Accommodations for the Weekend Intensive

For your stay during the Weekend Intensive, we've arranged a discounted rate at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Downtown Denver ONLY for training participants. Don't wait! You must make your reservations before Friday, September 7th to get the discounted rate.

NFL Stadium Barriers

Found this post on Rickshaw Forum and thought I'd post it here to get some feedback from drivers/operators in the U.S. Here in Denver, we just had our first Broncos game of the preseason on Saturday, and things seemed to run pretty smoothly.

The NFL has issued a mandatory security barrier be set up around all stadiums. Here in Green Bay they are about 100 feet from the gates. We have had access the last 13 years, but now they are not letting us into the "zone". Although they do let us onto the lot, and we still have an excellent working relationship with the Packers & Lambeau stadium, having to drop passengers off 100 feet away is somewhat of a downer. Has this hampered any other operators who work NFL stadiums??
-- Gike

Please respond with your experiences so far this season.

What's the difference?

This is a great little video highlighting the difference between pedicabs and taxis.

Back in action

I'm sorry for my absence on the blog over the past several weeks. As some of you know, my elderly stepdad had been fighting a prolonged battle with lung cancer. I was the primary caregiver for both him and my mom.

Sadly, he passed away at the end of July. His final weeks took much of my time and energy. Plus, making funeral arrangements and dealing with tons of paperwork for insurance, bank accounts, and such over the past few weeks, has left little time for blogging.

My apologies to all who regularly visit this blog to get information on the world of pedicabs. I'm back in action now, and I'll do my best over the next few days to catch up on the news.

Tez

p.s. If you'd like to read more about my ordeal, please visit my other blog, Teri's Brain.

A head start for your pedicab business!

Don't miss Big Tree Pedicab Management's next weekend training session. The Pedicab Operators Weekend Intensive is scheduled for September 14-16 in Denver, Colorado, USA. We've added an extra day exclusively for maintenance. Visit the web site at www.bigtreepedicab.com for more information. We'd love to see you there!

Check out our new facilities! We've moved into a new and larger building! With access to over 5000 square feet, there's plenty of room for storing pedicabs and maintenance. We've even got a lounge for drivers, offices, a conference room and kitchen.

We will discuss issues around business structure, limiting liability and risk, tax concerns, working with municipalities and venues, managing and tracking assets, potential income streams, recruiting and training successful drivers, negotiating with advertisers, and promoting and marketing your business. We also have great sample documents in the binder you receive!

If you want to know more about running a successful pedicab operation, you want to talk to the team from Big Tree Pedicab Management, managers of Mile High Pedicabs. We bring experience in business, cycling, coaching and training to the second oldest continually operating pedicab fleet in the United States.

Comments from previous Weekend Intensives:

"We had a plan before we came to the seminar, but getting your advice greatly expanded what we can do with the business. You probably saved us a year of mistakes learning these lessons the hard way."

"This seminar is a must for anyone serious about getting into pedicabs at any level. It was great and very worth it!"

"I can't imagine doing this without attending your class first!"

Team Pedicab, Rounds 6-7 and Awards!!!

Good Day pedicabbers!

Well, it has been a long, almost grueling season. I won't lie, I am sort of glad the SMC is over. I am glad it is over because I was tired of trying to bounce back.

The last two races were the Pennsylvania Gulch Grind and the Breck Brawl. Both were technical courses, and the bike I rode was the Santa Cruz Superlight. Components were a bit heavy, but I liked the bike.

Brook ran away with the Beginner Women's field, and at this point, my feeling is that she has all but abandoned your blogger and the greatness of the pedicab for a (GASP!) relationship...

I finished at a strong #5 of 19, right above the 12 year old kid that ran away with a couple of Sport Races. So, I didn't get a nifty picture, but I will say I did get an awesome training beanie from a raffle.

I am at a point of new training and new take on biking season. I still have to decide what kind of frame to buy, and my two beefsteak bikes in the basement will be taken to the world of fixed gear and singlespeed-dom. I think they were great bikes as it went, but I need something that is newer and can take my abuse...especially if I am crashing the damn thing. My goal is to become more comfortable on the bike and next season, take the sport men category, by at least the top 3. I also intend to be doing some triathlon training and some randonee racing. I plan on buying some skate skis and have plans to be in better shape, have a more calm mind, and do some good racing in the next year. Any coaching tips would be helpful.

