Tag Archives: seattle messengers

Old Issue

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Hoag

In the mid 1990s, a Fleetfoot messenger named Jeff Nachtigal edited a sweet Seattle messenger zine called the Iron Lung. It offered the standard items of interest like best happy hours, stunt photos, and messenger poems that “typify the genre.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Corporate Raiders

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Hoag

Some of my co-workers and I were invited to a holiday party at a downtown ad agency last night; there was going to be an open bar and expensive catering so of course we went. There was a dapper looking … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Relaxation techniques for the motorbike courier

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Hoag

Dean Lawson, 5th and Pike There’s a hidden violence about this job, something that makes me jumpy at the end of the day. Something that makes me check my blind spot when I’m crossing the floor of my own living … Continue reading →

Posted in Mechanical Husbandry, Reflections | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Skagit County

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Hoag

It was the kind of room in which you might find yourself attending a court-ordered anger management class, or the room where you wait for the cops to show up because you just got busted, shoplifting at Target. Actually it … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Seattle Bike Messenger

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Hoag

When I got my first job as a bike messenger in Seattle, people were already talking about the end of the industry. That was in 1994, and the fax machine was supposed to be the reason that businesses would no … Continue reading →

Posted in Mechanical Husbandry, Reflections | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Vive Le Pave

Posted on August 28, 2008 by Hoag

I realize that pavement is wrong, but I still love it. I love the way it smells in the rain, and I love the way it disappears under the tires. Mostly I love the history that it reveals; it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Critical Mass is Weird.

Posted on July 30, 2008 by Hoag

I had pretty mixed reactions when I heard about the Critical Mass ride that “erupted in violence” on Friday; bike messengers by default hate Seattle Critical Mass rides these days, but it wasn’t always that way. There was a time … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghost Ride the News, Mechanical Husbandry | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments