Jonathan Zagorski, Master Road Debris Dodger

Jon Zagorski will spend more than $150 on socks in the next few months. More specifically, he is going to spend that money on three pairs of socks. We’re talking high-quality, legitimately waterproof socks. Walking into this conversation, I asked, “Why wouldn’t you just buy one pair and wear them a few times between washes?”. “Because I wear them outside for at least eight hours a day all winter! Last year I destroyed a pair in two months,” Jon replied. These are socks that should last at least an entire season. So, what is going on with Jon Zagorski? He’s a bike messenger.

Jon has been a courier for about 15 months now. While winter is obviously the most difficult, uncomfortable, and stressful time for his job, he still loves it and is more than willing to put up with the infamous Cleveland weather to continue it. He came upon the job almost by accident, through an odd sequence of events that just happened to line up. During a stint of unemployment, Jon found himself riding his bike out to Kent at least once a week to spend time with a friend who was going to be moving away soon. Never having had a car or a license, it didn’t seem too out of the question for Jon to make a ride of that distance, and he soon got used to the 80 miles round-trip he was doing on his Specialized Langster road bike.

During this period, Jon ran into a friend who was doing courier work for two different companies, and told Jon that if he wanted work, he should ride out to East 131st and Broadway the next morning. He got up, made the ride easily, and was hired by the courier company. The rest is Zagorski Messenger history: he’s been doing it every day since.

Jon is currently riding a KHS Flite 100, a bike that is built as a fixed-gear by the manufacturer. The KHS is one of four bikes Jon has owned and ridden in the past three years, and is the bike he uses for all of his riding.  He grew up in the Lakewood/Cleveland area, and as previously stated, has never owned a car or had a driver's license. When the time came for him to be able to do those things, he decided that riding a bike was more fun, would be much cheaper, and would get him around without having to wait for public transportation.

As a major mileage rider, Jon is going to be participating in the Bike Summit that is taking place in Cleveland on September 10th and 11th. The summit is taking place as an effort to try to correct some of the major issues that cyclists (and motorists) face when it comes to the roads. He’d like to see the bridges be swept more often (the Lorain bridge is not-so-affectionately nicknamed the “Lorain-Car-Debris Bridge”), and would love to see bike lanes put in as well. These seem to be more than reasonable requests, especially coming from a person who rides between 700 and 800 miles a month. He’d also like to see Cleveland host more bike races, seeing that as a way to raise cycling awareness and put cyclists in a positive light.

Jon is excited to see more bike shops opening in the Cleveland area, specifically Joy Machines and Blazing Saddle Cycle. The biking community is growing in this area, and it is becoming more and more visible. The more activity towards safe cycling, and the more access people have to cycling knowledge and equipment, the safer it will become to ride.  

I certainly find Jon and his $150 socks a serious motivator for me to keep riding when the weather starts to turn. This summer has been an exciting one for the biking community; its growth is inspiring and beautiful, and I can only encourage everyone to do everything they can to become a part of it. Let’s keep it going through the fall and winter, and give Jon some company on those cold and icy days.

If anyone is interested in being a part of the Strategic Planning Summit, you can contact Jacob Van Sickle of Bike Cleveland at jacob@bikecleveland.org.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the first ever Lakewood Critical Mass Ride, coming soon!