keep me comfortable doing something I didn't want to do. So I waited for a while, doing volunteer bike work (like FNB) and working fill-in for Ped-X, until one day I started working here.

Here I also started playing Bike Polo which I love dearly and have gotten better and better at that the more I have played here and other cities. Bike polo is the best and anyone who reads this should check it out and come play. I also love chicken wings, screaming along to music while I ride, beer, and working hard.

This job gives me so much. When I first started (B-more) it got me in shape and showed me the potential of my life: that I don't have to be miserable, I can have fun and work at the same time. This job is so much fun. On top of getting paid to ride a bike all day, it also comes with an intensely positive feeling thats part endorphins and part knowing that I am doing something I love doing without compromise. This job gives me satisfaction in many ways just come ask me if you want (though I might talk your ear off if I just got back from Watsonville). And though sometimes I do miss the intensity and fast pace of the city I love Santa Cruz's fresh air, crazy people, and open skies.

I feel like I have a lot to give to this company as well. I've always given my all to my jobs, but especially here do I give it all because I actually feel respected and not used. When I feel like that it makes me want to come in everyday and work hard all day as well as try and learn new things and make myself better so that I can help out more. Since I was also here in Santa Cruz without a job I know what its like to have nothing here, it makes all the difference to have a job like this and something to live for. I also like to think I bring my positive attitude and willingness to run my body to the ground if need be (it usually heals back just fine).

Clutch Couriers lead feature in Sunday's Santa Cruz Sentinel!

2010-06-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/ci_15238288

SANTA CRUZ -- Rick Graves and the other riders at Clutch Couriers, which recently announced an expansion into Monterey County, have nimbly maneuvered the economic downturn as if they were swerving around a suddenly stopped delivery van on Ocean Street.

see full article @ http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/ci_15238288

Don't call us alternative transportation

2010-05-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

Don't call us alternative transportation.

In every major city across the planet professional bicycle couriers are the most trusted and relied upon cog of the mainstream transportation network.

Any good office manager knows that the national delivery companies are fine for overnight and freight delivery, but if you need a sensitive item delivered right now, without question or delay, the only way to go is by pro bike messenger.

Whether it's bone-marrow or legal documents, we are historically the most trusted delivery system, and the fates of whole lives, corporations and careers have depended upon that trust.

So why, when transplanted to smaller west-coast towns, are bike messengers are relegated to the title of 'alternative' transportation; a moniker that carries with it a connotation of separateness or exclusivity that restricts our broader appeal to those who don't share 'alternative' political viewpoints.

If you can provide superior goods and services at a comparable price, using alternative transportation methods, you become the preferred choice. But you have to get in the door first. Presenting yourself as 'alternative' from the get-go sets up a division between you and the rest of the world, (the correct way vs. the old way), that may sabotage opportunities to bridge the gap.

For example, when the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District came to me for a quote for inter-office motorized courier services, I offered them both motorized and bicycle messenger services. I was able to show them by comparison that the job could be done quicker and more effectively, at a less expensive rate, by bike. They quickly signed on, with the caveat that in an emergency, we would back up our bicycle messengers with our car. We have never had to deliver one piece of mail by car, but I doubt the SCMTD would have taken a second look at us if we didn't have that option. The final result is that all their inter-office mail is now delivered by professional bicycle messengers instead of by their former delivery method of armored trucks.

Most large law firms that find us on the internet don't know or care about our transportation methods. They want immediate results and are willing to pay for it, the pro bike courier just happens to be the most effective method.

In my view an environmental activist with his or her eye on the big picture would want to adapt their message, products, and services to appeal to the broader market. After all, we are asking folks to adapt their lifestyles and attitudes radically, is it so wrong to help provide the middle ground that most of the public can feel safe about crossing.

Or did we move to Santa Cruz to exclude the rest of the world, and set ourselves apart as special and different. Inviting the “others” to either oppose us or sit on the fence.

There is an alternative approach: By providing a wide variety of professional services to a broad spectrum of the market, Clutch Couriers represents the future of the messenger industry, and our recipe for success is the gradient for change that will move 'green' courier services into the mainstream without all the political drama.

When the rubber hits the road your true friends become apparent...RG

Announcing Monterey County Superior Court Legal Service!

2010-05-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate legal courier services in Monterey County available for the first time by professional bike messenger!

Thanks Mikey!

Clutch Couriers featured in City on the Hill Press!

2010-04-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

Link:

http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2010/04/08/bike-courier-service-a-boon-for-santa-cruz/

Ahh the life...

2010-03-27T13:43:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh..the life of a Santa Cruz County bike courier...Sweeeeet!!!

What is the definition of the slang term clutch:

2010-03-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

What is the definition of the slang term clutch:
Often used in sports to describe a player or team's ability, to deliver when peak performance is needed, or great; AWESOME; COOL.
"Man, that was clutch!"
helpful during a difficult situation or period of time. Something that "came through in the clutch", that is, came through in a difficult or trying time.
"Big-time players deliver in the clutch." Kurt Johnson, Roseville Press-Tribune

Clutch Couriers are so good lookin'...

2010-02-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

So while we were working our asses off the other Thursday our most dreamy crew member Zack was up in "the city" draping himself across various track bikes and other urban settings for Chrome bags new advertising campaign. As the only working messenger in the shoot I thought he did us proud. Congrats, Zack-lookin good...

More info photos and gear @ http://www.chromebagsstore.com/

Same Day Filing and Return to Watsonville Superior Court

2010-01-21T18:21:00.001-08:00

Rain or Shine Clutch Couriers comes through for you with Same Day Court Filing in Watsonville Superior Court! Only $150 per month for Santa Cruz Attorneys!
For more info visit:
http://www.clutchcouriers.com/legal.php
or call 831-466-0560

Secrets to Longevity #4-Bikram Method Yoga

2010-01-20T20:34:00.001-08:00

I first started doing Yoga as a child with my parents who practiced daily. I think my Dad took a certain perverse pleasure from scaring the be-jeezuz out of us with his dragon face/pose, the vision of his eyes bugging out still gives me shivers.
About a year and a half ago I was introduced to Bikram method yoga by my girlfriend Teale, and I have been practicing at least twice a week since.
Bikram method is twenty six postures designed to work every joint, muscle and organ of your body. You practice each posture twice for a ninety minute session in a room that is 105-115 degrees tempered with forty percent humidity, and boy do you sweat.
The extremes of the environment and the length of time that you hold some of the postures make for what Bikram calls a torture chamber, but here's what it has done for me:
When I first started I was completely defeated and humbled by the experience. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, and a year and a half later I have progressed, but it hasn't gotten any easier. Bikram takes my ego and squashes it, which helps make me a nicer person.
Keeping Yoga in my life has brought my mind and body closer together. I can mentally and physically manifest improvements in my spine that I know will keep me on the road for decades to come. The mental discipline it takes to hold standing head-to-knee for a full minute really has helped me be a more patient and compassionate person when people are trying me. My former chronic back pain has essentially disappeared, as my posture is slowly being pulled back into alignment after years of misuse.
A pro bike messenger must take preventative measures to stay on the road. Whether maintaining your bicycle or your body, a higher level of diligence is needed or you will suffer breakdowns and injury at the worst possible times.
I would recommend the Bikram Yoga method to anyone serious about taking stamina, meditation and overall good health to the next level. It is also an excellent way for bike messengers to keep their most important tool, their bodies, stretched and toned for long term performance.

