Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 6 June 2011

Hooray For Dad!

He played ball with you, took you to the movies, and had “that talk” with you at some point. He also grounded you and embarrassed you in front of your friends. So, for all that, it’s nice that Dad gets a day for himself. Help make it a nice one by getting him his gift on time, which you can do by calling Breakaway. Just don’t blame us if he embarrasses you in front of the messenger. 

Crit Grit

The Breakaway Racing Team has been having really good results lately. Ariel Mendez-Penate took the Cat 3 race at Floyd Bennet Field on May 19^th, while Sam Salisbury won the Cat 4 race. We’re in action again for the Harlem Criterium (crit for short), which usually happens in the middle of June. Results will be sure to follow in July’s newsletter.

Stuck? Use a Truck

So, you’ve got a lot of big stuff to move, and no way to move it. Well, Breakaway has you covered with our trucking department. From small box trucks to our large lift-gates, no job is too big. So, if you have large quantities of small stuff, or one humongous item, give us a call.

Save Our Show!

We’re often called to do insane jobs, and rush things from here to there as if it’s a matter of life and death. Now, it’s our turn to call you. If “Triple Rush,” the Travel Channel’s program featuring Breakaway, gets 100,000 likes on Facebook, the Travel Channel will put the show back on the air. Visit www.facebook.com/savetriplerush, and click like.

Pronouncements

It’s the little organic chemical that has turned the cycling world upside down. Still, we were wondering how on earth to pronounce, “erythropoietin.” Well, Merriam-Webster online has an audio link that can pronounce it for us. A computer voice able to pronounce a word better than we can? Well, we don’t orate, we just deliver packages. That’s what we do.

Department of Duh

The Times has recently published an article saying sedentary jobs are contributing to America’s obesity problem. Another article proves that the quacking sound is definitely associated with ducks, and airplanes with flying.

Stump the Band

Last month we wanted to know how the holiday of Easter got its name. Answer: Easter is named for the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre. Her personal symbols were the egg and the hare.

T-Shirt Question

A 2003 poll called it the one invention that modern Americans cannot live without. Despite a long history, they were not mass-produced until 1780, when the man responsible for doing so hit on the idea while in jail. What are we talking about? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway T-shirt.

The Lance Armstrong Affair

 

My wife took this shot on the Tourmlet in July 2004

I cannot help but put my two cents about the slow moving implosion that is destroying the credibility of Lance Armstrong, since this blog is concerned with all things bike related and not just the world of the courier. I am a long time follower of road racing and in fact have just returned from seeing a stage of the Giro d’Italia. I also spent two weeks driving around France in 2004 positioning myself on various Pyrenean and Alpine slopes to watch Armstrong roll by, a trip I consider one of the highlights of my life. So I feel I have earned my opinion but it is complicated since I am of two minds and I hold two contrarian statements in my head.

1)      Armstrong is lying and is guilty of doping.

2)      He is the victim of a witch-hunt.

Concerning statement 1:

I was never under any illusion concerning doping in the world of professional cycling or professional sports in general. I wish this was not the case but anyone with open eyes over the last 20 years has seen the performance enhancement in the pro peloton, on the baseball diamond, on the track, or, most obviously, in the grotesque combat that is professional football. Cycling is no more or less corrupt then these other sports. Did everyone stop watching or attending baseball or football games? Did I still put a lot of time and effort into going to France to see it live regardless?….I did. I told myself that since the entire peloton was doped Armstrong was winning on a level playing field so it did not detract from his achievement or the beauty of the competition. I admired him anyway.

The big lie

Sometimes a lie grows so big that to admit that it is a lie would seemingly destroy the universe. As Armstrong’s legend and winnings grew the consequences of his being found out grew exponentially. He became the face of cycling, and the brand name of a large philanthropic effort that helped and continues to help thousands of people. And because of the more individualistic nature of the sport compared to the large team organization of baseball, football, and soccer….cycling has smaller team organizations that are more tied to sponsors than other sports….the displacement of this legend could be seen as a fatal blow to the sport. As the pressure builds the need to maintain the lie becomes the paramount concern and anyone who challenges the official version needs to be discredited at all cost.

