Rob Martin
a man, his bike and a mission
photo by lisa streeb
By kris cote
Old Town is about as close to a bustling big city environment that can be seen in Fort Collins, its complete with the tallest buildings in town, the most stop and go traffi c and even a bike courier cruising around the streets and alleys.
Rob Martin, a 1997 CSU graduate and owner of Rob’s Bike Courier Service is bringing a new way for Fort Collins residents and business to get what they need from point A to point B.
Bike courier services have been around nearly as long as bikes have, but Fort Collins, at least for the past decade, has not had one. Martin recognized this in 2004 when he decided to start up his business.
“In 2004 there was no bike courier service,” Martin said. “I knew I could do it, and I fi gured why not start a business doing something I love.”
Since starting in January of 2005, Martin’s business certainly has taken off . At fi rst, he explained, it was slow, but after about a year Martin began to see a regular stream of clients and businesses taking advantage of his pedal-powered service.
“He’ll go anywhere, any time,” said Shelly Hill, a broker associate at the Group Inc. “I’ve seen him riding around even late at night, he’s pretty tireless.”
Each week Martin rides between 150 and 200 miles all over Fort Collins, but mostly downtown making diff erent deliveries.
From T-shirts to bagels to bottles and recyclables, Martin carries it all from one place to another in his custom built trailer strapped to the back of his bike. For Hill, Martin usually delivers description brochures to boxes outside of houses she sells. For Andrew Lockner, a graphic designer and owner of Designs By Andrew, Martin delivers practically everything.
“I send him out with boxes of stuff all the time,” Lockner explained. “If it’s not my bills or something leaving the state, I’ll probably use Rob.”
One major gig Martin has picked up is transporting glass bottles for the city’s Brown Bottle Recycling Program. The program, a collaborative eff ort between Fort Collins and New Belgium Brewery, which started a few years back to help many bars and restaurants that weren’t recycling their glass bottles.
Now, twice a week Martin rolls through the alleys of Old Town, collecting bottles, fi lling the bins in his cart and he rides them to New Belgium for drop off .
“He essentially collects the glass, brings it to New Belgium, and we send it along for recycling with the rest of our materials,” said Bryan Simpson, New Belgium’s Media Relations Director. “He’s a model for the rest of us – if he can haul giant garbage bins fi lled with glass on the back of his bike – surely we all can make a better effort to commute by bike more.”
Martin’s business doesn’t stop when the seasons change either. When old man winter rears his ugly head Martin layers up and heads out for another day of work.
“A lot of people justify driving once it starts getting cold out,” Martin said. “All you have to do is wear warmer clothes and it can still be done.”
“He kind of follows that old ‘mail man’s creed,’” Lockner said. “Ya know, no rain or snow will stop him.”
With all the recycling and adrenaline fueled work Martin does, it might appear that he’s attempting to start an eco-movement. In Martin’s eyes however, he’s just trying to set an example.
“We’re too dependent on our cars,” Martin explained. “I’m not out here doing this trying to get famous, I just want to show that a lot more can be done on a bike.”
Whether he wanted to or not though, Martin has reached somewhat of a mini-celebrity status, especially in Old Town. Rob’s business has already been featured on Channel 7 News and in the Coloradoan, and he also works about fi ve hours each week at Full Cycle, a bike shop near the heart of Old Town.
“Everyone knows about him, who he is and what he’s doing,” Hill said. “You look in every direction and he’s connected, he’s been a downtown face for a while.”
And with all the success and recognition Martin has been having, one might ask, if he’s really making a diff erence. According to his clientele, everything about using his business is beneficial.
“First of all, it’s really important for us to support local businesses like his. It keeps our money in the local economy at least a little while longer,” Hill said. “On top of that, what he’s doing is at least another step toward helping reduce our carbon footprint, it’s all great.”
Lockner agrres that it’s important for small, local businesses to help each other out. “That’s how we all grow and survive. I couldn’t leave my office and do what he does for me at that price,” Lockner said.
So, with business booming, it seems like the next logical step would be expansion. While Martin acknowledged the idea, he indicated that for now, because he is building his business on his own, it might take a little longer. However, with the increasing trend to “go green” it might not take as long.
“One day I will have four or fi ve people doing runs for me regularly,” he said. “I just have to grow slow because I am building this business from the ground up with not much capital.” His customers mentioned that not only would they like to see Rob’s Bike Courier Service grow, but thought it would be quite possible.
“With today’s economy, he’d definitely be able to expand and stay successful,” Lockner said.
For now though, Martin will continue to saddle up each morning and roll out into another day, trying to set an example of what one guy can do with his bike.
“Anyone doing business to business trade here in town could greatly benefit from Rob’s service.” Simpson said. “He can move through the city at about the same rate as a motorized vehicle yet by doing it on bike he is cutting down on congestion, pollution and global warming. Buy that guy a beer.”