For the Love of Wash Cycling

6 years ago (nearly to the day), I decided to leave the highest paying job I've had to date. You know that old saying "Money can't buy happiness," right? For me, it's true.

After I left that job, I made several promises to myself: I'd never again work full time for another company that didn't share my beliefs, I'd never again compromise my sanity for the almighty dollar, and I'd never let my job define my life.

Funny how things work out. I said "so long" (not goodbye) to Wash Cycle Laundry on Friday, after 3 years, 6 months, and 27 days. In that time, my job very much helped to define who I am and what I love to do.

I still can't believe this is real. I'm still here in Philly for the next few days, but it's different. My morning routine didn't exist today. I didn't hop on my bike to ride up to North Philly this morning. No stop on the way to pick up a newspaper or coffee. No pulling the trike outside and stacking it full of bags. No greeting from my teammates Mildred and Tracey offering me Tastykakes and coffee and politely declining because I've already had coffee and breakfast. But I digress...

Before I moved to Philly, I didn't even own a bike.

My bike got stolen when I was in college and I never bothered to replace it. Soon after I moved here, I decided that my car wasn't going to cut it for my everyday routines. Walking and public transit were helpful, but having a bike became a necessity due to gas costs and parking scarcity in the areas I frequented.

Even after I got one, biking didn't become my daily routine until one random day when I was researching a green-friendly towel solution for the Strengthening Health Institute, a non-profit macrobiotic cooking and lifestyle school I was working part-time for at the time (I'll write more about them in another post). Wash Cycle Laundry came up in my search. The service ultimately didn't work out for our needs, but I saw they were hiring, and I needed another part-time gig, so I figured "What the heck?" I applied. I mean, I could drag laundry on a bike, right?

I showed up for my job interview, way over-dressed but not nervous at all. I'll never forget the looks on their faces when I showed up in a shirt and tie for a bike laundry delivery job...to be interviewed by two dudes in t-shirts and jeans. In any case, it went well (as you probably guessed) and I became a Wash Cyclist in October 2014.

Needless to say, I fell in love with biking laundry.

Being a Wash Cyclist became the thing I most looked forward to, even in the dead of Winter or the swelter of Summer. It's not often I've been able to say that about a job. Day in, day out, I loved to do what I (we) did, and I loved the people who surrounded me. I've made several lifelong cyclist friends, not to mention the family-like feeling I got from the laundry team every single day.

More than that, I loved to tell people what we did and how we did it, so much so that it led me to start this here blog back in January of 2015. Where the heck would I be without this thing? No idea. Thank the universe that my supervisors noticed this little corner of the interwebs that I've carved out for myself. It led to an increased role in marketing the company, where I could officially tell our stories to the masses.

And in case you didn't notice, I fell in love with biking in general.

Biking to and from work and even outside of work became my lifestyle. I remember my first couple weeks on the job, I would feel guilty driving my car to work because it just seemed anti-bike for some reason. The only time you'd see me not riding a bike was in the thick of a blizzard or some other terrible weather event.

Everything else became routine on a bike: grocery shopping, social gatherings, and so on. It floored me one day when someone referred to me as "the bike guy," even though I know there are many other people out there who know and ride more than even I do. You can't hide passion. Among other things, I loved having the opportunity to ride more than 600 miles in a month several times over, and shouting it out to the world. Riding a bike has led me to some amazing places and personalities.

I also fell in love with this city.

I moved here into a dingy room above a bar with not much more than what I had in my car. I leave here in a few days a much wealthier person not so much monetarily, but in experiences and friendships. In addition to being referred to as "the bike guy," some know me as "the Philly guy." I wouldn't be that guy without my bike. Being a cyclist every day really connected me with this city, and in turn, everyone in it. Someone once told me that's the gift of cycling: you're basically forced to interact with your environment, and you can't tune out (like so many motorists do). I'm certain that all of the bonds I've formed here and things I've seen have had that much more of an impact on me because I've experienced them on two wheels.