This is the moment where Armstrong lost my support. As the small, clubby, easy to control world of cycling morphed into the worldwide celebrity of one man the people who helped him reach those lofty heights have become expendable. The list of key domestiques who helped Armstrong win the Tour de France 7 times and who later ran afoul of drug testers is telling: Roberto Heras, Tyler Hamilton, Floyd Landis. The last two names have implicated Armstrong to a grand jury under threat of perjury along with another teammate George Hincapie who has never tested positive for banned substances.  These cyclists knew and obviously accepted the risk associated with the choices they made to reach the highest level of the sport. I like to think I would not have made their choice but I cannot know how I would react under that pressure. Once confessed, I cannot judge them too harshly for playing by the rules as they saw them.

Who I will judge harshly is a person who would put the entire power of his name and fortune towards undermining and destroying his former friends who helped him acquire his position in the world. The only excuse for this would be if all these people are lying and Lance Armstrong never doped. This is a very unlikely possibility.  

Concerning statement 2:

Jeff Novitzky is conducting a witch hunt against Lance Armstrong and it is unlikely that Armstrong will spend any time in jail or be convicted of a crime despite the serious nature of the allegations. The most serious possible charges (conspiracy to defraud the government) hinge on proving that Armstrong knowingly lied to the government as represented by the USPS in order to secure sponsorship. This will be a very hard case to make and I feel it is a separate issue from other serious allegations that Landis and Hamilton are making concerning the complicity of the UCI in squashing possible positive drug test of Armstrong’s. These should be pursued all the way to the top.

The question now becomes “why is Novitzky pursuing this hard to make case with such intensity?” His conduct in the BALCO case that resulted in a jail sentence for Marian Jones might be instructive. It is not to the point of this post to examine the Inspector Javert like perseverance of Novitzky in that case but I imply the allusion to ask the simple question, “what is justice?” Was justice done when Marian Jones, a person at the long end of a chain of events and people all of whom deserved much more censure than her, was humiliated and made to serve 6 months of hard time? In the broadest sense, yes, but that justice was morally unjustified.

Lance Armstrong will most likely end up humiliated and proved a liar but in a world where wars can be waged for fictitious reasons and Wall Street bankers who came close to bringing down the worlds economy not only walk free but are bailed out for their losses, their criminality caused by the government, makes the millions of dollars and thousands of hours the Justice Department is spending on this case morally unjustified.

Meet Breakaway Couriers Ian & Lindsey, May's featured couriers.

Empty Bike path on the Tiber

I was in Rome recently and saw plenty of bikers on the street and some couriers. The traffic was not too different from New York. The surpise though was when my wife and I took a walk along a beautiful bike path along the Tiber river. We walked for around 3 miles and only saw 2 bikers the entire time. Rome also has a bike sharing program like Paris and I thought I might take advantage but although I saw many bike sharing stands I never saw one bike or anyone riding a bike share bike! If anyone know the background about the relative success or failure of Rome bike sharing program let me know.

Tossed overboard by the healthcare system

I have no intention of using the platform of the Breakaway manager’s blog to opine on my political views. My views are clear and out there for anyone to see but this is not the place for them. Nevertheless two recent incidents with couriers who had health issues outside of work provide clear examples of the inherent deficiencies of our present healthcare system. By highlighting them I seek to illuminate some fundamental problems facing the “hipster” generation now coming of age, a portion of which moves through Breakaway as a stopover towards adulthood. 

Case study 1

Messenger X is in his early 30s and has worked at Breakaway as a bike courier for 18 months. He fits the classic “hipster” profile of an elongated proto-adult stage that now seems to last from age 20-30. He has an NYU degree and is very smart and personable. He has spent the last year working two messenger jobs; besides Breakaway he has a late night cookie delivery job servicing addled college students. He has almost paid off his debt and gotten back on his feet. He seemed to be making a transition to a new stage in life.

