For a Bemidji bike messenger in winter, at least there's no competition

On a recent Saturday night, Sean Crampton tucked two freshly rolled burritos into a "Star Wars" lunchbox and jumped on his bicycle.

He pulled a Gore-Tex face mask over his long hair and pedaled hard from the closed Cabin Coffee Shop, where a pair of food-truck cooks were wrapping burritos, to the Bemidji Brewing Company, where someone had placed an order.

The trip took him three minutes. He handed over the food, still breathing hard, and got back on his bike.

Crampton is Bemidji's one and only winter bike messenger.

The 28-year-old Bemidji native rides for Wheel Fast Delivery. It's Bemidji's first and, so far, only bike messenger service.

Natalie Gille started the business in 2011. At the time, she made all the deliveries (mostly food) herself and stopped when the weather got cold.

Over the summer she expanded, hiring a handful of cyclists to run burritos and BBQ from food trucks to hungry patrons all over Bemidji. It was pretty successful, so she decided to keep Crampton on for the winter.

Now, deep into December, Crampton spends his Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings lounging by his bicycle, waiting for orders.

"It's foggy out," he said, glancing out the window. "I'd take this over snow, I guess."

At this point, Crampton's only deliveries are burritos from Foiled Rotten, a food-truck-based operation that has moved to occasional hours in the Cabin Coffee Shop for the winter. He pedals orders as far as the Bemidji State University dorms for a flat $5 fee.

Delivering food by bicycle at night in the winter poses some challenges. A few weeks ago, Crampton accidentally spilled his water bottle down his face while on a delivery. By the time he got back, his 4-inch goatee looked like a frozen waterfall.

During the recent statewide thaw, there was no snow or ice. But Crampton still had to be careful of other hazards, like passing cars.

"See and be seen," he said. "It's a big priority."

Crampton sports a flag, an orange vest, four lights and a handful of reflective stickers on himself and his bike. So far, he said, local drivers have steered clear.

But he spends most of his time hanging out, waiting. The bike messenger business has yet to become lucrative. Most nights, Crampton delivers only two or three orders. At $5 a delivery, he's getting about $2 an hour. It seems like a small reward for braving the winter streets of Bemidji on a bicycle.

Gille's not making much money either. She sells reflective brand-logo stickers, but right now stickers come free with a delivery. At the end of this month she'll decide whether it's worth keeping the deliveries going.

Eventually, she hopes to expand Wheel Fast with more riders. In the meantime, she and Crampton both have day jobs.

For Crampton, though, it's not about the money. Bike deliveries are an excuse to get on his bike more often. He feels so strongly about spending every available minute on his bike that he sold his truck back in August.

"I never pass up an opportunity to ride," he said.