I, like many longtime New Yorkers, recall Dexter Benjamin. Even if we didn't know him by name, we knew who he was because there wasn't anyone else like him.
He was The One-Legged Bicycle Messenger. His fixed-gear bike had its drivetrain on the left side rather than the right. And it was fitted with carrying hooks and straps to hold his crutch on the top tube.
I haven't seen or heard about him in some time. What got me to thinking about him was a story I came across yesterday.
 |
| Leo Rodgers stops for a snack during a ride. |
Like Dexter Benjamin, Leo Rodgers lost his leg in a horrific, non-cycling-related accident. Rodgers, however, lost his left leg, so the only modification to his All City bike was the removal of the left (non-drive-side) crank and pedal. And he didn't become a messenger in New York. Rather, he works in a posh Florida bike shop and rides with a club.
One thing Benjamin and Rodgers have in common, though, is their fearlessness. If you're a messenger in Manhattan, you are, by definition, riding with abandon. Rodgers, on the other hand, rides with no constraints because, well, he can.
Oh, one other thing they have in common: They're inspirations. More than a few people have said as much. Not only do both riders cause people to realize that their barriers to whatever they want to do are comparatively small; they also have helped people get over their fears--on Manhattan's streets and along Florida's roads, where more cyclists are killed than anywhere else in the US.
The next time I think I can't do something, I won't have a leg to stand on. I do, however, still have two legs that can spin pedals!