It's rather fitting that I left Wash Cycle in the midst of a move, because I started my time there in the midst of a move, in one of the most tense weeks of my life. History repeats itself, or something. It's always been a job that has challenged me in all the right ways, not just physically, and without challenges, we don't learn or become who we're supposed to be. I don't think I can say enough about how much this place has done for me. Bicycling has become my life, and I owe a lot of it to my job. It literally helped define my life, one promise I'm glad to have broken.

Firsts to the Last

If you've read this blog before, you've probably gotten used to seeing pictures like this:

That's a full trike loaded for deliveries from last Friday. Another typical day on the job, my job which I'll be leaving as of tomorrow morning after 3.5+ years. I've seen a lot in that time, yet there's always something new to see. That's what I've been telling my replacement over the last week as I've been training her:

Once again, something I've seen before, but this time it feels a little bit different. In the past, I've been training people knowing that I'd still be around if they had any questions. This time, that's not the case. It's been a little awkward riding alongside "my" trike the last few days, knowing that I likely won't get to ride her again after Friday:

I feel like the universe is sending me messages and trying to help me pack as many things as possible into my last days as a Philly resident. "Small" things and first time occurrences have randomly been coming up, like the first time I've ever had to tow my own bike with the trike:

There was nothing wrong with it. Actually, the trike was in need of some repairs, so I took it for a tune up and needed a way to ride home. She's back in action and running as smooth as ever. There's something comforting about that. Thanks to Fishtown Bikes N Beans for the super quick and excellent service.

I was greeted with another situation to test my limits a couple days earlier, when my last delivery of the day was closer to my after work destination than the office. Even though the bags are light and fluffy, they proved to be quite a cumbersome stack:

I had to stop once to make sure everything was still attached. I also carried a bookbag, and this is easily the most volume (not sure on weight) I've towed with my bike. It honestly wasn't fun, but hey, I did it.

And finally, most fittingly, an unexpected detour on my delivery route took me to the Schuylkill River Trail, which I'd never traversed with a Wash Cycle rig before. Hard to believe:

As you can see, it was a gorgeous day. I felt inspired by this sight and decided to make it part of my commute home. It just so happens that another extension to the trail had just opened, so I checked it out:

It's got that nice new trail feel to it, and it's yet another reminder of how far this place has come since I moved here in February of 2014. The section of trail leading to here didn't even open until October 2014. That said, there's still work to be done, as the trail ends abruptly and unceremoniously near Christian Street:

But, this does provide some unique views of Center City:

And finally, an overhead shot of the trail looking southward from the South Street Bridge:

The view from the opposite side is still one of the most breathtaking views of this city:

It was in that moment that I realized how much of this place I've still yet to see, but also just how much has changed since I've arrived. It's truly special, as has been every experience here. One final day on the job tomorrow, before the next adventure begins...

I Already Live With too Many Ghosts

The Philadelphia cycling community tragically lost another member on Saturday night, the day before Mother's Day, and just 4 days before the Ride of Silence, which honors cyclists lost due to traffic accidents in the last year. While I didn't know him personally, plenty of my friends did. He was a very active member of our community, working full time as a courier and also on the side delivering food. Beyond that, he was a safe cycling advocate both in preach and in practice. Rest in power, Pablo. I'm so, so sorry...

I stopped by the crash site at 10th & Spring Garden on my morning commute on Monday:

I ride past two ghost bikes every day on my ride to the plant (more on those here and here), and depending on the day, I pass by a third on my delivery route (here). So when my friend said back in November that "It could have been any one of us," he wasn't lying. This fourth ghost bike will be placed on a highly traveled cycling route, just like the previous three. I'd really like not to see another new one, ever.