For more info visit: http://www.bikramyogasantacruz.com/

or just get down there and sweat, the first week is only $15 and you can go as many times as you want.

Namaste-Rick Graves
photo by Poppy de Garmo

Business is back baby!

2010-01-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

Clutch Couriers is a lead indicator of the economic recovery. More people are spending money on advertising, which means there are more people going out and spending, which means you need to get the word out about your event or service!

For more information about our quality printing and promotional services visit:

http://clutchcouriers.com/printworks.php

or call 831-466-0560

Important uses for bike messengers #1

2010-01-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

Hire Clutch Couriers to get that Restraining Order in your client's hands that Same Day! Why hire a bike messenger? Our motorized competition won't stand in line for your peace of mind. Only Clutch Couriers, with our 100 year old technology and professional bike messengers who really care about their job, can provide you with that Next Level Legal Service!

Entering our fourth year in business...

2010-01-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

What a ride!

We've seen a lot of transition around the Clutch office this year, sending several of our fondest off with a more profound sense of self, and welcoming some exciting new crew members that have really come into their own (Matt, Sally and Brandon).

All along we've maintained and improved our excellent customer service record and grown 35% while showing a profit. Our brand name has been cemented as synonymous with quality service in the community, and that goes a long way in giving us even more pride in our job.

The recognition we have received,(Good Times article http://www.clutchcouriers.com/about.htm and Nomination for Nextie http://clutchcouriers.blogspot.com/2009/12/rick-graves-owner-of-clutch-couriers.html ) has been humbling and hard earned, and we take our professional reputation very seriously.

Our solid crew is ready to conquer whatever 2010 throws at us, we've never had a more dedicated and capable group of individuals working together so well as a team. I've seen this in all situations whether delivering blood, rush filings or posters, the Clutch Couriers Crew puts all the many pieces together on any given day, flawlessly and with joy in their hearts and a little scratch to take home at the end of the day.

To keep that spirit going we celebrated together at Delaveaga Park for Kickballs!:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129168&id=104853234922

and rang in Clutch's third birthday with a dinner at Shogun where we saw Kevin devour a whole three eyed fish and plate of meat curtains.

For the next year I see our market share growing even more. As our customers see how we come through for them in ways they didn't even think were possible the word gets out exponentially.

Thanks to all the local bike shops (Bike Trip, Spokesman, Daves, Pacific Avenue Cycles, ABS) who have kicked us deals and Thanks to Swobo http://www.swobo.com/ and Chrome Bags http://www.chromebagsstore.com/ for the keen gear-Y'all Rock!

Thanks to all our wonderful clients, our understanding vendors, and our ever loving passers by. This is the year we have felt welcomed the most and we are proud to be among you.

And a special shout out to Peter and Family at Maverick Mailing-remember it's always smooth sailing at Maverick Mailing http://www.maverickmailing.com/

Most of all, as every year, but I think we're all feeling it a little more this one, to our families, our friends, our human community that we rely upon so much-our heartfelt gratitude. We couldn't have done it without you and you are greatly appreciated. What you bring to us when we get home is what makes this job and this life worth it.

Peace in the tens dammit!-RG

Rick Graves Owner of Clutch Couriers Nominated for Nextie Award!

2009-12-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

This feels a little like tooting my own horn, but it would be remiss not to mention that I was nominated by Jeremy Neuner for a Nextie award.

http://santacruznext.org/

http://santacruznext.org/2009/12/tickets-now-available-for-the-first-annual-nexties-awards/

This kind of recognition comes only from the hard work of our crew and the support of our community. Thanks Jeremy, Clutch Riders, Clutch Clients and Denizens of Santa Cruz. I am deeply honored, and see you at the Nexties!

"The NEXTies honor young people in Santa Cruz who are doing amazing things locally or globally. These inspiring individuals could live anywhere, but they choose Santa Cruz to apply their talent and passion. These individuals might include entrepreneurs, artists or volunteers who are leaders in their chosen field and are making an impact on the community or the world. Nominees live or work in Santa Cruz County, are between the ages of 22 and 45, and have an inspiring story to tell."

'Hey Rick, I thought you might want to see the write-up that I submitted for your nomination:'

"Rick Graves is the owner of Clutch Couriers, a bicycle-powered courier, legal, and messenger service with clients all over Santa Cruz County. He and his team have built a successful business by focusing on superior customer service, a trait that is (unfortunately) rather lacking in our town. I've worked with Rick in a variety of ways and I've always been impressed with his can-do attitude, good humor, and attention to detail. In a town that (again, unfortunately) is often characterized by its slacker attitude, Rick and his team at Clutch Couriers stand out as people who work hard and play hard.

Here's what impresses me most about Rick: he saw a need in our community for a reliable, high-quality, environmentally-minded courier service. Rick's business isn't high-tech and I doubt that he's getting rich from it. But he wanted to find a way to live and work in Santa Cruz. He wanted to raise his kid here. And, by leveraging his talents and working hard, he filled that community need and found a way to have the lifestyle that he wanted for himself and his family. Moreover, Rick's business is innovative, successful, and environmentally sustainable.

I think Rick Graves stands as a great role model for the entire Santa Cruz NEXT community. Rick has shown us that by being innovative, by working hard, and by sticking to a set of core values, we can succeed in this town and create the kind of economy and the kind of lifestyle that will sustain our community for decades to come.

Plus, Rick is a total stud. He rides his bike to Watsonville and back several times a day. He deserves a NEXTie just for that.....!"

