Bikes Outside: Appointed Rounds

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

These words, derived from Book 8 of The Persian Wars by Herodotus, have been associated with the US Postal Service ever since they were chiseled above the entrance to the New York General Post Office on 8th Avenue circa 1914. A fine sentiment, to be sure, but I suggest that today's bike messengers have more in common with the mounted couriers of the original text than today's minivan-driving mailman. Maybe Persians making deliveries on horseback during a 50-year long war aren't so terribly far removed (2,500 years notwithstanding) from bicyclists dodging traffic on roads that have become increasingly hostile territory over the past century.

This is Madison number three for the first Bikes Outside bike single model hat trick. I see today's bike around frequently, as I work between two of its regular stops. The working messengers were among the very first to be seen out and about after last week's blizzard, and this bike has the salty layer of filth to prove it. The Ghostship pad shows some regional bike love. The railing in front of the Capitol Annex on Trinity Street is one of the more convenient unintentional bike racks in town.

This week marks the first anniversary of the Bikes Outside series. I've missed a few weeks here and there, but I've enjoyed having another reason to stop and gawk at random bikes.