By Dan Werner

“Hey, Rickshaw Willie,” someone calls out as Tim Wilhelm drives his Pedicab down Main Street in Akron, Ohio. It’s a common occurrence these days, as Wilhelm, aka “Rickshaw Willie,” has become somewhat of a local celebrity.

“Everybody has to have their picture taken with Rickshaw Willie,” Wilhelm says. “People are hugging me all the time, and kids will run out to the edge of the curb to high-five me as I drive down the road. Even some local business owners came up to me while I was eating dinner and told my wife that I had become a downtown Akron icon.”

But it was only about a year ago when the 54-year-old Wilhelm found himself depressed and at a crossroads in his life. A truck driver for 31 years, Wilhelm became the victim of a sagging economy when the trucking company he works for merged with another and then decided to take him out of his truck and onto the loading dock.

“It was about the lowest point I had ever been in my life,” he says. “I didn’t know if I’d pull out of the depression, but I’m not a quitter, so I kept thinking about what I could do.”

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Tags: bicycle, Cabs, Colorado, community, dan werner, downtown, driver, fun, Main Street, Main Street Pedicabs, manufacturer, Ohio, parade route, Pedicab, pedicab business, Pedicab News, pedicabs, pub crawl, rickshaw, street pedicabs, traffic

By Jennifer L. Schwartz

One of my favorite local companies, Boston Organics, is hopping back on the bicycle bandwagon. Literally.

For local deliveries in close proximity to their Charlestown headquarters, Boston Organics will be using their new cargo trike to bring boxes of organic, local produce directly to customers’ doors.

Kudos to Cathy for powering the trike. I’m sure you’ll be well rewarded with some beautiful glutes.

Boston Organics isn’t the first company to employ pedal power. In fact, Jeff sought the help of Boston Pedicab to get started. You’ve seen the pedicab “drivers” around town… they wear fluorescent yellow shirts and are especially popular before and after Red Sox games.

Use these guys! It’s a huge step in reducing your company’s greenhouse gas emissions, plus you’re supporting a local business that’s doing real good for the community.

Tags: bicycle, biodiesel, boston pedicab, community, deliveries, delivery truck, driver, Drivers, glutes, greenhouse gas emissions, organics, Pedicab, pedicab drivers, Pedicab News, trike, trikes

BY JOHN GALLAGHER

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Visiting San Francisco once, Michael Rosemond took a ride in a pedicab along that city’s famed waterfront. The pedicab — a small carriage attached to a bicycle operated by a driver — made him an instant fan.

“I talked to one of the owners. He said, ‘Man, you’ve got to start these up in Detroit. People love them,’ ” Rosemond said last week.

That bit of advice led to Rickshaw Detroit, part of a small but growing pedicab trade in and around downtown Detroit. Rosemond operates Rickshaw Detroit with his business partner, Terry Walker, and they say that the growing number of clubs, restaurants, and special events downtown and up through the Midtown district prove ideal for the pedicab trade.

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Tags: advertising, bicycle, Cabs, detroit business, downtown, driver, entrepreneur, Operators, passenger, Pedicab, pedicab business, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw, terry walker, waterfront promenade

BY DEBORAH SALOMON: FEATURE WRITER

Some men of a certain age ditch the sedan for a little red convertible. Others run a tab on the golf cart.

Ed Peele, an already super-fit 54-year-old Southern Pines resident, decided to pedal his way into a new career as the Ride Peddler. His vehicle — a shiny green pedicab.

Green’s the right color for this tin lizzie — no gas, no emissions, breeze-cooled, aerobically powered, made-in-the U.S.A. Pedicabs ferried guests to the premiere of Al Gore’s pro-earth film “An Inconvenient Truth.” Green is also the color associated with Pinehurst and Southern Pines

“Everybody just smiles and waves when we go by,” Peele says.

Perhaps because rides are free. (more…)

Tags: advertising, al gore, Cabs, cool thing, corporate affairs, downtown, driver, Drivers, fleet, fun, horse drawn buggy, hydraulic brake, hydraulic brakes, Legs, passenger, peddler, Pedicab, Pedicab News, pedicabs, rickshaw, ride, southern pines, tourists

Entrepreneurs Brooks Brizendine and Saurabh Chawla are excited to launch their new Pedicab venture in Ocean City, MD, because they say it will bring both a fun and environmentally conscious business to an area that has drifted from its 2001 All-American City status, in their opinions.

“I had seen pedicabs all over New York City and when one of my friends started riding in my hometown of DC, it just clicked,” Brizendine said of the creation of Ocean City, MD based Coastal CruZn, LLC. “Saurabh and I are both passionate about doing our part to contribute to the environment, so the progression into creating a pedicab business just came naturally.”

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Tags: America, brizendine, Brooks, Cabs, Coastal, conscious business, CruZn, driver, Drivers, entrepreneur, Environmentally, fun, hybrid bike, New York City, Ocean City, ocean city md, Pedicab, pedicab business, Pedicab News, pedicabs, recyclable items, recyclables, saurabh

In a history-making appearance, St. Nicholas celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at the Tucson (Arizona) St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 15, 2009 as the crowd roared their approval.  Santa didn’t have his sleigh, but he seemed just as jolly to be whizzed around the parade route in a beautiful bicycle rickshaw driven by Wes Weisheit, owner of Tucson Rickshaw, whom Santa named an “honorary merry elf driver” for the occasion.

Santa Claus enthusiastically exclaimed that “Besides Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day is my favorite holiday! Ho! Ho! Ho!”

The children’s hearts were warmed by the unexpected visitor from the North Pole and were thrilled to hear Santa say that he was delighted that they’d all been “being good…even in March!”

As Santa Claus left the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration he was heard to exclaim, “Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all and to all a good night!”

Tags: Arizona, arizona st, bicycle, Claus, driver, parade route, Pedicab, Pedicab News, rickshaw, Santa, santa claus, st nicholas, st patrick, Tucson, tucson arizona, Wes Weisheit