Cheers,
Jeremy

Jeremy Neuner
Co-Founder and CEO
NextSpace Coworking + Innovation, Inc.
www.NextSpace.us

Legality of Bicycle Courier Helmet Use in California

2009-12-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

I've mostly tried to stay out of this because there is so much emotion involved with this issue you can't win no matter what you say. However, someone called expressing concern over some Clutch Couriers not wearing helmets 100% of the time, and threatened to "report me to the authorities" for not supplying helmets to my riders.
All I can say is that I recommend helmet use, especially in wet or high speed conditions, and that I try to set an example by wearing a helmet every time I work. Also there is a brand new Specialized helmet ($175) in the office for anyone who wants to use it, however, YOU CANNOT LEGALLY MANDATE HELMET USE FOR ANYONE OVER EIGHTEEN IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
In this state it is an adult choice whether or not to wear a helmet while cycling and I encourage anyone driving around without a helmet to investigate the top causes of severe head injury (motor vehicle collision) before screaming out your car window to "get a f'ing helmet."

Ride Safe-RG

Secrets to Longevity #3-Love

2009-12-19T14:25:00.000-08:00

Just love yourself, love the ones you're with and love what you do and you'll have more than enough reason to keep living.

And just be thankful. Every breath is either a gift or a curse depending on that.

I'm not talking about easy postcard love. Love to me is often bewildering and sometimes frustrating.

I'm just saying if you throw yourself wholeheartedly into what you do-not keeping a cool distance but really caring about it-what emerges is always worth the effort put forth.

I love my life, my family, and my job of 15 years, but I know that so far I've just been practicing. The best part has just begun.

Nothin' but Love-RG

Advertising Clutch Couriers in Santa Cruz

2009-12-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

First of all-let me say that the purpose of advertising is to get people to notice the product or service being offered.
Given that definition I would say that the ad campaign donated by our former messenger Nate was a success-We printed two posters featuring a male and female model and distributed them around town. Below is a sampling of the reactions:

"Looks like you are selling make-up"
"Awesome!-Really eye-catching and professional"
"Great job-got me to look and then I was pleased to see that it was advertising Clutch Couriers."
"Very different for Santa Cruz, I like it."
"She looks like a vampire in Twilight"
"What you need is a picture of a messenger with a helmet on in the sunlight, surrounded by flowers."
"At least you are trying to let people know that there are bike messengers here."
"Empowering."
"Exploitative."
"Are you hiring?"

Also seen at the Farmers Market was a woman violently tearing down the poster of the female model.

Also seen at the Farmers Market was a gaggle of teenage girls drooling over the male model(Nate).

Thanks Nate and Crew! You still know how to get 'em talking.

Peace-RG

Hipsters Discussing Cyclocross Racing!

2009-11-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

The Next Big Thing!

http://www.mixx.com/stories/9301289/hipsters_discussing_cyclocross

Get your race on November 14th!

2009-11-05T17:26:00.001-08:00

Asher invited you to "Dia De Los Muertos Alley Cat Race!" on Saturday, November 14 at 11:30am.

Event: Dia De Los Muertos Alley Cat Race!
What: Fundraiser for SOS Needle Exchange Program
Start Time: Saturday, November 14 at 11:30am End Time: Saturday, November 14 at 10:00pm
Where: Meet at the park in front of the Mission on High Street at Emmett Street

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=169546378747&mid=15d72e1G4f66cf21G115430bG7

Nate King-Clutch Courier, Model and Photographer!

2009-10-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

These pics supplied by Nate King-former Clutch Courier who moved back to Salt Lake to pursue a career in professional photography-Best of luck to you Nate we wish you well!-RG

Model Clutch Courier

2009-10-21T15:58:00.001-07:00

Check out the new model Clutch Courier

Secrets to Longevity #2-Pacing

2009-10-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

When I first moved to New York I had no idea what a bike messenger was. The first time I saw one, I guess I was in his way as he flipped his chain around his waist and took off down the avenue in a puff of disgust. I thought "what an asshole, whats he in such a hurry for?"
As a couple of years went by and I saw more professional messengers I realized that these guys were working and trying to hustle on to the next pickup so I gave em wide berth and sort of was jealous from a distance as I hated my retail job and their gig seemed so much more adventurous and fun.
When I got into my first messenger job at Breakaway, orientation was a trip. The only guy out of about ten in the room that wasn't hired nodded out half way through. It was mostly hum drum stuff about if you lose a package yer fired, if you piss off a customer, yer fired-but one thing stuck out and seemed odd at the time. The owner Ron got real quite and deliberate when he talked about going the "pace of traffic". As he put it if you are on 9th Avenue and the traffic is going 50 miles an hour you need to be doing the same. If traffic is stopped you need to be passing them at 5-10 miles an hour or less-to go faster is to invite death! It seemed ridiculous and I know he was exaggerating to make a point but when you think about it, he's right. To survive you need to go the pace of life at the moment. Every stopped car you pass at 40 miles an hour is a potential immovable object in your path and the faster you go the harder it will hurt when they hit you.
Every situation has an appropriate pace-the secret is finding that sweet spot for the moment you happen to be in. There is a certain pace to hit every green light on Soquel and 9th Avenues-there's also a pace to hit every red. There's a pace for 25 and a pace for 40. It's no mistake that in road bike races and in alleycats the less experienced riders with more to prove are used as fodder at the beginning to egg on the competition and provide cover for the veterans whose endurance takes over towards the end.
One of the beautiful things about this job is that it forces you to be present in your body and determine that perfect mix of urgency and relaxation you need to get the job done right. If you are too self-indulgent and up in your head the mistakes and accidents snowball.
So pace yourself my friends. Life is only a race when it needs to be, and it's better to be late in this world than early to the next.

Much Love-Rick

Happy National Boss Day!

2009-10-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Again, no card!-RG

Boss's Day (also known as Bosses Day or National Boss Day) is a secular holiday celebrated on October 16 in the United States. It has traditionally been a day for employees to thank their boss for being kind and fair throughout the year. The holiday has been the source of some controversy and criticism in the United States, where it is often mocked as a Hallmark Holiday.
[edit] History
Boss
Boss at play

Patricia Bays Haroski registered "National Boss's Day" with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. She was working as a secretary for State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Illinois at the time and chose October 16 because she forgot that the birthday of her boss, who was her father, was actually on the 16th. Four years later in 1962, Illinois Governor Otto Kerner backed Haroski's registration and officially proclaimed the day.

National Boss's Day has become an international celebration in recent years and now is observed in countries such as Australia, India and South Africa and very recently Ireland.

Hallmark did not offer a Boss's Day card for sale until 1979. It increased the size of its National Boss Day line by 90 percent in 2007.

