ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- As time and technology have changed, so has the way we get our mail.
- Only three cities in country still have bike mail delivery
- St. Pete bicycle letter carriers deliver to 14,000 customers daily
- Postmaster calls it a 'best kept secret'
But there's one zip code in St. Petersburg -- 33701 -- where delivery has stayed the same way for more than half a century.
The bicycle letter carrier still provides pedal power to the open air post office downtown, continuing a tradition of delivery that dates back almost as long as the historic post office itself.
"They're physically fit," said Postmaster Jackie Villemarie. "It's a great stress reliever and they're very content, and they deliver to over 14,000 customers every day."
There was a time, more than 100 years ago, when delivering mail by bicycle was basically the only way you could get your mail.
Over the decades, the postal service has phased out bicycles, leaving St. Petersburg as one of only three cities in the country that still delivers mail on two wheels.
Some of those two-wheeled carriers date back to the 1960s. Letter carrier Chris Hubble takes pride in riding a mail bike that's older that he is.
"There's not one day that goes by that you hear in the background, 'Oh my God! There's a mailman delivering on a bicycle."
He said wheeling around town is the best way to deliver the mail.
"It's the sense of freedom on a bicycle. I'm getting paid for five and a half hours to deliver the mail, but also ride a bike," Hubble said.
With him being one of only about a dozen letter carriers still peddling for the post office, the postmaster says it’s become quite a coveted position.
"St. Petersburg open air is one of the higher senior offices," Villemarie said. "People come down here, they love the job. It's like a best kept secret."
What's no secret, though, is how much people who get their mail delivered by bike, love getting their mail delivered by bike.
"I always ask Chris if they do internships or like shadows and stuff," said Mirela Setkic, owner Kapok Marketing.
Not to worry, these wheeling letter carriers have no plans on changing jobs anytime soon.