“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.”

Not one to just sit around, Wilhelm went online looking for a new opportunity and came across Main Street Pedicabs, a manufacturer of Pedicabs in Broomfield, Colorado.

“I watched some of their videos and I thought that this was something I could do,” he says. “But people kept telling me that I was crazy and too old to do it.”

One of those skeptics was his wife of 30 years, Lori.

“When Tim first spoke of a rickshaw last winter, I thought it was just a way to pass the time while he was laid off,” she says. “No way would a rickshaw work in Akron.”

But Wilhelm defied the naysayers and purchased the Pedicab anyway. Ten months later, he has had encounters with celebrities, has endeared himself to the community and has become stronger, both mentally and physically.

“As soon as I got the Pedicab and started riding it, I realized that I wasn’t too old, and I was actually getting younger as I was riding it,” he says. “I felt younger in my mind, but my body was definitely getting stronger, too.”

Wilhelm’s first official day out with his new Pedicab was during Akron’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. When some of the parade organizers saw him dressed for the occasion on his decorated Pedicab, they asked Wilhelm if he would drive Akron’s beauty queen through the parade route.

“It was a big hit and everyone enjoyed it, so I knew I was onto something,” he says. “I knew with this Pedicab that I had something special and unique in its own way, so I started volunteering for the Kids Bike Rodeo and other events.”

One of those events was a charity pub crawl to raise money for cancer research in Barberton, Ohio. Wilhelm volunteered to drive people from one bar to the next. He kept people from drinking and driving, but he also learned that he had gained a key ally.

“At about midnight that night, a Barberton policeman pulled up beside me in his cruiser, gave me a thumbs-up and told me I had done a real good job,” he says.

Wilhelm also has volunteered for events with the Copley Police Department, and even let Chief of Police Michael Mier drive him around in the Pedicab.

“Rickshaw Willie has become a regular visitor to our special events,” Chief Mier says.  “His colorful outfits and special bicycle attract a lot of attention.  Children and parents alike enjoy the ride.  Rickshaw Willie has helped make these events special and fun for the children of our community.  We have found that children have so much fun at community events that they can’t wait to return the following year.  Rickshaw Willie has been a big addition and one of the highlights.”

Although Wilhelm admits the police “looked at him a little funny” when he first got started, he says they quickly realized that he and his Pedicab were an asset to the community.

“I think they can see that the Pedicab is a safe and unique way to get around town without tying up traffic,” he says. “About a month ago, one of the Akron policemen pulled me aside and said, ‘Rickshaw Willie, if you ever need any help down here, you let us know and we’ll come from all directions.’ When the police tell you something like that, you know you are doing something right.”

Wilhelm certainly gained support from the local police, but he soon realized that others were taking notice, as well.

While driving his Pedicab around a bike rally in downtown Akron, legendary rocker Chrissie Hynde, of the Pretenders, asked to speak with him. An Akron resident, Hynde noticed Wilhelm from the patio of her vegan restaurant.

“She has been interested in bringing Pedicabs to the area, and has even brought it up to people, but no one has ever followed up on it,” he says. “So, she was surprised and excited to see there was actually one in town, and talked to me about expanding the business in downtown Akron. It was something that caught me off guard, but to meet Chrissie Hynde was real exciting for me.”

“But I also started to realize that I was becoming my own celebrity,” he continued. “When the big celebrities start to notice you, it means you’re catching somebody’s eye.”

And he was right. Wilhelm caught the eye of another celebrity when he took his Pedicab to the LeBron James Bike-a-Thon. That’s where Mo Williams of the Cleveland Cavaliers asked Wilhelm to drive him through the course in his Pedicab.

“It was pretty exciting and I was more than happy to do it,” Wilhelm says. “We pulled over near the crowd at one point and we were swarmed by people who wanted to see Mo Williams. I turned to him and said, ‘Mo do you want me to get you out of here,’ and he said ‘go, go go,’ so it was exciting to bust out of the crowd like I had Elvis Presley in the back.”

In addition to meeting many interesting people, Wilhelm says his Pedicab business has improved both his health and morale.

“I’ve gotten a lot stronger,” he says. “In fact, I just got back from the doctor and they were impressed with my heart rate and blood pressure, especially for someone my age. I ride with the Stark County Bicycle Club out of Canton, and they’ve really noticed how much stronger I’ve gotten. It has made me a stronger person, and I think I can attribute a lot of that to the Pedicab.”

And it’s not only Wilhem’s physical strength that has improved.

“A guy I work with told me that he noticed a big change in me not long after I got my Pedicab,” he says. “He could see the improvement in my attitude and that I was smiling again. He could see that I was a much different, much happier person.”

Wilhelm still works on the loading dock, however, and he’s still not happy about it. But instead of letting it get him down, he now focuses on brighter things.

“Instead of worrying about that job, I think about all the opportunities with my Pedicab business,” he says. “It took my mind off of the negative things and put me on a different direction.”

And Wilhelm likes the new direction his life is headed and takes pride in the courage he had to invest in a new business, and himself.

“Just knowing that I took a business where everyone told me I was too old to do it, and I actually did it makes me feel good,” he says. “It’s getting bigger for me everyday and it’s just as exciting for me today as it was the first day I started driving my Pedicab.”