Project Rwanda has taken off. Stay tuned for some real action on it in the coming months. I am planning a bike ride, to encompass some real great terrain, and hopefully bring along a pedicab for greater exposure. I have people from Denver, California, and numerous folks trying to help me with some funding. I am utilizing the Rotary Clubs in Denver, and they are dead on for this project. Keep in touch with it, and really, if you want a sweet jersey, buy one. It goes to the Rwanda national cycling team!

Broncos season has started, which will give me ample time to get my muscles in shape for winter-tri season. I have learned some things about myself, my sales ability, and my determination in a small town, ready to kill my small business. At very least, mind your Pints and Quarts. It pays off in the end. Secondly, unless someone is really driven, don't let them ride your bike. It will be a drain on you and a drain on your resources to let them do so. The pedicab job isn't about a bike nor about making money...I take that back...But it is about uniqueness, resilience, and thoughtfulness in finding ways to do something not everyone can do. I hesitate to say that bike messengers have their little go-to social group. Pedicabbers are equally strong and more personable. Besides, would you say that hauling weight on a 34-15 is much better than hauling yourself on a 52-12? We may not have it completely right, but our 34-15 is making money...at the end of every little ride.

Thanks for your support.

beefsteak.

Team Pedicab, Rounds 5-6

Our summer is coming to an end, pedicabbers. I still have another 3 weeks until transport of my little classic cab is back down to flatlands, and into the urban world of MHPC.

I decded to take on another driver. I think he lasted about 1 night. He broke even. Of all of this discussion and talk of mojo, mr...Sherpa, there has to be a way to help you. Lesson: as much as you want to have an attitude and think that just biking is all that this job is, you are mistaken. It isn't about the bike. There is a reason why this pedicab is valuable to you and I: it is so intangible, yet so tangible. No, I am not smoking anything, but truly, is there anything this machine can't do?

It is downpouring outside, so I took a break to enjoy the free internet. I knew there was a reason for my coming in. I will give it some aftermath, and soon enough I will be the king of the streets. I got stuck behind a horse-carriage today (2 horses, not just 1) and I have never felt so violated in my life. Lesson: While a beautiful animal, the horse is still a cruel trick by your creator. Maybe they think of me the same way...or my pedicab...

The Summit Mountain Challenge is kicking me. Brook (my seemingly absent team mate) is winning the beginner women class. Kudos. She, a former driver, refuses to call me to ride the pedicab. I guess biking is just more important. In the last 2 races, yours truly came in DNF or second to last place. Lesson: Sport class= sandbaggers. I am convinced I am a better rider than last year, but I still think the field isn't quite smart enough to be fast. Well, I am the prime example of inexperienced, but I feel my training must change for next year. I have 1 race left, and I intend to play the rental game. I am testing new mountain bikes, one being the Kona King, the other being a Santa Cruz Superlight. Both a bit pricey, but one will actually give me financing! Do I need a financed bike after my little incident on the lip? Probably not.

http://www.konaworld.com
http://www.santacruzmtb.com

On the pedicab-constabulary-bureaucratic-small town politics front, I had a nice town planner cross my path and give me the 3rd degree about having and possessing a bike taxi. Folks, I had a perfect place to store, clientele starting to build, and the local police even smiling. Lo and behold, goofball town-dork comes-a-rompin' into my world and tries to tell me what I am doing is illegal, and must have a permit. I threw the karma rides in, and threw in my local status, and haven't heard anything since. I do have a business license, and as it stands, it provides a service to a locale without a real taxi service (unless you count a real taxi as one that leaves you waiting for hours on end), which I happily fill the void, free of charge. For you whom have dealt with city councils and bureaucracy, I feel for you and my heart goes out. Despair not, for the tri-shaw will prevail, one of these days...

So, folks, off I go to wolf a powerbar, have a blt for some calories, and off to pull drunk people around in the rain, despite their idiotic pleas for needing exercise, in their high heels.

I hope to one day have a winter service here, specifically for the winter parking lots. After Broncos season is over, I say studded tires, special cold weathered pedicabs for those willing to brave weather hardly seen by a cab, in full. I am out of battery power. G'night.

Best to you drivers, we hope to see you on wheel!

beefsteak!