Breakaway News Volume No. 24 Issue No. 2 February 2019

Love Delivers

 Your palms get sweaty. Your mouth goes dry. Your heart starts to race. But, enough about how you react when thinking about your tax returns! It’s February, and February is for lovers! At least, it will be on Thursday the 14th, which Valentine’s Day. So, if you’re feeling romantic and want to send a bunch of love to that special someone, give us a call. We’ve been delivering love (and saving relationships!) since 1988.

 Port Short

 Creative juices rarely get going with a life of boredom. That’s why Newsletter editor and former Coffee Avenger RM hangs out in dodgy places: i.e. the Starbucks at Port Authority. When he entered, there weren’t any seats, and he saw a man sleeping across from a bag. So, he woke the man and asked if he could sit there. The man said yes, took the bag and left. No sooner had RM sat down then another man came up, asking if RM had seen his bag. Now, a traveler was without his rucksack! Former Coffee Avenger RM sprang into slightly-slowed-by-age action; while the owner went to speak to an officer, RM went toward the rest rooms, to see if he could spot the sleeper. Sure enough, he found him at the trash cans with the rucksack under his coat! He recovered the bag without fuss or muss, and gave it back to the owner, who was grateful enough to buy the retired Coffee Avenger a venti. That’s avenging the hard way!

 Street Trailer: TNG

 We’ve talked about our French-built bike trailers before, since we’re really proud of them. Now, we are upping our game with The Next Generation of cargo/trailer bikes! They can haul almost as much as a van but with a much, much smaller carbon foot print. With them, customers can really take advantage of e-commerce deliveries, no matter how bulky. The only thing missing are phasers. And photon torpedoes.

Big Brother Is Us

 If you have a screen addiction, and love up-to-the-minute updates, then we have good news for you. All of our couriers are equipped with mobile devices with GPS tracking. Now you can track your item’s progress in real time, while simultaneously playing Candy Crush and editing your spreadsheet. Just one more screen to keep track of!

 Vortex Part Deux

 By the time you read this newsletter, the Polar Vortex will have come and gone, but water cooler talk about it will probably still be going on. Just for context: During the vortex, some parts of the Midwest were colder than Siberia or the peak of Mount Everest. And yet, the cold didn’t stop our bicycle couriers, nor did it stop some dedicated cycle commuters. CityLab reports that in Minnesota, some brave (or crazy) folk still commuted by bike despite the -20 degree temperatures.

Stump the Band

 Last month we asked who created the square bottom paper bag, and where? Answer: George West, aka the Paper Bag King, who invented the bag and lived in Ballston Spa, NY.

 T-Shirt Question

 Who is the only former SS officer buried at Arlington National Cemetery? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway T-shirt.