Steel Pony's sole rider pedals to business success

By Repps Hudson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 5, 1999

Name: Kurt Fletcher.

Age: 32.

Job: The owner and sole employee of Steel Pony Messenger Service, Fletchersaid he is one of about four bicycle couriers still plying downtown streets.A muscular 150 pounds, he rides between 30 and 90 miles a day; his paceis about 30 mph on an open street.

Fletcher remembers when as many as 20 couriers made deliveries everywork day, regardless of weather, and doubts that the advent of faxes ande-mail have cut demand as much as a decline in offices that use couriers.New York City has about 1,000 couriers, he said, with Washington havingabout 500, and San Francisco, 600.

Duties: Fletcher's specialty is 15-minute deliveries anywhere in thedowntown area, usually ranging as far west as Kingshighway Boulevard andas far south as the Anheuser-Busch brewery at 610 Pestalozzi. He estimatedthat 40 percent of his business is rush.

His clients include Rodriguez Studio, Metro Blueprint & Reprographic,Ferguson & Katzman Photography, Schupp Company and Bowne of St. Louis.

He bills by ZIP Code, so a one-hour trip to move blueprints or ad copyin the downtown 63101 ZIP will cost the client $4. For a 30-minute delivery,he doubles the price to $8. For a 15-minute run, the price goes to $12.He adds 25 cents for each additional ZIP he traverses and doesn't chargefor weight. Sometimes blueprints can run 40 to 50 pounds. Fletcher locksthem under one arm and off he goes.

Hours: After riding in from his Maplewood home, he begins his day at8 a.m. at his "office," the St. Louis Bread Co. at 600 Pine, where he eatsa cinnamon crunch bagel for breakfast. He usually knocks off about 5 p.m.He also spends about five hours a month on an old Apple PC at home preparingstatements for clients. Whenever clients want, he works after hours - andcharges double or triple, depending on the job. He does not work weekends.

Dress: Last Tuesday, Fletcher wore high-top walking shoes he had adaptedto clip onto his bicycle pedals, a white T-shirt and tan shorts with aspecial cycling chamois in the seat. He eschews a helmet, preferring ablack baseball cap with his logo stitched above the brim, which he wearsfacing front to protect his face from the sun. "I'm more worried aboutskin cancer than my head," Fletcher said.

During the winter months, under a heavy wool sweater or shirt, he donslight clothes that wick away his sweat. When a winter's day warms up, Fletcherleaves some of his clothing at a client's office.

Equipment: Fletcher's basic instrument is a 23-pound, 16-speed ItalianAtala road bike with about 100,000 miles on its slick steel frame. Thederailleur is "mainly" a Shimano 105, which he has modified for the constantstreet pounding of logging about 15,000 miles a year.

He also carries two other important items: a Samsung cellular phone(517-7887) with voice mail on which he takes all his calls, and a spacious,waxed canvas bag he slings over his right shoulder in which he carriesa spare tube and bike repair tools. Small paper itemsgo into the bag, bulkieritems under his arm. A daily manifest sheet helps him keep track of hisruns, so he can bill clients.

Hazards: Like bicyclists in cities everywhere, Fletcher fears the suddenlyopened driver's car door more than just about anything. "If it's a parkedcar with the driver in it, I watch the rear view mirror closely" to seeif the driver is about to leave the car, he said. He'd like to see St.Louis add bike lanes to its streets, noting that bicycles are environmentallyfriendly vehicles.

Pay: In a busy year, Fletcher earns from $28,000 to $32,000, which isalmost all profit because of his very low expenses. "That's tons of money,"he said. If he were to work all 12 months, he estimated, he would takein about $36,000. Instead, he gives himself a couple of months off everywinter to snow board in Utah and surf in the Bahamas. "I have my clientstrained," he said. "First I took one week, then two weeks. Now I'm up totwo months."

Benefits: Self-financed health insurance.

Experience: He began as a rider for a courier service downtown, thenstarted Steel Pony seven years ago.

Education: Graduated from Parkway

South High School, 1985; attended Central Missouri State Universityin Warrensburg two years.

Goals: Fletcher said he has no career goals. He continues to race bicyclesas a category 1 amateur around the Midwest.

Hobbies: He races about 50 times a year for Big Shark Bicycle Co. inUniversity City and has about 600 contests "under my belt." He likes roadraces that max at 130 miles. Recently he began learning to fly fish inthe Ozarks.

This job would be good for someone who: Likes to be outdoors year round."We work the four seasons," Fletcher said. "We have to be able to dealwith the elements."

This job would not be good for someone who: Is timid and rides cautiously."I'm dodging cars all day," he said. "I have to be always on the offensive.You have to be able to ride the bike fast."

What he likes best about his job: Being his own boss. "That's the bestthing about it - and loving to ride bikes," he said with a broad smile."I love my job. I couldn't see me getting any enjoyment from sitting behinda desk."

The short-term nature of his work doesn't bother him at all. "Thereis no job security anywhere," he said. "Look at the major corporationsdowntown. They are downsizing. There is no job stability."

What he likes least about his job: "Buses. I don't like buses. Theydon't cut me any slack any more. Like when I am riding along and there'sa bus stop up ahead. The bus will pull in right ahead of me, and I haveto jump up on the curb and go around, like this," Fletcher said as he sketchedhis improvised route on a table.