What can brown do for your street cred?

The rock stars of urban cycling are, of course, bike messengers. Long hours in the saddle, lousy pay without benefits, constant life-threatening hassles from cars and trucks, filthy clothes, gearless brakeless bikes, thankless receptionists, and nifty-looking cargo bags– what’s not to like?

If you secretly wish you could somehow get the “cred” without signing on for the long impoverished haul, give your local UPS outlet a jingle and ask if they’re using bikes in your area. In some locations, like Seattle and Lewiston, Maine, they’re hiring up to 20 extra couriers to handle holiday deliveries by bicycle.

You may have to wear the company uniform, but you can always cut those pants off at the shins to look more like dingy Carhartts.

And lest you question the hipster value of working for UPS, remember: the company was started 100 years ago by Jim Casey. He was a bike messenger in Seattle.

Photo: (cc) Creative Commons by Miguel Lopez, http://flickr.com/photos/migufu/