Interview with IWW Bike Messenger Ben Fietz
Submitted on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 5:46pm
1.why did you decide to messenger?
I
guess I decided to messenger for the same reason as most. I was living
in New Orleans at the time, and was about to lose my job. One day I was
hanging out downtown trying to figure out what to do with myself. A
bike messenger cut through an intersection, and I thought to myself
“that looks like a pretty cool job.” I went down to the only company
that was hiring, and started working the next day.
2.when did you start? has the time been on/off or straight?
I
started messengering in New Orleans in the spring of 2003. The only
time that I have ever taken off was the whole month of September in
2005, when Hurricane Katrina
hit and the city flooded. I moved up to Chicago because the house I
lived in had been destroyed, and it looked like I would be out of a job
for a while. I started working in Chicago in October of 2005. So I
guess that’s going on six years, and at last count I have worked for
nine different messenger companies.
3.what bike did you start on? what do you ride today?
I
started on an old Schwinn LeTour road bike. I have a couple of bikes
that I use for work now. Most of the time I ride a Capricorn track
bike. I had the frame custom made in Wisconsin by Brad Wilson, and then
I built the wheels and put it all together myself. It’s filthy, but it
is a really sweet bike.
Read the rest of the interview here...http://www.dispatch101.net/2009/01/interviewv7.html