Max Bikes Cycle Couriers make deliveries on a daily basis for a variety of independent stores in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK, ranging from a florist to an artisan Bakery and a bike shop. Using single speeds, ebikes, cargo bikes and trailers we have delivered everything from Golf Clubs to a sofa and a boat!
You never know what the day is going to bring, riding on the streets. Urban riding is always varied, whether you are avoiding pedestrians or the eponymous white van driver as he competes with you for road space and delivery time. One things for sure…on the old cobbled medieval and Victorian streets of Shrewsbury White Van Man can’t compete with us.
Bicycle or e-bike is still the fastest, coolest and most fun and green way to get around! Soap box moment over!
We set off into the Urban Sprawl…well gorgeous market town at 8am each day and have a manifest that’s full of variety. That’s the beauty of Urban Cycling it really gives you a fresh perspective on your environment.
You see the details of the street, the street art, people, places, sights and sounds are heightened when you are not sat in the “coffin car”. Street riding is about surviving the weather conditions, being confident in your road position and getting from point to point quickly…it’s about knowing every crack in the pavement.
You have to really on your kit…we ride with minimal kit to save weight and space for the delivery package, but always carry a lock, multi-tool, tubes, pump and increasingly hi-vis gear as the urban space is a competitive place!
Get up, grab coffee (essential for cyclists, it’s a cliche but only because it’s true…prevalence makes it so), access the weather and grab appropriate gear, check the manifest for deliveries that day and work out a route…grab breakfast or pick it up on route at my favourite coffee shop or the bakery we do deliveries for.
My steed of choice at the moment and through the winter is my Single Speed…riding free wheel not fixed as my knees are too old. The Fixie Inc Level Betty fitted with a Cushion Aid, Saddle Donut to prevent saddle soars and to help “plant” you in the bike is my go to set up. Manhattan Portage messenger bag with the above mentioned kit in and I’m ready to go. Sometimes I have to swap the ride for a cargo bike or ebike with trailer mid ride depending on the weight and size of the package…but the SS is my commute and go to bike to start the day.
It’s low maintenance, fast, direct and despite a little bling, it does go under the radar with bike thieves (touch wood). Yes, it’s hilly in Shrewsbury, but the SS is effort V reward and I like that as it helps to keep me fit. Yes, SS is all out attack but that’s why I like it…point and pedal, plus the clean aesthetic.
Some days I ride 40 miles plus on deliveries around the town and meet such a variety of people.
The 35″ tyres I have specced along side the Cushion Aid Saddle Donut offer comfort in any conditions and wearing bib shorts or normal clothes. It’s important to be comfortable and efficient when you spend the day bobbing in and out of traffic.
I hit the streets at 8ish and start my 1st delivery and then on a good day, it’s go go go until 1pm with a mixture of short hop rides in the town centre and longer rides out to the retail parks and businesses on the outskirts of the town. The ride time can be quieter in the afternoon as the deliveries tale off.
As a team, we ride in storms, floods, snow and in those beautiful golden mornings of Spring, Summer and Autumn. No desk…just a saddle and bars and the open road. Getting home later in the afternoon, you are tired but with that warm glow of achievement and having been challenged in a fun way. The kind of tiredness that is rewarding having exposed yourself to the breadth of humanity on one small day, in one small town on the worlds greatest invention.
Keith. Chief rider and tea boy at Max Bikes Cycle Couriers.