A couple of weeks ago while walking on the upper west side a cab hit the gas to make a light and knocked him to the ground. It happened quickly and the cab just took off. Messenger X got up and tried to shake it off although he had some aches and bad bruises. Due to his lack of any healthcare he did not go to a doctor. Within a few days the pain and discomfort he felt breathing had worsened and the injury he assumed to be cracked ribs had progressed to the point that he could not get out of bed. At this point his friends dragged him to the emergency room and he was diagnosed with a collapsed lung. The cracked rib had punctured his lung as he tossed and turned at night with pain. He was in the hospital for 3 days. Two weeks later he has made a seemingly full recovery. He is also back in serious debt and trying to work out a payment plan with the hospital.

Case study 2

Messenger Z has worked as a bike courier for Breakaway for just the last two months. She is in her late 20s and has worked as a courier for other companies and in other cities. She has college experience but has not graduated yet. She is has a few tattoos and is into the messenger culture scene. She is very bright and a lot of fun. She sews and makes her own interesting messenger clothing and is a very hard working courier.

A couple of weeks ago she started missing work due to illness. After being out a few days we then heard that she had ended up in the hospital. Just yesterday she stopped in and gave me the full story. Two months ago she had what she self-diagnosed as a UTI (urinary tract infection), but since she has no healthcare coverage she did not see a doctor and just tried to wait it out. A few weeks later she started having bad flu like symptoms every few days which resulted in her missing work. She started feeling these symptoms more often but tried to keep working by taking 8-10 tylenol everyday and riding through the pain. Like messenger X her friends were alarmed by how sick she was and took her to the emergency room. It turns out that what was originally just a UTI had morphed through lack of treatment into a serious kidney infection. After 5 days in the hospital and a series of antibiotics she is making a recovery. The doctors told her she was very lucky and if she had waited a few more days it could have been very serious. Unfortunately, messenger Z is now like messenger X saddled with a large hospital bill she cannot pay off anytime soon.

Conclusions

Breakaway Courier does provide healthcare to full-time couriers who have worked at least six months. We offset around 50% of the weekly cost to those who qualify and sign up. It is very difficult to make young people do something for their long term health that cost them $40-$50 a week when they tend to not get sick very often. Consequently very few couriers take advantage of our offer. The cost to Breakaway for the health problems of messengers X and Z are almost nonexistent. The cost to society in general is steep as it is very likely that taxpayers will end up paying hospital bills for two people who if they had reasonable healthcare options in the first place would have seen doctors sooner and not ended up in the hospital at all. What is costing us more? 

Andrew Young 

General Manager

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 5 May 2011

May Days

May is here, and along with the May flowers are also some holidays to be aware of. Mother’s Day is almost here, of course, and should you have need to get that special something to her rapidly, you know who you can call on. Because nothing says, “I love you, Mom,” like a Breakaway Courier showing up to her door.

In Memoriam

May is also the month for Memorial Day. Please note that Breakaway will be closed for that Monday, in observance of the federal holiday.

Augmented Reality

Watching Triple Rush, you may really enjoy the music played for most of the show. What viewers may not know is that that music wasn’t added to the footage; it plays here all the time. We have a very sophisticated office A.I. system that reads our staff and messenger’s faces 300 times per second and then plays the appropriate minor chords, heavy riffs, and pregnant pauses.

Ride Safe, Lee.

Some sharp-eyed viewers of Triple Rush have already called in to say that Rob Kotch’s admonition to “Ride safe,” may make good advice, but is questionable English. And, they’re right; the correct phrase is, “Ride safely.” We apologize for using an adjective to describe a verb. Please don’t tell the Royals, or the Minister of Language will come here and beat us with an Oxford dictionary.

House for Wares

More and more customers are experiencing the convenience of our midtown warehousing facility. For projects either large or small, Breakaway can store, organize, and deliver your items not just here in Manhattan, but across the country. 