More hating on the fixie fad

2009-10-14T20:35:00.001-07:00

Great perspective on the fixie fad @

http://www.manolith.com/2009/07/13/fixies-fad/

Happy 10-9 Messenger Appreciation Day!

2009-10-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Messenger Appreciation Day!Should be an international holiday-photo is NYC 1896

Secrets to Longevity #1:Bicycles

2009-10-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

As the workweeks and bike to work weeks fly by I am reminded to share four secrets of longevity-bicycles, pacing, yoga , and love.

Bicycles are fascinating to so many people for different reasons.
For me bicycles are an exquisite means to an end-that incredible feeling of freedom you get that could only be described as flying. I remember the act of learning to balance on a two-wheeler as one of my first significant confrontations of fear, an assertion of independence out there in the world, the realization that I must press forward or fall over.
Many people lose this feeling once they get their drivers license and adult cycling is left to wide array of factions, all with various baggage and class divisions. It's a pity that cycling isn't seen as a more approachable sport or activity by the mainstream. I know of no better bridge between a very adult functionality and the sheer joy of childhood.
Sometimes I feel people are discouraged to pick up a bicycle by how intimidating all the cliques on the road are. When I wear my helmet and ground-scored maui-jim sunglasses I hear comments about how my bike must be worth thousands of dollars(it was $375). When I wear my chrome messenger work-bag I get lumped in with hipsters on fixies even though I have gears and brakes.
The best thing I think all these groups get and hopefully will appeal to more and more people over time, is the conquering of one's fear of vulnerability, the ability to get off your ass and feel great while seeing the world. I swear it's the cure for depression or whatever ails ya.

Of all the modern human inventions the bicycle may bring the most joy of life. So lets enjoy the ride.

Keep the rubber side down-Rick

Bell Helmets

2009-09-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Loving my new helmet! Finally comfy! Gonna return the Specialized that was giving me forehead cancer.
This is a Bell Volt-a little pricey at $175 but Moms would say it's worth it. Thing is I used to get clucked at by the roadies and envirogencia for not rocking a helmet-now the hipsters sneer at me while flipping up their little caps-no pleasing some. PS you're not from Europe.

Live and let live-RG

Preventative medicine is bike fitting!

2009-09-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

As you can see there's a big difference between how I've been riding for 15 years and how it supposedly should be done. The bottom picture is the bad fit.
For my 40th b-day I treated myself to a professional bike-fitting with Wade at The Spokesman http://spokesmanbicycles.com/
It was a learning experience and Wade was really friendly and instructive, plus they extend a fat discount to working messengers!
The proof will be in the pudding tho' and I will update as to how the new fit feels over a long week of mashing to Watsonville and back.
Big ups to all The Spokesman crew for your help!

Ride Safe and Ride Another Day-Rick

Wu Wei and helmet or no?

2009-09-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

Kinda hating on my new helmet-Can we please make a cap that will satisfy the people screaming at me "get a f-ing helmet" from their cars while still not feeling like it's going to give me forehead cancer from the LACK OF COMFY.
Oh well, I'm sorry moms but I'm far more likely to get severe head injury in a car or falling out of bed.
Does anybody else feel this way?-I know all the local folks preaching about "bike safety" like to let their hair feel the air on the weekends too. shhhhhhhh....

Peace out and stay safe with knowledge of self and respect for those sharing the road.-RG

The Real Oldest Profession-Messenger!

2009-08-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Chasque-The Unstoppable Messenger

Long before there was money to pay for sex and goats to herd, somebody had to deliver the news to the cave next door. Whether it was good news-"The Mastadons are over the next hill!"-or something that might anger the recipient-"Your wife lives in Ork's cave now."-someone had to be trusted to securely transmit the message, and be neutral to the consequences of the message getting across.
Over the ages, the fates of whole civilizations have hinged on this sacred trust. From the tides of war carried to Athens to Bill Clinton's secret love letters to Monica Lewinski, the whole reason for the messengers existence was based upon his or her loyalty to the secure transmittal of the message.
This is why the professional courier must practice neutrality. I'm not saying that what Clinton did was right or that Athens shouldn't have been burned down by the Spartans, it's just that there are two sides to every story and it's not my place to say.
If every messenger dithered about the whether it is morally correct to get the message across, nothing would ever get done. Our job is to get everyone informed and then let the judges and lawyers sort it out.
This is why I believe a courier service wedded to a political philosophy is doomed to failure and a danger to the trust placed in our profession.
In Santa Cruz a slogan-happy ideology -"One Less Car"-is being attached to the messenger image. This has created a class division between those of us doing it to make a living and because we love the job, and those who are doing it to save the world-"one bike at a time" while gaining social status in our liberal community.
While this may help people feel good about themselves, it ads an unwanted connotation to bicycle delivery and undermines the only true value we can sell to the market-our dedication to the secure transmittal of the message while remaining neutral to the parties and the consequences of delivery.
You might say "if you want neutrality why not use a machine?"-because the truly important message must be trusted to a human vehicle. A machine will not run over water to get your message across. A machine will not find creative ways to get around obstacles in it's path. It will short circuit.
We are professionals and members of an ancient and noble trade-I have gotten messages through gale force winds, blizzards, floods, fires and armed guards, and I am proud to have done so.
I'm not too worried about our long term survival however. Long after all the "real jobs" have gone away and we're back to herding goats, someone will still have to deliver the news.

Clutch Couriers Forever!

-Rick Graves

Best Roadie v Hipster video ever!

2009-08-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

You gotta get a chuckle from this one-The debate rages on!

http://www.bikejax.org/2009/08/mc-spandex-hipster-vs-road-cyclist-rap.html

Ha!-RG

Messengers who work hard...play hard.

2009-08-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

The Kickballs! tournament

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129168&id=104853234922&ref=mf

was a great example of how play is essential to the messengers long term survival. When I worked in NYC, messenger organized races called alleycats were the best way to get together, let off steam, and foster camaraderie. It wasn't really about who was fastest but how interesting and challenging the course was, and the after-party.
Reading the messenger boards and attending the "championship" circuit races these days you'd have very little idea that it's about the companionship and fraternity. It's all very serious and competitive and full of ready made conflicts.
Lets bring the fun back into messenger culture!-RG ps (Yer Out Zack!!!)

Kick Balls! Rockin' good time had by all.

2009-07-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

Our Summer Kickball BBQ was a smashing success, much love to all those attending-more pics to come. Who knew Kickball was so gnarly-I'm still sore!-RG

Nate King-Messenger Extraordinaire!