LONDRES.-  Con Boris Johnson los londinenses han cogido el gusto por los pedales. Pero fueron otros los que encontraron mucho antes el potencial a ir sobre ruedas en el ajetreado asfalto de la capital británica. Son muchos los que conocen los ‘rickshaws’, pero muy pocos los que saben verdaderamente los secretos de estos populares triciclos que trabajan como bici taxis. Visitamos ‘Shone Lane’, el gran garaje donde duermen los pedicabs más famosos de toda Europa.

Para entrar hay que marcar una clave en la puerta que sólo conocen los conductores de estos vehículos. “Entran y salen cuando quieren. Ellos se ponen sus propios horarios”, cuenta Vanessa Celosse, que trabaja en Bugbugs, el primer operador que en 1998 sacó a la calle una flota de 18 ciclocarros. En principio, el proyecto estaba destinado para dar “trabajo verde” a los desempleados, pero hoy en día muy pocos viven exclusivamente de dar al pedal. La mayoría de los conductores son jóvenes que vienen a aprender inglés o estudiantes que quieren sacarse el dinero para pagar el alquiler mientras acaban sus clases.

El sistema funciona de modo que estos jóvenes alquilan un rickshaw por unas libras a la semana (entre 40 y 85, según el tipo de vehículo), y como media, frente al manillar se pueden llevar entre 100 y 250 libras semanales, según las horas que trabajen (consulta esta oferta de empleo). Muchos de estos conductores proceden de Latinoamérica (30%), Europa del Este (30%) y Turquía (30%). ¿Españoles? “Alguno que otro también hay —dice Vanessa— pero normalmente vienen sólo por tres meses”.

Si bien lo más solicitado en estos momentos son los alquileres de estos vehículos para bodas y despedidas de soltero y de soltera, Vanessa aún recuerda cuando llamaron a la compañía preguntando si también ofrecían servicios funerarios. “Fue hace poco. Se murió una mujer que siempre había defendido el medio ambiente. Preparamos un carro especial para llevar el féretro y todo el mundo acudió al entierro subido a una bicicleta, fue algo muy especial”, explica.

Pese a estas excepciones, los responsables de los operadores ya no sacan tantas ganancias como antes. Carlos, de Colombia, recuerda el gran negocio que supuso el inicio de los triciclos. “Era una novedad. Los turistas y los mismos ingleses lo veían como algo exótico. Por aquel entonces sí que había trabajo. Te podías sacar alrededor de 700 libras a la semana”, dice. Aunque durante dos años se pasó desde las doce de la mañana hasta las doce de la noche llevando gente de un lado a otro, ahora ha decidido “pasarse al otro lado” del negocio. Hace un mes se compró diez de estas bicicletas de tres ruedas. “Me costaron 700 libras cada una —me cuenta mientras las limpia con esmero— pero quiero vender dos para comprarme una mejor”.

Aunque las de aluminio son las más deseadas, hay un pedicab en concreto que se ha convertido en la “estrella” del garaje. Tiene altavoces de alta definición e incluso hasta televisor. “Se la compró un chico hace tiempo y poco a poco ha ido transformando el vehículo. Ahora es increíble”, dice Vanessa. Aunque el garaje es utilizado por los operadores, también hay particulares que pueden alquilar una plaza individual. Carlos, por ejemplo, paga por su apartado 500 libras al mes. “A los chicos les pides entre 60 y 70 libras a la semana por utilizar la bicicleta. El resto es para ellos. Antes en verano pedían más, pero ahora con la crisis, la cosa está muy mal”, matiza. Aunque hay noches que los conductores se van a casa sólo con 10 libras, Carlos ha enseñado a sus chicos los “trucos” que realmente dan dinero. La jugada maestra son los stripties. “Los turistas siempre te preguntan dónde están. Si tú los llevas, el club te tiene que dar 20 libras. Hay algunos que incluso más”, dice. Los novatos no saben donde están “los puntos estratégicos”, pero los veteranos siempre les ayudan.

Uno de los consejos que también dan a los principiantes es que tengan cuidado con los ‘black cab’, los famosos taxis negros. La batalla que existe entre los dos medios de transporte empezó el mismo día que los triciclos salieron a la calle. “No nos aguantan. Nos cierran el paso e incluso nos tiran monedas de peniques cuando pasan a nuestro lado. Obviamente no todos, pero algunos sí se portan muy mal”, dice Carlos. Por su parte, la Asociación de Conductores de Taxi con Licencia (LTDA) subraya en su página web que “aunque parezca mentira, en el Londres del siglo XXI existe un gran problema con los rickshaws; mientras el Tercer Mundo hace todo lo posible para acabar con el último de esos degradantes artilugios impulsados por pedales, operadores sin escrúpulos obstruyen las calles de la Metrópolis con esas mismas lentas bicis que frenan el tráfico”.

Un episodio que marcó un antes y después en esta guerra fue el pasado mes de diciembre, cuando un peatón se salvó de milagro de un atropello por un ciclocarro descontrolado que colisionó con un restaurante en Soho. La Policía descubrió que el carro tenía batería y los taxistas aprovecharon para pedir que se prohibieran. “Es cierto que algunos utilizaron baterías, pero ahora estamos pendientes de una regulación y nadie se quiere arriesgar a perder el negocio. La pelota lleva años entre el ayuntamiento y la Policía. Aún no sabemos nada, pero puede llegar en cualquier momento, por eso es mejor tener todo perfecto”, matiza Carlos.