Groundswell Reviews

Fantastic. Sensational. What television should be. Better than Viagra. Okay, we made that last one up, but that’s what the critics are saying about Triple Rush, the reality show that is showcasing Breakaway Courier, and life in the mean streets. Or, it was, until the Travel Channel cancelled it, after only three episodes. We need a cable TV uprising from our clients and fans; call or e-mail the Travel Channel and tell them to put Triple Rush back on the air!

Friend Us!

Okay, we know that you’d rather waste time on Facebook than do some actual work. Now, you can do both. Friend us on Facebook, and you’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Stump the Band

Last month we asked what show has been called the granddaddy of reality TV and when did it air? Answer: Alan Funt’s Candid Camera, which first aired in 1948. This was an extension of his radio show, Candid Microphone.

T-Shirt Question

Another Easter has passed, and that begs the question: Why is this Christian holiday called Easter and why is it celebrated with rabbits and eggs? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway t-shirt.

New Essay from Breakaway GM Andrew Young: The Messenger as athlete

Let me start this essay with a seemingly contrarian statement:

Many very successful bicycle couriers are not athletic.  

If you live in a dense urban environment where the bike messenger exist, or you watch messengers darting across your tv screen, or even just occasionally contemplate the idea of what this job might be like, your first thought might tend towards the physical. And it is certainly true that the job at its core is what I would term manual, physical labor. Now you might make a seemingly logical jump from the physical to the athletic and embed in your mind an idee fixe that messengers are athletes. This essay will attempt to explain why this is not necessarily true.

If you have been watching the Travel Channel “reality” show Triple Rush you are seeing a group of couriers who are mostly under 30, trim and fit looking. This group of couriers is in fact a small demographic reality of a march larger whole that in New York and at Breakaway encompasses a much more diverse group of people across a wide spectrum of class, age, gender and ethnicity. This was a something that Triple Rush did not have time to highlight in season one, (in fact we urged them to cover a typical rookie class) but that I hope will be conveyed in season 2….if there is one.

It is worth asking how it is possible that a bike messenger could not be an athlete? I have a twofold answer and will expand on each. First, I will look at who really works as a messenger at Breakaway and secondly, I examine the larger question of who really rides a bike in this world.  

In many cities where there is a bike messenger industry that industry is a small insular world that tends towards the Hipster clubhouse atmosphere I discussed in an earlier essay. But in New York the amount of positions available for bike messengers combined with a large, diverse population over a wide economic disparity helps create Breakaway’s working crew of messengers. That crew encompasses around 80-100 couriers at any time that range in age from 20-60. As of this writing 10 of these couriers are women,  25 of them are immigrants from various parts of the word…10 of them are in their 50s… 15 of them in their 40s, and 30 of them fit the Hipster Doofus range of mid 20s and early 30;s.

This broad demographic implies a broad range of physical abilities and levels of fitness. If you spent a day or two around the Breakaway office you might be amazed at the different types of people doing the job. They come in all different shapes and sizes and many of them have never done anything remotely physical before in their life. Even after 20 years in the business I am constantly surprised at who can do the job well. What I have realized is that because of the density of Manhattan a courier does not need to be really athletic as long as they are consistent in their efforts over the course of the work week. The desire and ability to work hard is the only thing that good couriers have in common. In fact we usually prefer the tortoise to the hare. The hare is more likely to exhaust themselves or get in a small accident that prevents them from working compared to the slow and steady effort of the tortoise. As a sidelight it is always fascinating to watch a person who has never had a physical job work their way into excellent condition by being on a bike for hours at a time. They loose weight and start to think about themselves in a way they never had before and exude a physical confidence that had not been present when they first applied for the job.

We can now examine the broader issue of who rides a bike in this world and why.