2009-07-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm Nate, and I'm going to write my profile as a brutal exercise in narcissistic creativity. Enjoy!

I was a messenger in Salt Lake, and at some point in my life found myself in the beachside burg of Santa Cruz. It was in this murky, alcohol-fueled morass that I discovered Rick and Clutch. The rest is (a brief) history.

I used to race mountain bikes, so working as a messenger seemed a logical transition to the "real" world. I love a day full of legal runs, or busting ass down to Watsonville at a breakneck pace. I have a habit of not being able to ride slowly, and a knack for obliterating myself and equipment (both have more than their fair share of battle wounds). I love riding outside of work, too - you're likely to see me decked out in body armor at the local downhill mountain bike spot, or mashing up Empire Grade in lycra. I'm also fairly renowned for being a sarcastic, overconfident bastard, and I'm not sure I'd have it any other way.

And now, the Playmate Profile:

Name: Nate King
Age: 21
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Interests: Riding bikes of all shapes and sizes, hating on fixies/everything, current events/history, photography, design, music, snowboarding, attempting to surf, sleep
Favorite Band: It's always changing, but you'll usually find at least a little bit of Johnny Cash, Mogwai, Warren Zevon, and Flogging Molly in the current rotation.
Life Aspiration: World domination...duh? That said, I'll settle for professional photographer.

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

2009-06-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-03T23:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-03T20:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

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

Holla!-Rick

New Life

2009-03-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

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

Zack is a Clutch Courier and more!

2009-03-19T22:26:00.000-07:00

As promised-here is the first of our Clutch Couriers messenger profiles featuring Zack:

"Hey whats up, I'm Zack, rookie of the crew. I've lived in Santa Cruz all of my life and worked in everything from retail and food service to Boardwalk ride operations and door to door canvassing. Finally I've found a job that really feels fun and extremely satisfying, not to mention useful to the Community.

In addition to cycling I also am passionate about Rock climbing. almost every weekend I've been going to amazing cliffs and boulders in Yosemite, Bishop, and Castle Rock. I guess it's the simple things that I like to enjoy and find complexity in, whether it's moving important documents from one place to another, or finding the hardest way to get to the top of a cliff or boulder."

Rick's note: Zack enjoys lettuce, long walks on rocks, and is a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. Rock on Zack, you won't be a rookie for long.

Clutch Couriers and Country Living

2009-03-15T23:25:00.001-07:00

Having been raised in rural New Zealand, spent most of the nineties living in New York City, and call Santa Cruz my home off and on for 20 years, I have a unique perspective on different and sometimes conflicting social mores. In NZ you walk a mile to have tea with your neighbor, in New York eye contact on the subway is seen as a threat, and in Santa Cruz you are only truly cozy with those who share your politics.
Given these perspectives and influences I sometimes lurch back and forth depending on my context. One interesting experience has been the interactions between myself and other cyclists on the sometimes lonely nineteen mile stretch of road between Santa Cruz and Watsonville. Since our daily arrival early last April I have made it a point to wave at all cyclists on Freedom Boulevard between Aptos and Watsonville. Partially a countrified habit from my childhood and partly because I figure things can go bad for cyclists in isolated areas and we might need to help each other out at some point,(most motorists will not).
The reactions to this have run the gamut and as a rule it is a good reflection of cyclists as a general group. The first few months only one out of twenty roadies returned the gesture, although a cold nod was more common. The rate of response has gradually crept up as some regulars have begun to recognize us. Most field workers on mountain bikes are oblivious to it although some locals have begun to recognize and are the most genuine with their returning smiles. Some Pedx'ers smile and wave, some most certainly do not. But most interesting is the roadies that have begun to race us. This guy in his 30's or 40's drafting me a good 3 miles, I looked back and warned him I had to snot-rocket. He excitedly said "you keep a good pace" before peeling off. Right on my brother, so do you, and I live for these moments. In contrast the drafting douche-bag who thought I was talking to him when I muttered "purty flowers" (I love spring in Corralitos) and then passed me on the right only to slow down, has got to learn the rules of the road-maybe the hard way.
Regardless, what goes around doesn't always come around, so I promise to all of you on the road that if I see you in trouble I will stop and help in any way I can, even if I have a bag full of rush filings and minutes to get them there.

Peace out, Yo!

Rick

Keep Rolling!

2009-03-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Just know that amidst all the bad news and the world falling down around our ears we will keep rolling and growing and learning what it takes not only to survive but to thrive-My heart goes out to all those losing their jobs at an ever-increasing pace-keep your head up-we can guilt-trip our Grandchildren about how we made it through the real "Great Depression"-see you at the food bank!

"Crisis equals opportunity"-Ancient Chinese Proverb

Website upgrade!

2009-03-05T22:45:00.000-08:00

Finally a new design for our website!!!

Go to www.clutchcouriers.com and hit refresh. Many thanks to Josh Long (Macaframa) and Mike Scirocco (El Rio) for all your help with this process-your skills and patience are so appreciated. Also a special shout out to all our customers and friends from SC to NYC who have contributed to our progress and encouraged us along the way. We live in paradise, have a dream job and owe it all to you. We are grateful.
Coming soon-messenger profiles on the about page and FTP site embedded in our print section.
PS this was taken by Clutch Courier Juliette at The Bean (La Friholitas) in Watsonville on Brennan and East Beach. The best eats for Watsonville High students and hungry messengers alike-check it out.

Live the dream! Rick

Flicker Photo

2009-02-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

Richard Masoner took this photo at the opening of the pedestrian bridge across San Lorenzo-he also gives props to messengers who use gears-Yay Richard!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/3226944986/

"This is bike messenger Rick Graves, owner of Santa Cruz Clutch Couriers. He was riding a Bridgestone RB-1, a bike designed by the legendary Grant Petersen. Like the bikes of many real messengers, Rick's bike is equipped with gears, which are especially handy given the hills he traverses everyday as he transports documents from Santa Cruz to the county courthouse in Watsonville."-Richard Masoner

CYCLELICIOUS

Stay safe-Rick

Two years and counting...

