Professional bike messengers around the country will recognize today as 10-9 Day, a.k.a. Messenger Appreciation Day.

October 9th has been a day of thanks for bike messengers since 1997, when Toronto joined San Francisco with a joint proclamation. Since then, 10/9 has been officially recognized in Calgary, Chicago, Edmonton, Montreal, Houston, Vancouver and Washington DC.

Now you can add Portland to that list. (more...)

[Note from Publisher: Welcome to the final installment of our three-part series on bike messengers in Portland. This series is written by BikePortland contributing writer Erin Greeson (bio).

Thanks to everyone for the vigorous discussion on this series thus far, and a special thanks to Erin Greeson for her work on this story.]

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[Welcome to Part Two of our three-part series on bike messengers in Portland.

This series is written by BikePortland contributing writer Erin Greeson (bio). In Part One, Greeson laid out the tough working conditions faced by Portland's messengers. In the article below, she shares finding health care coverage for a messenger who's also a mom and she delves into the impact of the messenger stereotype.]

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Erin Greeson

[Publisher's note: This is the first in a three-part story on Portland's bike messengers by new contributor Erin Greeson.

When her friend Zak Kovalcik crashed and broke his collarbone last fall, Greeson came face-to-face with the tough reality faced by Portland's bike delivery professionals. In this in-depth, three-part series, Greeson shares how the deck is stacked against messengers and how they are trying to survive in a challenging profession.]

As Portland’s reputation as a green business boomtown gains momentum, bike-centric ventures emerge as quickly and viably as organic brewpubs and cafes. While a new era of entrepreneurs seeks to capitalize on this evolving economy, one of the oldest bike-based businesses, bicycle messenger services, faces challenges that impact workers and business owners alike. (more...)

[Publisher's note: Elly Blue is on a trip through the East Coast. She's got a Brompton folder, a backpack, and one of my old cameras around her neck. She'll be posting dispatches and photos from the road. I've created a special section for all the articles and I'll share some of them here on the Front Page. You can also follow Elly's adventures on Twitter.]

Chicago messenger (and my host), Josh Korby.
(Photo © Elly Blue)

Courtesy of the weather, mechanical delays, a freight derailment in Minnesota, one medical emergency, and the priority of freight over passenger trains, I'm unexpectedly in Chicago for the day.

So here I am sitting in a coffeeshop in Wicker Park, enjoying excellent espresso and fast WiFi. It's sunny out and "above zero" as my host optimistically put it. Sleet is expected after 5, just when it's time to head back to the station. (more...)