As mentioned above, tonite happened to be the annual Ride of Silence honoring members of the cycling community lost in the past year. In the Delaware Valley area, we had 11 such tragedies (courtesy of the Bicycle Coalition):

1. 5-12-18 Pablo Avendano, 34, Philadelphia
2. 5-3-18 Dean Pryor, 58 Burlington Twp., NJ
3. 2-15-18 Lela Cruz, 8, Camden 
4. 12-19-17 Kevin Williams, 56 Bristol, PA
5. 11-28-17 Emily Fredricks, 24 Philadelphia 
6. 9-23-17 Unknown M, 80, Philadelphia
7. 9-2-17 Matt Petzel, 50, Lower Southampton, PA
8. 9-1-17 Lorenzo Vasquez, Philadelphia
9. 8-8-17 Josh Goldinger, 14 Lower Makefield, PA
10. 6-24-17 Edward McElrean, 64, Bristol Twp, PA
11. 6-18-17 Unknown Female, Camden

You read that correctly, that two of those deaths were people under the age of 15. As you can imagine, cyclists came out in droves to support the ride tonite due to recent events. Rather fittingly, the weather was equally as somber as the mood:

This was actually the first time I've participated in this ride, even though it's now in its 16th year (14th in Philly). The spirit is much different than any ride you will ever experience. Silence is literal. Normally group rides are a time for socialization. I guess you could consider this a form of socialization, but in silence. Sometimes no words say more than anything possible. I'm actually at a loss right now. I didn't take any pictures during the ride, because I didn't need to. It was one of the most moving experiences I've ever had and I don't think pictures or words can really do it justice.

I'm just hoping that Pablo's death and these efforts are not all in vain. That someone in power will take notice and make changes for all of our safety. I already live with too many ghosts.

Life After 30

The calendar has shifted to May, which is already 8 days young, and with that change came a dramatic shift in energy (at least for me).

April and May are exciting months for cycling, as April represents 30 Days of Biking and May represents National Bike Month. I'm not exactly sure why, but I tend to get more excited for the former. I think it might have something to do with the arrival of Spring, because it's always had a bit of a "coming out of hibernation" feeling (even though I ride all Winter). It leads to things like this happening:

It also leads me to find incredibly inspiring people and stories, like this guy who found me on Twitter or this Instagrammer I found who biked through snow and ice in Minnesota, sometimes with kids. It leads to people like my girlfriend coming to visit for a weekend and saying "I need to bring my bike because it's 30 Days of Biking and my boyfriend is insane." It leads to me getting tagged in social media posts that say things like "Hey Steve, check it out - I rode today!" and things of that nature. There's just something about April...

National Bike Month just doesn't have that same feel to me, and again, I'm not exactly sure why. This year, it also coincides with the beginning of the National Biking Challenge, whereby if you sign up on LoveToRide.net and log miles on Strava, you can actually win prizes. Last year I scored this jersey for logging over 500 miles (I think?):

So that should be pretty exciting, right? Don't get me wrong. I still get excited about biking. Just not the same kind of excitement I get in April. This year I can at least partially blame my impending move. As soon as the calendar flipped, I spent the majority of last week packing some seldom-used items for my anticipated move to Columbus on June 2nd. I'm pretty excited for what's to come, but the moving process is anything but exciting (if you've ever moved, you know this all too well).

I've decided to do it in stages rather than renting a U-Haul and trying to move everything in one day. I took the first full car load last weekend. As such, I'm forcing myself into temporarily parting with some creature comforts like My Therapist:

I know this is a total first world problem, but I almost feel uncomfortable having only one bike in my house. Like...what if something breaks down and I have to send it in to the shop for a few days? I may go crazy. Fingers crossed that nothing happens. With all the routine maintenance I perform, I should be OK. The good news is that because I knew I wasn't going to see the above bike for about a month, she was the beneficiary of a good cleaning just before I departed last weekend. Silver linings are always nice, right?

All this being said, I'm through the first round and I can relax and enjoy biking again. Another silver lining: my girlfriend was motivated to ride with me a few times this past weekend, and I've kept my riding streak going up to and including today:

That was from my last delivery today. One more thing I'll also say about May, thus far the weather has been near perfect, and today was no exception:

I feel like we earned it after a somewhat difficult Winter that just seemed to drag on and on. With that, I hope it motivates you to get out and ride a bike this month. If you do sign up for the National Bike Challenge, you can join a team with friends or co-workers, and potentially win free stuff. Join us?