2008-12-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

As two years of business in Santa Cruz comes to a close, it's a good time to reflect on all that we have accomplished. Our growth in size and market share has been achieved at a phenomenal pace, opening up new markets in the entertainment, legal, medical and government sectors.
On any given business day, you will see at least 4-6 Clutch Couriers on the road. We are in your banks, courthouses, post-offices, clinics, college campuses, and office buildings-providing highly skilled professional services for a variety of needs, from delivering blood to notarizing and serving legal documents.
Because we had the chutzpa to provide daily courier services to Watsonville by bicycle since early April, a whole new market in South County is welcoming all bids, motorized and otherwise. It is Clutch Couriers that has the client base and the long term business plan that will maintain and grow this vital transportation link into the future.
We have maintained and grown our client base because of the standards we set and a lot of positive word of mouth. Some of the local envirogencia may not acknowledge it, but we have taken more cars off the road than anyone else because of our emphasis on excellent service. How did we convince the Bus company to replace armored trucks with pro bike messengers for their inter-office mail delivery? With the strength of our great track record and referrals-not political finger wagging.
Clutch Couriers' success over the past two years is vindication of the philosophy I have espoused all along: Make yourself indispensable to your clients, diversify into new markets, and not only is it a net gain for the environment, you are creating jobs that actually provide a future for the industry here in Santa Cruz County.
The more people that hire us because we do a great job first, the greater the impact that it's all done on bikes.
Something to look for in the first quarter of '09 is the upgraded website with e-commerce capabilities and hopefully a cleaner, simpler interface. We welcome your comments on this blog as the site is constructed, check the progress at:
http://www.clutchcouriers.com/2/
Thanks and praise must be given to our hard-working crew: Asher, Juliette, David, Nick, Jay, and Zack-Without their dedication and work ethic none of this would be possible. Of course you can tell that they love what they do, which is the point after all.
To our clientele and community who have encouraged us through the growing pains, and sometimes derision-Thank you so much. We're not going anywhere, and eventually more people will get behind the fact that Santa Cruz deserves at least two excellent professional bike messenger services.
Finally, thanks and love to all my family-blood and heart. It's your inspiration that keeps me going.

Two years and counting...Here's to many more!

Peace,

Rick Graves/Clutch Couriers

Dia De Los Muertos

2008-12-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of those of us that participated in this years Dia De Los Muertos bike race. Thanks to Elena and all the other organizers and volunteers, and congratulations to Kelly from PedX for showing us that to win an alleycat it's not just how fast you are but whether you keep your head in the game-

Peace-Rick

Branciforte Junior High Bike club

2008-10-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Julie-(Phil Woods niece) from The Bike Trip runs bike safety and culture classes at various middle and high schools around town. She invited me to speak at the Bike Club at B-40 under the heading of "Bike Sub-Culture/Meet Rick Graves-Owner of a successful bike messenger company."

I think I got across how important our job is to these kids, as well as letting them know that it's the most fun you'll ever have working. They loved seeing me use the radio, and I think this will lead to more respect from these kids when they see any bike messenger on the road.

Thanks Kids, Tony & Julie, You Rock!

First Rain!

2008-10-03T23:27:00.000-07:00

I Love the first rain of the year. It's a good reminder that in life, shit falls on your head.

Clutch Couriers office pic

2008-08-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let y'all know that Clutch Couriers (three months ago-lagger) has moved to a new office on River Street.

Come on down if you want to see a tight ship sail.

Nuttin' but Love-

Rick

Re:Last Post

2008-08-03T11:33:00.001-07:00

I got some good feedback on some messenger boards about the last post, some people thought it was funny and some people took it personally.

My main point was:

Our long term relevance and survival depends upon us presenting ourselves as skilled professionals-not as a lifestyle posture.

Peace, Rick

Save Our Profession

2008-07-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Like Hip-Hop-The Messenger Image has become a sad self-parody. By my count and definition there are at least six sub-genres from the traditional bike messenger (those of us still doing it for a living).

Hipster(enger)-Used to be a purely musical animal with tight black pants and colored raybans. Add fixie-bike,beard,chrome bag and cap--instant hipsterenger!

Posenger-An offshoot of the hipster, these people look the part but haven't done a lick of work. They religiously attend all alleycats, if only to add to their spokecard collection.

Snobenger-An actual working messenger that has forgot that they belong to the larger human race. They only hang out with people who ride fixed gear bikes, have matching girl/boyfriends, and act like the rest of us take up too much room on their road.

Protestenger-Started out as a critical mass rider and devolved into an individual or "mob" who does stupid shit that makes motorists hate us even more.

Smugenger-An offshoot of the protestengers, these people actually believe they are saving the world by riding a bike. Avoid these people like the plague, they have the ultimate justification for everything they do.

Trustenger-A trust-fund subsidized messenger or collective only in it for the social status. They are willing to work for fees so low as to skew the industry standard below a living wage. Not to be trusted with your documents, they don't really need the work.

Don't let these cliques represent our profession.

My only consolation is that you can only ride so many miles on cool points. Those of us that love the job itself and get up to feed our kids and pay the rent will be around long after this flavor of the month bullshit is over.

Rick Graves
Clutch Couriers
SC/NYC

Cultural differences

2008-07-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

Some things I'm enjoying in Watsonville that you hardly ever see in Santa Cruz:

Girls popping their gum.
People actually loading stuff in trucks.
Cowboy Hats.
$1 tacos.
The 98 cent store.
No Volvos.
Red Tail Hawks.

I promise to get a new camera soon, somehow the screen on my cybershot got cracked.

Ride safe

Watsonville and Beyond!

2008-07-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

While prestigious Santa Cruz law firms like Bosso, Williams and Nancy J. Kerrigan, have contracted with Clutch Couriers for daily court filing at Watsonville Superior Court, Clutch Couriers already provides legal services to several Watsonville based-firms, (see client list).

We have now expanded our range to North Monterey County, providing daily bicycle courier service to Alpine Gem Flower shippers in the Aromas/Royal Oaks area. A fifty-mile round-trip from our base in Santa Cruz!

Owner Anne Duran says, ”While Clutch Couriers service is excellent, their cost is around the same as the motorized companies, and because they deliver by bicycle they help us achieve our goal of reducing our carbon footprint.”

This is an exciting opportunity for businesses in Las Lomas, Pajaro, Watsonville and all points north to Santa Cruz to be provided with professional courier services at an affordable rate and in a sustainable way.

Because residents of Watsonville have seen Clutch Couriers riders on a daily basis on their streets, courthouses, and post office, and because of the positive word of mouth being generated from their south county clients, Watsonville-based companies are now requesting bids from all providers motorized or otherwise.

Clutch Couriers strategy towards these emerging markets is to submit bids comparable to the motorized competition and then provide a better service.

That way the transportation link is established in a sustainable and economically viable way for both the purchaser and the bike messenger doing the work; a point not lost on most of the potential south-county messengers we have talked to.

It is Clutch Couriers philosophy to raise the expectation and standards of performance in the industry, and provide each rider with a professional skill-set.