Y es que el peso de alguno de los pedicabs hace la jornada insoportable para los conductores. David, de 28 años, empezó hace tan sólo un mes a pedalear y ya no sabe qué pantalones ponerse de todo el peso que ha perdido. “Mis amigos no me reconocen”, me dice mientras me muestra el último agujero del cinturón. Toca el contrabajo y estudia negocios musicales. “En cuanto pueda lo dejo. Hoy por lo menos tengo que sacar 15 libras para pagar el teléfono”. Saca el triciclo que han asignado y me monto en el asiento para irme con él hasta el centro. David asegura que muchas veces, más que el dinero, merece la pena toda la gente interesante que conoce en los trayectos. “Me gusta hablar con ellos”. Y la verdad es que él tiene grandes historias que contar. A los 17 años se fue de casa y desde entonces ha estado viviendo en Canadá, París, Barcelona, Londres… una auténtica caja de sorpresas.

Me deja en mi destino. En Piccadilly me cojo otro ciclocarro para ir hasta China Town. Aunque la mayoría operan en el centro, nada les prohíbe llevar a sus clientes hasta el rincón más perdido de Londres. Mi interlocutor ahora se llama Marek. Es polaco y tiene 22 años. Lleva un año pedaleando. “En cuanto termine los estudios lo dejo”. Aunque la mayoría de sus clientes no le ha dado problemas, también me cuenta que hay muchos borrachos por la noche que se bajan corriendo antes de llegar al destino para no pagar”. Le pregunto por qué apenas hay chicas metidas a “conductoras”. En el momento en el que me deja subirme a la bicicleta lo entiendo todo. Aquello pesaba horrores. El trayecto apenas dura siete minutos. El precio que hemos pactado es de 5 libras. Aunque en su día fueron los más exóticos, hoy los pedicabs se caracterizan por ser el medio de transporte más caro de la capital británica.

Josh Carnes is a firm believer that there are very few things people can’t do on a bicycle. On Saturday, he proved that buying a house and moving into it using bicycle power alone is entirely possible.

Carnes also used a seven-person bicycle to tow his Toyota 4Runner and an attached trailer filled with boxes.

“I’m a firm believer that you can do anything by bike,” the 31-year-old firefighter said.

His house-buying-by-bicycle journey began about two months ago when Carnes started looking for a new home. He knew he wanted to do everything related to the new house — including moving in — by bicycle to prove a point, he said.

He and his real estate agent, Mike Carnes, who is not related to Josh, viewed about 15 houses around Old Town before settling on one, Josh Carnes said.

For Mike Carnes, using bicycles for house-hunting was nothing new.

“All the houses I’ve sold in town were by bike,” he said. He said it helps that he specializes in selling homes around Old Town.

“Riding in and sitting on a patio in Old Town, that’s what this town is about,” he said.

When Josh Carnes approached him with the idea of doing the entire process by bike, Mike said he was all for the idea, although his enthusiasm took a short decline on the day when the closing paperwork was being signed, which happened to occur on the day Fort Collins received about 12 inches of snow Oct. 28.

“We went out to get the land title on Harmony Road by bike,” Mike Carnes said. “It took an hour for the sensation to come back to my toes.” Nonetheless, the pair continued forward with the mission, which prompted skepticism among some of Josh’s friends at first.

Karen Galles, a friend of Carnes’, said the first time he shared his idea, she thought he was “insane.”

“I was totally a doubter,” she said, but after Carnes showed her a video of something similar being done in Portland, Ore., she started to believe it was possible.

After hearing about Carnes’ plan, several bicycling shops and organizations around town pitched in. The Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op supplied some trailers for Carnes to use; Brave New Wheel offered to provide some mechanical work to bicycles being used during the move; and High Street Real Estate donated $200 to go toward pizza and beer for a party at Carnes’ new place.

The owner of the circular seven-person bicycle, called a conference bike or septacycle, loaned his bike to Josh to help tow his SUV and the trailer. People who rode the septacycle during the move said the weight wasn’t as heavy as expected.

“The weight was distributed pretty evenly,” Brian Heinold said. “But I was a little out of breath at the end.”

During the move, Josh’s friends said they were excited to participate in what seems to have been the biggest total bike move in the city. Galles said having the help and support of the bicycling community made moving more exiting.

“Something that would normally be a pain becomes fun,” she said.

The novelty of the idea and the desire to help a fellow bicyclist brought Pete Limbach and his friend Lily McConnell to Josh’s house. Neither of the two knew Josh before Saturday, but Limbach decided to help Josh move after he saw a flier at Brave New Wheel.

“It sounded like fun and I liked the idea of it,” Limbach said. “I’ve moved a lot of stuff by bike, but I’ve never moved an entire house.”

McConnell said she thought using bicycles to move was much faster and more convenient than using a moving truck.

“It’s easier to load up bikes,” she said. “It’s so much more convenient.”

She wished the bike ride, which took less than 10 minutes, would have been longer.

Rafael Cletero, director of the Bike Co-op, said his organization gets requests for moving help often. In his seven years here, Carnes’ move was the biggest and most ambitious, he said.