Humans are born walkers and runners; we are quite literally movers and shakers. It is what we do. Did you know that over a 40 mile race a human will beat every other animal on earth? The invention of the bicycle which increases the efficiency of self propelled transport exponentially has to be considered nearly as important as learning the secret of fire. Millions of people commute or travel by bicycle everyday around the world. How many of them are athletes? Almost everyone can ride a bike and in most societies outside of the US it is a basic form of transportation and work for everyday needs. The US is the exception and our exurbs and suburbs are built around the use of motor vehicles. This may be seen as one cause in our current obesity epidemic. Americans have forgotten that we are born to move our bodies physically everyday. The couriers at Breakaway have found their long dormant ability to propel themselves. It is often a great awakening.

Triple Rush Extended Trailer Released

Check out the newly released extended trailer for Triple Rush. Please be sure to share and spread the word! And find out more about the new show featuring Breakaway Courier on the Travel Channel, Triple Rush, premiering April 14th at 10pm!

Triple Rush - Extended Trailer from Triple Rush on Vimeo.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO BREAKAWAY CUSTOMERS AND FRIENDS:

We've recently become aware of an email "scam" that uses a Hotmail address out of the United Kingdom with the user name "Breakaway Courier."  The email describes a courier service using some text from our Breakaway website, and instructs the recipient to make a payment in order to receive their $1,000,0000 lottery winnings.  PLEASE BE AWARE:  THIS EMAIL DOES NOT COME FROM BREAKAWAY COURIER SYSTEMS AND WE ARE NOT IN ANY WAY ASSOCIATED WITH IT.  We do not have a UK office.  The sender is not a Breakaway employee and is not authorized to use our Breakaway Courier name or trademarks.  We would advise that you report the message as spam to your email provider and delete it immediately. 

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 4 April 2011

Taxation Two-Step

Time waits for no man, and Uncle Sam is even less understanding in this regard. It’s tax time, of course, and for all of you who wait until the very last nanosecond to get your taxes done, we’d like to say: Thank You for keeping us in business! Remember, we can have those forms delivered ASAP. 

Reality Breakaway

Now that the pressure is on, let us tempt you with a more fun. Taxes, schmaxes, forget those taxes.  Instead, tune in to the Travel Channel and watch the premiere of "Triple Rush" on April 14th, 10pm, featuring Breakaway Courier. Let the deadline loom even larger and call in for a triple rush after the show. More excitement than you can stand!

Ruling the Road

Breakaway Courier has long been a presence on the streets of the city. We’re hoping to replicate this success in the racing scene. The Breakaway Courier Cycle Race Team has had several impressive wins in March, and we hope to continue the streak. Notable results: Mike Hughes has two wins in the NJ series, and Steve Kang has a win in the Century Road Cycling Association’s Spring series in Central Park in the cat 5 division.

One, Two…Heave!

Does this sound familiar? You have 50 cartons lying around, a disorganized list of clients you need to deliver said cartons too, and a limited amount of office space. Luckily, you’re a customer of Breakaway. Our logistics team can pick up your items in our lift-gate truck, store them off-site, and organize the clientele for smooth delivery. Everyone will think you’re a genius. Of course, since you have us as your secret weapon, you are.

A Good Cause

MS causes a lot of misery. Luckily, there’s the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Annually, the NMSS holds charity rides to raise funds for research, and Breakaway is doing its part. On April 30^th, Team Breakaway will participate in the Ride the Vineyards event. Want to contribute? Go to bikemam.nationalmssociety.org, click Ride the Vineyards, and look for our team to make a donation.

Friend Us!

Okay, we know that you’d rather waste...er...spend, time on Facebook than do some actual work. Now, you can do both. Friend us on Facebook, and you’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Stump the Band

Last month we asked who really came up with the croissant. Answer: The pastry was first baked in Austria, in the form of the kipferi, going back to the 13^th century. One story says they were baked to celebrate victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna, riffing the Turkish crescent flags.

T-Shirt Question

 Today, it’s X Factor and American Idol, but the idea of reality television has been around a long time. What show has been called the granddaddy of reality TV and when did it air? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway t-shirt.