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Northstar
Cycle Courier Inc: Do it right, do it by bike!
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by Andrea Oyarzabal
The Arbiter, July 12, 2006
Northstar Cycle Courier Inc., an independently owned and locally
operated professional bicycle messenger service in Boise, is raising
the standard for local courier services. Northstar's claim to
fame is that they are completely emissions free and Chris Scuglia,
owner/operator says, "Bikes are completely eco-friendly and not
dependent on fuel of any kind (except for food and coffee). This
means that our prices are not subject to the price of oil."
Northstar Cycle Courier Inc. officially opened for business on August
1, 2005 in Boise after San Francisco transplants, Patrick Sweeney (who
wears short pants and enjoys Basquiat and Bukowski) and Chris Scuglia
(who is a shorts purist and believes shorts should fall above the knee
and whose heroes include Jeff Spicoli and Angus Young) moved to Boise
independently of each other and recognized one another in town.
"I had been here for a year before I ran into Patrick at the gas
station on Bogus Basin Rd. I was walking in as he was leaving and
recognized him from the SF messenger scene. He shot me a look like 'why
is this weirdo looking at me?' I asked him if he was from San
Francisco, he recognized me then and a few months later we were in
business together. Weird."
Patrick and Chris were both messengers in San Francisco and with their
shared 25 years of experience they started their own courier service in
Boise. Their main goal is to make an industry in Boise for
bicycle messengers and to provide fast and friendly service to their
customers. "We'd love to be able to get to the point where we can
hire and create jobs in Boise as well."
Parcel delivery, legal filings, research and copy work, mobile notary
services, bank deposits/change, and poster/flyer distribution are just
a few services that Northstar has to offer. Lately, Northstar has also
been doing scheduled beauty supply pick-ups.
Recently, during a grand version of the "what if" game, I asked Patrick
if I was stuck at school, but had forgotten to make copies of papers
for a workshop, would Northstar do a run to Kinko's, make copies, and
deliver them back to BSU? "Definitely. We can do almost
anything. Let's say that you forgot your wallet at home and
desperately need it, but can't get away from the office. Call
us. We can do a run for you."
The strangest pick-ups and deliveries that Chris Scuglia has ever done
include dry cleaning, milkshakes, and even a microwave oven.
Although Northstar Cycle Courier Inc. is committed to dependable
service, they aren't just all work. They host messenger style
bike races called "alleycats".
"An Alleycat race is a race started by messengers to test their skills
against each other by simulating a (high speed abbreviated) workday.
These are typically after work on, say, a Friday night when evening
traffic is thick. However they are also held on weekends from time to
time. These races involve completing a list of manifested checkpoints.
The check points may involve receiving a signature or answering a bit
of trivia or obtaining an object. It's all up to the organizer of the
race. There really is no set format so anything goes."
Northstar has hosted 4 alleycats in the past, one on Cinco de Mayo,
Halloween "Hellracer", and St. Paddy's Day "Liverdance".
The most recent race, "Bars & Stripes" on July 8th was presented in
part by Boise Weekly and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
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