“This is the most pedal power performance yet to be seen,” Cletero said.

Bonnie Bixler Szidon, whose mother lives across the street from Carnes’ new home, said she thought his idea was great. She watched as the herd of cyclists rode down the block, pulling trailers full of boxes and luggage bags.

“It’s wonderful to have fresh blood in the neighborhood,” she said. “This is our neighborhood and we want to see good things happen here.”

The bride stood out against the backdrop of Central Park: The temperature was in the 50s, yet she had nothing more on her torso than a lace bustier. Below, her dress was as voluminous as an inflated parachute, dragging as she hobbled along the path. I was gliding along comfortably in the back of a pedicab, with plenty of room next to me on the seat. So I offered her a lift.

The look she gave me was not gratitude. After a few more friendly entreaties, the groom caught up to us. “She doesn’t want to,” he said. With that, they turned off the path and she hobbled onward, juggling various hems.

I was stunned. Did she just reject my chivalrous offer? Could I possibly look that weird? Then I thought: Oh wait, she’s seen the video.

If you have not caught it on YouTube or the evening news, the video shows a pedicab driver getting into a brawl with a taxi driver on Broadway, and it has given pedicabs — already viewed as suspect — an unwelcome moment in the spotlight. In June, one got into an accident after crossing the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn, where pedicabs are not allowed in the first place. By the time a Fox 5 cameraman caught the pedicab driver hurling a garbage can at the taxi driver, the whole fleet was in for a whupping.

Now the City Council has passed a law requiring all pedicabs — there’s no reliable figure for how many are on the road — to be inspected and registered by Nov. 20. “Pedicabs have been for too long acting like they rule the streets ahead of any other mode of transportation,” City Councilman Leroy G. Comrie Jr. told The New York Post.

Having never thought to ride one — any more than one of those ridiculous party bikes (which probably are fun if you’re drunk enough to get on) — I had to wonder, could pedicabs really be that bad? Worse even than buses, the oblivious, lumbering bullies of the city streets? So I spent a few days being driven around on three wheels, and even on occasion taking the handlebars myself. Let’s just say I do better in the back than in the front.

The drivers who congregate at 58th Street and Seventh Avenue said they were delighted someone was finally going to regulate their business. They take their jobs seriously, and say people who don’t should be kept off the road.

Bernard Treanor, a driver for six years, has an impeccable pedigree: He trained with George Bliss, an industrial designer, who started one of the city’s first pedicab companies in 1995. “We were all actors and musicians,” said Mr. Treanor, who recently appeared in an independent film and is writing a novel about Central Park. “We needed to do this so we could hit our auditions.”

Today, many drivers are recent immigrants who rent pedicabs by the week (around $200 in summer, as low as $80 in January). Before, “the only thing in these guys’ way was maybe, like, a random goat,” he said. “And now they’re guiding a family through Times Square?” It’s turning police officers, who used to cheer him on, into enemies, he said.

I felt a little silly the first time I climbed into the back seat, but despite the autumn chill I warmed to it quickly. As with riding a bicycle, you see things at that pace that you can’t see from a car, and you get to put your feet up in a way you obviously can’t while walking. If your driver is full of interesting historical information, great, sit back and learn. If not, tell him to shut up (but apologize with a tip).

After a few rides, I persuaded a driver to let me try. It’s hard to keep the wheel straight, and during turns I kept thinking it was going to tip over, as a bicycle might. (A girly shriek ensued.) Of course there’s almost no way to tip over: the vehicles are solidly balanced on three wheels, with a lot of ballast keeping them that way. Especially if your driver hops in the back, as mine eventually did, then invites his friend in, too. By that point I was laughing too hard to go very far. I got no tip.

More seriously, it’s about as green a conveyance as anyone is ever going to find. But what do the tourists who typically ride them care about keeping our streets and our air clear? Perhaps, I started to think, pedicabs are being wasted on their passengers — and perhaps that is part of the reason they’re largely reviled. What if New Yorkers exercised eminent domain and reclaimed these overgrown tricycles for our own daily use?

To lead the way, I tried hiring a pedicab to run a few errands: dry cleaning, deli, the basics. Fine. But when I thought about visiting Aunt Frances at Mount Sinai Hospital, I found that at about $1 per minute or per block, what would be $15 in a taxi would be a trip to the A.T.M. in a pedicab. Fail.

I turned to Mr. Bliss for guidance. “The goal when I started this was that the pedicabs would actually be less money than a yellow cab,” he said.

He began that experiment downtown, where he thought people would be open to the idea, but he found they were too self-conscious to ride in a pedicab. It worked for a while in Midtown, but today, he said, sounding melancholy to the point of despair, the dream is dead.

“The pedicab industry itself became self-marginalizing,” he said. “It became more and more tourist oriented, less transportation oriented. We need drivers who are educated, fluent in languages. They need to be ambassadors to the city.”

We also need stricter regulation of the fleet, he said, and electric-assisted pedicabs — which he developed with a state grant, but the city does not allow. In short, we need the city to decide that a fleet of law-abiding, low-cost vehicles that consume no gas, is in everyone’s interest.

