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, Fletcher said 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 pace is about 30 mph on an open street.

Fletcher remembers when as many as 20 couriers made deliveries every work day, regardless of weather, and doubts that the advent of faxes and e-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 having about 500, and San Francisco, 600.

Duties: Fletcher's specialty is 15-minute deliveries anywhere in the downtown area, usually ranging as far west as Kingshighway Boulevard and as far south as the Anheuser-Busch brewery at 610 Pestalozzi. He estimated that 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 copy in 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 charge for weight. Sometimes blueprints can run 40 to 50 pounds. Fletcher locks them under one arm and off he goes.

Hours: After riding in from his Maplewood home, he begins his day at 8 a.m. at his "office," the St. Louis Bread Co. at 600 Pine, where he eats a 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 preparing statements for clients. Whenever clients want, he works after hours - and charges double or triple, depending on the job. He does not work weekends.

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

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

Equipment: Fletcher's basic instrument is a 23-pound, 16-speed Italian Atala road bike with about 100,000 miles on its slick steel frame. The derailleur is "mainly" a Shimano 105, which he has modified for the constant street 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 carries a spare tube and bike repair tools. Small paper itemsgo into the bag, bulkier items under his arm. A daily manifest sheet helps him keep track of his runs, so he can bill clients.

Hazards: Like bicyclists in cities everywhere, Fletcher fears the suddenly opened driver's car door more than just about anything. "If it's a parked car with the driver in it, I watch the rear view mirror closely" to see if 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 environmentally friendly vehicles.

Pay: In a busy year, Fletcher earns from $28,000 to $32,000, which is almost 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 take in about $36,000. Instead, he gives himself a couple of months off every winter to snow board in Utah and surf in the Bahamas. "I have my clients trained," he said. "First I took one week, then two weeks. Now I'm up to two months."

Benefits: Self-financed health insurance.

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

Education: Graduated from Parkway

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

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

Hobbies: He races about 50 times a year for Big Shark Bicycle Co. in University City and has about 600 contests "under my belt." He likes road races that max at 130 miles. Recently he began learning to fly fish in the 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 deal with 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 best thing 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 behind a desk."

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

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