The result being a client base that is wide-reaching and amazed at what a bike messenger can provide, and messengers who can be paid a fair rate for those professional skills.

I am seeking your help in getting the word out about this vital link that truly is taking cars off the freeway every day.

For more information visit www.clutchcouriers.com or call 831-466-0560

Thank you for your time,

Richard Graves
Clutch Couriers/Owner

Thoughts on bike to work week

2008-05-16T00:30:00.000-07:00

Sustainable transportation is not just a slogan. To give it meaning, you have to put it into action, which is what Clutch Couriers is doing with our new bicycle courier route to Watsonville, a hilly, thirty-four mile roundtrip from our home base in Santa Cruz.

Already the word is out and companies are looking for bids to take advantage of emerging South County opportunities for sustainable transportation in action.

The more people that sign up, the more affordable it becomes, and a new green economy is born, linking the North with the historically under utilized businesses in the South County area.

Clutch Couriers is the only courier company in Santa Cruz County to provide same day filing services to Watsonville Family Law Superior Court, and now that the County has moved all family law proceedings and filings to the new Watsonville Civic Plaza, attorneys in North County are forced to make the long commute by car to get their documents filed or retrieved on time.

That is unless they use Clutch Couriers, removing a car from the freeway, and relieving stress on both person and planet.

By creating professional services relayed by bicycle, Clutch Couriers creates economic upward mobility for a traditionally flat line job, as well as viability for bicycle delivery on a whole different level of the economy.

The effect is cumulative, the more people that do this job well, the more people from different sectors of the market will want to hire bike messengers, a net gain for the environment.

By creating viable sustainable transportation to Watsonville, Clutch Couriers makes possible a satellite office in the Watsonville area creating more green jobs where the need is most pronounced.

When people see sustainable transportation working for them on all levels, both the heart and the pocket book, and when they are served by professional and skilled bike messengers, this will be a movement that cannot be stopped.

The way to truly change the world is through avenues that affect daily life, such as the business sector, not from some ivory tower or panel discussion.

Join us in getting the word out. With your help, the growth of professional sustainable transportation services will be limitless.

And remember, a rising tide raises all boats.

Sincerely,

Richard Graves
Clutch Couriers/Owner

Fixed vs. Gears

2008-02-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

I'm looking around the various messenger forums (see Lucian Gregg on this blog) and noticing an escalating conflict that is fuzzy in definition but focuses on the fixed gear bike.

I don't want to talk about the narrow conflict of gears/brakes vs. fixed gear but rather the larger reality of the conflicts between everyone that shares the road and the consequences of certain actions and attitudes to those of us that ride for a living every day.

Everybody knows it's how you use it. Experience breeds caution.
Do you slide behind pedestrians, encouraging them to get across safely, or do you buzz-bomb their noses in a blaze of purple and yellow, breeding hatred of all cyclists?

What I wanted to get at in this blog is ways to avoid conflict and possibly death on the road and one of the best ways and hardest to accomplish this is to develop "wu wei" or I call it "duck back".

When I was in my first couple of years in New York I used to marvel at how the most laid back geezers made the most money. Later I realized it was all about the attitude-slowing down makes you more efficient-the more you try to influence or make an impression on the people and obstacles you run across messing in any given day-the more energy you expend and less efficient you become.

Bad accidents and bike trouble start to accumulate and before you know it you're yelling at your dispatcher or client and digging it deeper. Worst of all you are not looking for that opening door or the turning bus-driver who for god sakes can't see if you're riding in his right-side blind spot thinking about how your girlfriend hates you instead of seeing his blinker or tires running you over-and boom-you are riding wheel well for three blocks while your helmet keeps you conscious to feel the pain.

Wu wei will show the way to help us all give each other a brake. Messenger and hipster, commuter and activist, fixed and gears-let's get a duck's back about this and let it slide.

Love, Rick

Biodegradable Bike

2008-01-25T15:05:00.000-08:00

Dude built a wooden bike-Genius! Hopefully within a year all the enviro-messengers will be riding this in their clogs.

http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/2/3/article1.htm

Wannabe Bike Messengers don't get it

2008-01-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

I know this is someone else's diatribe but it is so close to my own philosophy and disgust at the creeping hipsterism and snobbishness in our industry that I had to post it.
Plus it shows that whoever told you that you can make $350 a day in Philly is full of it.
I wanted to write a book called "shoot the messenger" about waking up and realizing that all the most elitist jackasses in town were suddenly dressing like they were doing my job but I think a good mockumentary-style send up will do a better job.
The next few postings will follow a theme of simple tricks to stay alive on the road and should be less political-I promise.

The hyper-glamorized job is simply that: a job. BBB dispels bike messenger myths.

By: Julian Root

Temple News, January 22, 2008

To be a bike messenger is to be professionally inconvenienced, and yet it continues to be one of the most romanticized and sought-after positions for young people in cities. Any messenger who denies the implicit "cool factor" is either lying or blind. But what is it that makes this job seem so much "cooler" than similar jobs, like delivering food on bicycle?

Short answer: nothing other than a slightly arrogant, albeit completely ingenuous, sense of solidarity.

Unfortunately for most Philly messengers, this sense of solidarity is often more exciting on the street than it is on their paychecks. Before taxes were withdrawn, my best 40-hour paycheck in the past nine months was about $325. Considering what most eight-hour days of messenger entail, this is hardly worth it in the eyes of most levelheaded people.

It must be the work itself that elicits so much enthusiasm.

On an ideal day of messenger work, life is good. Jobs come in at a steady, comfortable pace, the weather is good, no flat tires are sustained and motorists are generally complacent. However, these days - particularly in the wintertime - are few and far between.

"What can I say about y'all? I got a lot more respect for all the bikers after working here a few years," James Thrower, a radio dispatcher at the Rapid bike messenger service, said. "The s--- you guys put up with is amazing. I used to curse out bikers when I'd be driving, but now I sympathize. You guys ain't got it easy out there, and I gotta respect you for sticking with it."

It's impossible to explain to a cabbie why you had to cut him off as you flew through that red light. Why should there be any explanation, anyway? The idea behind bike messenger services is that bikes can go places and do things cars cannot. They are simply more efficient than cars in the city. If every messenger obeyed every traffic law, it would be an obsolete business.

Generally speaking, bike messengers stick with the job because they are good at what they do. Pedestrians and motorists are as fundamental to urban life as the concrete itself, and every good messenger knows this and adapts accordingly.