Take that to its logical conclusion and you get people commuting by rickshaw, exchanging newspaper sections with the guy in the next lane at a red light. Kids picked up after school by a parent on three wheels who has already stopped for groceries. A bride in Central Park accepting a lift from a pushy but well-meaning stranger. Wouldn’t you like to live in that city?

It seems a lot of people would say no.

In 2007, a city councilman was quoted in the Village Voice saying that pedicabs caused pollution by increasing congestion. Perhaps he’s right; perhaps pedicabs and cars cannot coexist in Manhattan. Maybe it’s not safe to have three wheels darting in and out of four-wheel traffic. Maybe the time has come to make a change. How about we get rid of the cars?

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.“I work for tips,” hopefully the greenback kind, says the recently retired restoration/renovation contractor.

Compensation for the unflappable Peele averages $5 for a swing around the Broad Street loop, although some passengers pull out a buck or just say thanks.

“That’s OK, too,” Peele grins.

Downtown Southern Pines and Pinehurst Village couldn’t be better locations, with gentle terrain, a friendly year-round climate and enough landmarks for a well-researched 60-minute historic tour. Which isn’t free.

Peele turns a profit with advertising placards — Elliott’s on Linden during September — and gigs billed by the hour or event: date nights (a rose or chocolates included), children’s parties, corporate affairs, anniversaries and, of course, weddings.

Delouis Wilson has already hired Peele for her May nuptials in Pittsboro.

“It’s such a cool thing,” says the bride-to-be, who has ridden pedicabs in Raleigh, where Raleigh Rickshaw operates a fleet of 16. “It sets the tone — lets people know that this is something special, and they’re going to have fun.”

The Ride Peddler will ferry guests from a parking area to the ceremony. Wilson hopes the driver will wear black shorts and a white shirt. Top hat is optional. She expects the decorated pedicab to figure prominently in wedding photos.

A horse-drawn buggy might be more picturesque, but pedicabs don’t require a shovel-up.

“There’s a breeze, it’s a lot quieter, and there’s no smell of manure,” says Eli Cox of Southern Pines, taking a spin with wife, Jaime, on a cool early-autumn morning.

Peele’s construction career ended this year.

“I wanted to and had to look for something that would be adequate and fun,” he said, something that he and wife, Michelle — an athletically inclined artist — could do together.

He was already in excellent physical condition and has the mechanical skills to maintain the vehicle which, according to the manufacturer’s Web site, costs about $5,000. Other expenses include taxi and business licenses and insurance. The sturdy three-wheeled, 21-gear pedicab has hydraulic brakes, shock absorbers, seat belts, lights and a passenger canopy.

Peele’s gregarious personality suits the job. Many riders are tourists.

“The driver becomes an ambassador for downtown,” he says. “Everybody smiles and says good morning. It brings out the friendliness in people.”

Most people, at least. The Ride Peddler was a huge hit at the most recent First Friday in downtown Southern Pines, especially with children.

“Parents were reluctant initially but look — lo and behold, I brought their children back,” he says.

Peele has encountered other reticence.

“It’s fun to watch reactions,” he says. “You can tell people want to ride but they hesitate, more skeptical than suspicious. Maybe they’re taken aback because it’s free.”

Passengers do attract attention.

“I tell them to wave, like a homecoming queen in a parade,” Michelle Peele demonstrates.

Frank Dean and his 6-year-old daughter, Sarah Ellen, enjoyed the elevated view and the leisurely pace.

“Ed had to work a bit getting over the railroad tracks but it was really fun, a novelty,” Dean says.

The Peeles are developing ideas and costumes for Halloween and Christmas, surely reindeer horns on Ed’s head, and bells jingling from the “pedisleigh.”

The workout part has worked out. Vehicle plus passengers and driver may total 700 pounds. At first Peele, a runner, was too winded to converse with customers. He learned to zigzag between streets to avoid a steady climb. But for him, the joy of riding trumps any physical discomfort except on certain Ben-Gay days, “when I feel like I have 300 grandchildren.”

“We had a great idea, but we put it into action without knowing the ramifications,” he says. “(The business) has been experimental to this point.”
The alternative, his wife adds, was to sit around the house acting like life was over after the kids left.

Upsizing is the healthy state of this enterprise. The Peeles have ordered a second pedicab and are seeking personable, industrious, qualified drivers who pass a background check and are willing to work for tips, bookings, sleeker torsos and stronger legs.

Then, Ed Peele will pedal off to something else.

“I’ve got resumes out,” he says. “I’m looking for a career to replace the job I had. When I find one I’ll phase this over to the younger guys.”

Contact The Ride Peddler at www.theridepeddler.com or email hello@theridepeddler.com.

Coastal Bike Cabs, a new pedicab service, begins operations here in
early June. Pedicabs are bicycle-driven pedestrian taxis that offer an
environmentally friendly alternative to short-distance travel.

“It’s a great way to see our island and visit restaurants and shops
while enjoying the fresh air,” says Betsy Palmer, owner of Coastal
Bike Cabs.

The decision to start a pedicab business stemmed from a love of the
outdoors and fitness, which is a definite requirement for drivers to
haul between 400 and 600 pounds of weight around the island at a pace
of 12 mph.

“It is great exercise for me and our other drivers and a fun
experience for our passengers,” says Palmer.  “Our colorful bikes and
friendly service add tremendously to the Ocean Isle Beach vacation
experience.  We aim to enhance the amenities and businesses on our
island with this cab service.”

