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Pedal power
Local businesses find two wheels are better than four.
Bike to Work Week has come and gone, but scads of cyclists are still pedaling for a living. We’ve told you about the 24/7 sex-toy delivery service, and you’ve no doubt seen the Puppet Bike minstrels on that rambling, rolling steed. But did you know bike paramedics could save your life? Or that Grolsch beer travels by trike? Ever consider buying a home by bike? How about a baguette? We’ve gathered a list of some of our favorite bike-delivery services—a great way to support the burning of calories, not oil.
Med-cycle
If there’s a health emergency at a crowded fest, a bulky ambulance has little chance of timely intervention. At last year’s Taste of Chicago, a man went into cardiac arrest. Fortunately, the Chicago Fire Department’s Mobile Medic Response Team (MMRT) quickly pedaled over with defibrillators and revived the man. Two MMRT bikers travel to festivals and high-volume events packed with life-support equipment: oxygen, IVs and a smorgasbord of drugs. Comprising a fleet of 12 Trek cycles, the MMRT program has been in effect since 2006. Fire department commander Sean Flynn says the bikes are even faster and more maneuverable than the department’s Segways.
Keg-cycle
Dutch beer, Dutch bike—Grolsch may be onto something, if only clever marketing. In 2009, the beer company ordered a three-wheeled bakfiets (that’s Dutch for box bike, which sports a cargo carrier) from Old Town’s De Fietsfabriek-USA (1311 N Wells St, 312-643-1670) to transport beer to art openings and exhibits. The company fills the wooden box at the front of the trike with suds. It can hold up to 260 pounds and carry a keg, but it’s most often filled with flip-top bottles a rep hands out for free. “It stops traffic—in a positive regard,” says Jon Lind, owner of De Fietsfabriek. “It’s not this gas-guzzling Hummer that has graphics all around it.”
Bread-cycle
Carbophiles, meet Breadflix. It’s a program offered by Logan Square’s Cook Au Vin (2256 N Elston Ave, 773-489-3141) that delivers fresh bread (baguettes, ciabatta, croissants and more) to your home daily (or every other day or weekly) by bike. “We make the bread at 2 or 3pm and we deliver at 5pm, so you have two-hour-old bread,” owner Vincent Colombet says. The service ($40–$70 per month, depending on delivery frequency) soon will branch out of the Logan Square area, leaving a trail of crumbs to Bucktown and Lincoln Park.
Kid-cycle
Think of Elise Doody-Jones as the bike stork. The owner of Logan Square day-care center Doodlebug Junction (2854 W Lyndale St, 773-213-2360), she uses a Dutch cargo bike to shuttle several kids to play in area parks and to the lake to feed the ducks. The cycle is her ticket to remaining minivan free yet still highly mobile, all while keeping the kids (ages 2 to 6) safe. “It’s a lot faster,” she says, “than getting everybody into the car and getting everybody all buckled in.”
Home-cycle
Lee Diamond of Big Shoulders Realty (4750–52 N Milwaukee Ave, 773-481-0244) shows homes by bike. Don’t have a two-wheeler? Choose from the 39-year-old’s collection of more than 20—all named for historical Chicago figures like H.H. Holmes and Studs. “It’s the most fun way you’ll ever look through a home, the most complete way you’ll ever understand a neighborhood before you move in,” says Diamond, who also leads bike tours throughout the city. “You see everything.”