Unfortunately, many people don't realize this and curse the messenger for taking what may seem to be insane risks in traffic. The irony is that the messenger is, quite literally, only doing his job. Anyway, for all that lawyer in the Benz knows, I could be delivering his next mortgage payment!

Next to traffic, the most contentious element of many messengers' jobs is the brakeless bicycle. Designed originally for use in a track with other brakeless bicycles, these rudimentary fixed-gear bicycles are controlled entirely by leg strength. Legs are as crucial to stopping as they are for starting. This raises eyebrows not because it is impractical, but because it is completely unnecessary.

Yes, I ride without brakes. No, I do not condone it.

Riding without brakes is certainly manageable, and with a little experience, it's easy to do for many months without any significant problems. It's desirable because it looks sleek to have a bicycle with no brakes. The purity of complete self-reliance also makes it appealing.

However, with brakes, you can go faster, since you can stop faster. And your knees, which play a key role in slowing down while riding brakeless, will thank you. On one grueling, brakeless morning, I covered the distance between downtown Philly and Second and Somerset streets six times. That is almost the equivalent to riding from Temple's Main Campus to Doylestown, and the trip made my knees feel set to explode.

Riding brakeless simply adds to the solidarity aesthetic of messengers. Like any group of similar people, they endure similar hardships and similar gains. There is an immediate connection felt between two messengers who share a glance outside in the pouring rain: "I am tired, cold, and soaking wet, and I will continue to be in another six hours. Knowing you will be, too, makes it that much better."

After navigating through ice, wind, rain, snow and triple-digit temperatures, there is little the bike messenger cannot quickly adapt to. It is rare that a messenger will complain about the weather. The messenger often has to struggle to keep his or her mouth shut in the company of businessmen and women riding elevators, who complain about the conditions outside while sipping lattes in their warm, dry suits.

Frankly, any hullabaloo about bike messengers is insubstantial. It's a job like any other outdoor job. It rains; they get wet. It's nice out; they laugh at the suits stuck in office buildings. The pay generally sucks, regardless. Add some flashy gear (sleek track bikes and fancy messenger bags), and suddenly people think there is some special, esoteric knowledge the messengers possess, which they certainly do not.

Lucian Gregg and fixies in Santa Cruz

2008-01-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

My deepest sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Lucian Gregg. For me it serves as yet another reminder of just how fragile life on the road is.

If there is something positive that can come out of all the media attention paid to his untimely death, I hope that it can spark a discussion and debate about the relationships between all of us who share the road.

For those of us who make our living on a bike (I am owner and founder of Clutch Couriers and have been a bike messenger since 1994) it can be obnoxious to bear the brunt of the road rage generated by the “fixie” fad and it’s enthusiast’s behavior.

While I appreciate Josh Muir’s optimistic viewpoint (in the Sentinel’s article January 7th) that fixed gear bike riders are people who “figure out a way to enjoy themselves in the world” it has been my experience that many fixie riders in Santa Cruz are trying to impress each other while paying little mind to how their actions affect those of us who ride every day.

Fixed gear bike messengers started out in Manhattan where the flat terrain makes it the logical choice, and the need to blow stoplights and cut off pedestrians is part of the job if you want to make a decent commission.

The practice spread to other cities, and although I am in awe of the skills displayed by the elite riders in San Francisco, with all those hills, I doubt that riding a fixie makes them more proficient bike messengers.

If you look at the bicycles that are ridden by the nine or so messengers in Santa Cruz (including the four that ride for Clutch Couriers) they all have gears and brakes as a practical matter.

Lets face it, fixed gear bikes take longer to stop, and if you have to skid to a halt you are less likely to yield to motorists and pedestrians who may have the right of way.

Josh Long was right when he equated the fixed gear fad to a certain trendy brand of footwear, however as my sixteen-year-old daughter informs me, Uggs are “so last year”. Maybe riding a fixie in Santa Cruz should be too.

Rick Graves/Clutch Couriers

Crazy Helmet Cam

2008-01-05T00:32:00.000-08:00

Check this site out

www.digave.com

This is the best helmetcam video site I've seen-Races in Stolkholm, London, NYC-this guy has it all and mad skillz to boot.

Rick

Riding the storm out

2008-01-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

Props to all the messengers who rode today-I live for days like this-I have to say that it felt great-like I kicked that storm's ass-I respect Mother Nature-it's just a blast to be a soldier out there, battling the elements.
It started out with four trees falling around my house. Within the first hour on the road all the power was out, stoplights were down or hanging, and there were live power lines on the road. I know my tires are rubber but I swear I felt my fingers tingling.
Everybody was looking at me like I was crazy-but the eastside still had power and I needed to make those pickups. I had to go by the ocean and check it out-roaring at the gale force winds and rock hard rain flying in my face. Trees were down all over Light House field.
By the time the day was fading the storm had left-whimpering away-and me shaking my fist at the sky asking, "is that all you got?"
God-it feels good to be alive and to finally be in a real winter.-Rick

nyc ride

2007-12-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post this video about what it’s like to ride as a messenger in NYC. I miss it sometimes. I have to be so polite in SC cuz the ped I cut off today could be who I’m trying to promote my business to tomorrow- Still live to ride tho’-check it out and please don’t get mad at the possibly offensive lyrics-Nuttin’ but Love-Rick

Squid NYC Messenger on Ellen

2007-12-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

This is my good friend Squid AKA Kevin appearing on the Ellen De Generes show last year. He is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and taught me a lot about what it means to be in the messenger community.

DON’T JUDGE-PEOPLE!

We are all flawed and you never know what someone has been through or what they are really thinking. One of the great things about messengers in NYC in particular is among the 3,000 or so on the road every day in Manhattan they run the gamut from straight outta Rikers to elitist snobs, yet at the events that Squid put together or helped with like the Beer Olympics or Apocolips Halloween alleycat we all got together on an even playing field and gave each other shit in the spirit of fun.

When you are a messenger-everywhere you go you will have a home with your brothers and sisters in arms and Squid exemplifies that spirit.

He recently had a son with his wife Amy so I’m sure his life is different now-congrats and welcome to the club Bro!-but I look forward to seeing him again when I visit NYC next and I’m sure that he’ll be stoked about me carrying on the tradition of riding hard-not being afraid to get paid well-and loving life-out here in beautiful SC, Cali-

Long Live Clutch Couriers!

-Rick

Dexter One Love/Leg NYC

2007-12-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

This guy is my hero-he used to blow past me going up sixth avenue all the time-when I feel sorry for myself I try to think of people like him who keep going no matter what.

Nuttin’ but Love and Good Vibrations Dexter!

-Rick