Tourists in San Diego, Charleston, and Key West ride from restaurants,
bars, and hot spots in pedicabs and appreciate being able to avoid
crowded parking lots, drinking and driving, and noise.

“Although pedicabs are a new concept on Ocean Isle Beach, they have
actually been around in larger U.S. cities for many years,” said Dan
Werner, director of sales and marketing for Main Street Pedicabs, the
largest manufacturer of pedicabs in the United States.  Main Street is
the maker of the equipment used by Coastal Bike Cabs.

“Pedicabs started out in larger cities like New York, San Diego, and
Austin,” Werner said. “It’s only over the past several years that they
have really taken off in smaller areas.”

But pedicabs can be more than just a novel way for visitors to tour
communities.  Property Owners enjoy the convenience of a bicycle taxi
and the friendliness of the drivers.

“We are finding more and more that they provide a nice way for people
who are physically challenged or have trouble walking to enjoy the
outdoors in a way that a traditional taxi does not,” Werner said. “You
can really enjoy the scenery — see the birds — and feel the fresh
beach air and sunshine.”

“More than that,” Palmer says, “pedicabs operators will serve as
ambassadors to Ocean Isle Beach and will help promote restaurants,
stores, and services in the area.  We want to promote the community
and let visitors know about our history.”

Palmer envisions taking a lot of people to the Museum of Coastal
Carolina for the exhibits and for the free concerts on Fridays and
back and forth from bars and restaurants and to public beach access
areas.

“Our bike cabs will stay on the island,” she said. “I want people to
enjoy their stay here at Ocean Isle Beach and not worry about getting
picked up for driving under the influence.  They can just eat, drink,
and be merry.”

Coastal Bike Cabs will be available at island events, parades, and
festivals, as well as maintain a regular presence around Ocean Isle
Beach.  Passengers can hail a Bike Cab or call or email for a
reservation.

Palmer intends to operate both day and night throughout the summer
season and on weekends, holidays, and special events after Labor Day.
Coastal Bike Cabs starts offering services this week, generally from
9:00am to 3:00am daily.  The business’ grand opening is scheduled for
late June.

“I am really happy to hear that there is more bicycle-based
transportation at OIB,” resident and property owner Effie Vandoros
comments.  “It’s really a unique way to experience the community, and
I think it adds to the ambiance of our island.”

Door County visitors will have a new option for traveling the downtown areas of Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek this summer.

Two new businesses in the area are offering pedicab services. Pedicabs are a bicycle-driven pedestrian taxi that offer an environmentally friendly alternative to short-distance travel.

“It’s a great way for people to get where they want to go while enjoying the fresh air,” said Angie Brusky, co-owner of Peninsula Pedicabs LLC in Fish Creek.Brusky and her boyfriend, Josiah Lent, recently returned to Door County, where they were both born and raised, to start their pedicab business. Brusky is the daughter of Bill and Jackie Brusky of Sturgeon Bay, and Lent is the son of Craig and Lauren Lent of Fish Creek.

For Brusky and Lent, the decision to start a pedicab business stemmed from a love of biking, which is a definite requirement to haul between 600 and 700 pounds of weight up hills and around town at a pace of 15 mph.

“We’ve both been biking most of our lives,” said Lent, who biked more than 4,000 miles last year and will be the primary driver for Peninsula Pedicabs. “It is great exercise for me and hopefully a fun experience for our passengers.”

But exercise isn’t the only reason entrepreneurs are turning to pedicabs: The dismal economy spurred Jim McCarthy of Sturgeon Bay to start his pedicab business, Fresh Air Cabs. McCarthy, owner of Uptop Roofing, saw one of his slowest winter’s during his 20-year career last year.

“I’m lucky because in roofing, people still need to protect their investment, so I still had work,” he said. “But I’m also getting up there in age (50), and I needed to think of another viable resource.” During the cold winter, he thought of pleasant times he had as a tourist in Key West, riding from restaurants, bars and hot spots in a pedicab.

He liked the freedom that riding a pedicab gave him to kick back and not worry about parking, drinking and driving or noise.

“It’s a cab service, but it’s more about the experience,” McCarthy said.

Although pedicabs are a new concept in Door County, they have actually been around in larger U.S. cities for many years, said Dan Werner, director of sales and marketing for Main Street Pedicabs, the largest manufacturer of pedicabs in the United States.

“Pedicabs started out in larger cities like New York, San Diego and Austin,” Werner said. “It’s only over the past several years that they have really taken off in smaller areas.”

But pedicabs can be more than just a novel way for visitors to tour the downtown areas of certain communities.

“We are finding more and more that they provide a nice way for people who are physically challenged or have trouble walking to enjoy the outdoors in a way that a traditional taxicab does not,” Werner said. “You can really enjoy the scenery — see the birds and the squirrels — and feel the fresh air and sunshine.”

More than that, Werner said, pedicabs operators can be an ambassador for the towns they serve.

“We want to promote the community and let people know about our history,” Lent said.

McCarthy envisions taking a lot of people to museums for the fireboat tours and back and forth from bars and hotels and over the bridges.

“Mainly, it will be short distances downtown,” he said. “I want people to enjoy their stay here in Sturgeon Bay and not worry about getting picked up for intoxicated driving. They can just eat, drink and be merry.”

Both businesses plan to be available at major county events and festivals, as well as maintain a regular presence in their respective communities.

McCarthy intends to operate his both day and night with a student partner, 23-year-old Cameron Voss, taking the day shift while McCarthy is at roofing jobs in the summer. McCarthy just ordered his new taxi and expects it to arrive in time for Memorial Day.

Peninsula Pedicab started offering services last week, generally from 5 to 10 p.m. The business’ grand opening is scheduled for the beginning of June.

“I am really happy to hear that there is more bicycle-based transportation in Door County,” Brusky said.

“It’s really a unique way to experience the community, and I think it adds to the ambiance of Door County.”

“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.”

The co-owners have proved their commitment to environmental awareness through a number of different aspects. Coastal CruZn has a component in its employee handbook that mandates employees come into work with at least three recyclable items. What do they do with these recyclables? Why donate it to an affiliate company, Atayne, which makes athletic gear completely out of recyclables of course.

The two entities, Atayne and Coastal CruZn, are also teaming up to organize an environmental fundraiser in Ocean City, MD the first week of August. Atayne is focused primarily around the running world and Coastal around biking, so the entities thought a hybrid bike and foot race would prove to attract a diverse crowd.

“It’s all for a good cause and we are both so pumped to get started,” Brizendine said.

Coastal CruZn, LLC anticipates launching its venture on Memorial Day in Ocean City, MD, with high hopes in a market that has never gotten the privilege of experiencing pedicabs. Local Ocean City businessman Nick Campagnoli commented, “What these young guys are doing is absolutely incredible. They’re providing jobs, doing their part to contribute to the overall cleanliness and adding to the majesty of Ocean City by offering a new experience.”

There are many pedicab businesses all over the world but the owners maintain that what differentiates them is their utmost commitment to entertaining their “pedicabees” (which is Coastal’s nickname for their base of loyal consumers). They emphasize that extensive knowledge of the area and unique personalities of the drivers are the leading forces to keeping their pedicabees coming back for more.

“We feel that anyone can start a pedicab business, but we want to make sure that everyone involved in our organization is passionate about impacting the environment and people’s lives,” co-owner Saurabh Chawla said. “We carefully choose Coastal CruZn employees that exhibit how proud they are of their organization. We also like our guys to get to know their pedicabees on a first name basis and form the kind of relationship that people can look back at after their vacation is over and just smile.”

Like many students on St. Patrick’s Day, senior Brendan Blume was up all night splitting time between Brown Street and the student neighborhoods. But unlike anyone else, instead of walking it, he was flagging pedestrians down asking if they wanted to ride on the back of his bike.

As a co-owner of Blume Brothers Pedicab, based in Chicago and less than a year old, Blume brought the pedicab to campus in March. He works Thursdays to Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., when he’s not on duty as an RA in Stuart. It’s just him and a 21-gear bicycle with a carriage-like seat attached.

“When (passengers) get on it they think they’re kings of the world,” Blume said. Entire parties turn and cheer when they see his bike and passengers go by. “It’s like chariots of fire.”Blume, 21, started the business with his 24-year-old brother last summer because neither had a job. Instead of continuing their job search, they looked into buying a pedicab bicycle, of which there are only about 50 in Chicago.

“It was a turning point in my life,” Blume said. “We said, ‘Let’s do something new, something clean’.”

They were attracted to the idea because it could fill transportation needs in an environmentally friendly way. They also liked the idea of being their own boss.

“We started a snow shoveling business when we were young, we’ve always been entrepreneurs,” Blume said. “We were both home schooled so we have the drive inside of us. We don’t need to have a teacher telling us what to do.”

On the suggestion of their father, also an entrepreneur, the brothers signed a notarized agreement about the business. They bought insurance and a bike with operating break lights and turn signals in the dark.

Their goal was to make the 81 home games for the Chicago Cubs and hit as many Chicago White Sox games as they could. Both being water polo players and feeling fit, the Blumes weren’t ready for what pulling around the weight of two or three people does to a person’s body.

“The first week it was so hard because it is a strain on your body, no matter how in shape you are,” Blume said. They decided not to stick to their original plan of riding every day.

The brothers did work enough to increase their business by three bikes and hired more riders in Chicago. Their goal for this summer is to double their business. Though they do not have set ride prices, it’s usually never more than $10 for all riders combined.

They work when most students would be out with friends, like New Year’s Eve, but Blume said as he pedals he forgets he’s working.

“You won’t look at it as a job. You’re riding and you’re having a conversation with the passengers.”

While the partners do face some problems with the economy, like having difficulty obtaining loans, Blume said he brought the business to Dayton hoping to help students’ economic troubles improve.

“With the state the economy is in, we want to create jobs,” Blume said. “We can give students rides while creating jobs for them.”

Blume will be riding around campus until next December, when he plans to graduate with an accounting degree. He’s looking for employees for the business so it can continue when he moves back to Chicago.

“I’m going to ride full-time until I stop having fun, which won’t happen.”

Jennie Szink

News Editor

On a bad day, cycling in London feels like dinosaurs versus mammals. You, the warm-blooded cyclist, may ultimately inherit the earth, but until then you run the grave risk of being squished by a lumbering, petrol-fuelled sauropod. You have the acceleration, the visibility, the manoeuvrability; they have the weight, the momentum, the airbags.

There are good days, of course, when pedalists and petrolheads give way to each other in a haze of goodwill. But they are rare. So it is with some trepidation that I approach BugBugs’ Holborn Viaduct lock-up. My task is to give one of its pedicabs a test-ride; and pedicabs – as their operators prefer to style these latter-day rickshaws – are the SUVs of London’s bike scene: big – maybe too big – and apt to provoke extremes of opinion.The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), for example, hates them. “Whilst the third world is doing all it can to lose the last of these degrading pedal-powered contraptions, some unscrupulous operators are clogging up the streets of the Metropolis with the same slow, traffic-halting bikes,” it says on its website. It claims that pedicabs charge rip-off fares and are fundamentally unsafe. To prove this last point, a video clip shows a yellow cab ploughing into a hapless crash-test dummy astride a pedicab; it’s unclear who the menace is here but the animosity towards pedicabs is clear.

In the event, my test-ride proves to be confrontation-free. This is largely because Friedel Schroder, BugBugs’ owner and my instructor in the art of pedicab-riding, refuses to let me on to the main road. Instead I am confined to a short stretch of Shoe Lane by the lock-up. Schroder, a trim, crop-haired 40-year-old in fleece and jeans with just the faintest trace of a German accent, is big on safety. Before they can go out on the road, BugBugs’ riders must be trained up to National Cycling Standard Level 3 and need to have a grasp of pedicab mechanics. Passengers are asked to use the inertial seatbelts that are standard on the newer pedicabs, which may seem a bit excessive but it does send out reassuring signals.

Decidedly not sending out reassuring signals is my right foot, which, Schroder informs me as I swing my leg over the saddle on first mounting, has connected with the shins of my imaginary passengers. Suitably chastened, I start pedalling and I’m off.

“Watch the front wheel,” Schroder tells me, “where it goes there the rest of the pedicab will go.” This seems obvious but is good to know, given the metre-plus-wide passenger platform clunking along behind me. Schroder’s advice turns out not to be strictly true: as I try to do a U-turn, I skim the front wheel past the kerb but the rear wheel hits it. I have to put the bike into “reverse”, pushing the front wheel backwards with my foot.

After a few more turns up and down the road I feel like I’m really getting the hang of it. Schroder, ever safety-conscious, urges me to keep my fingers poised over the brakes – hydraulic at rear, simple cantilever at the front. It’s a bit tricky to glance at what’s coming behind, because of the passenger canopy: I either need to stand on the pedals or crouch down to see through the transparent rear panel. I’m also self-conscious about not repeating the error that every two-wheel veteran apparently makes on a trike: leaning into corners. On a bike, turning a corner feels like a kind of controlled fall; on a trike you need only to steer.

The pedicab is a less responsive ride than a bike, of course, but it doesn’t feel sluggish, even when Dan, who’s come to photograph proceedings, gamely agrees to be my passenger. And this machine, the US-manufactured Main Street, in New York taxi yellow, is only the Ford of pedicabs. The BugBugs fleet also boasts the Audi – the German-made Velocab – and the Rolls-Royce, the Bath-made Cycle Maximus, yours for £4,000.

Their common virtue is that, aside from manufacture and shipping, they all emit zero carbon, as Schroder cheerfully points out. They are, he says, the way forward for cities striving to cut carbon, or cope with resource constraints (Schroder is involved in a scheme to get cargo versions of the pedicab on to the streets of Gaza).

He also diligently rebuts the LTDA’s arguments against his beloved trikes, and observes, with sly diplomacy, that cabbies are skilled enough to be able to negotiate his machines without difficulty. Talks with Westminster council about official pedicab ranks appear to be bearing fruit; and no, he insists, fares aren’t a rip-off. They are more than a cab, certainly, at about £5 per person per mile, but that’s because of the muscle power involved. As for safety, Schroder points out that it’s a crucial part of the training you receive when you hand over your £140 for a month’s pedicab hire. BugBugs is also pressing for industry regulation, including a licensing system.

This is, Schroder says, a career option suited to those who have to work around other commitments, such as studying, or who need money to travel. There’s more than a hint of the backpacker hostel in the agreeably shabby common room by the entrance to the BugBugs lock-up, with its collection of grimy sofas, iMac terminals and well-thumbed paperbacks.

The rest of the lock-up is a truly impressive chain of barrel-ceilinged vaults stretching west towards Holborn Circus, one of those unsuspected spaces that London surprises you with from time to time. It houses not only Schroder’s fleet, some 47 of the capital’s (by his estimate) 700 or so pedicabs, but also other operators’ machines. All are tipped up on their back ends to save space, rank upon rank rearing up: a taxi driver’s subterranean nightmare. To Schroder, it’s a zero-carbon dream come true. “I love this to bits,” he says.

As I leave, in the early afternoon, BugBugs’ workers are starting to arrive and to pedal their machines into the teeming streets. It seems a convivial enough operation, although I’m glad to be hastening back to my snug office. Later in the day, oil is a snip at $37 a barrel, and the following day a climate scientist warns that the environmental costs of global warming will be more severe than we have so far supposed. I wonder if evolution is on the pedicabs’ side.