Charlie LaNoue bikes so fast, you’ll freak.

The Jimmy John’s bike-delivery guy behind the ski mask, thermal layers and high-energy music has always loved bicycling and being a food deliveryman, independently. Now he has married the two for more than just personal enjoyment by biking for sustainability.

LaNoue said his ultimate goal in life is to create a new, better way of delivering food.

The 25-year-old has a bachelor of science in business from Albion College, which “seemed like a sensible option,” he said. “And then I realized, it seems like it’s all about bottom line dollars at the expense of everything, society and the environment.”

It was then he asked himself how he could change business and economics to support positive changes.

Delivering Jimmy John’s sandwiches by bike is a big part of it, he said.

“Beyond whatever trivial fuel savings I can make, it’s showing that it can be done in a different way, all year, all weather, up hills — everything,” LaNoue added.

Because he is currently pursuing his masters in biophysical and ecological economics at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, LaNoue has cut his six-day workweek from last semester to just Saturdays, where he works a “monster shift” of 14-16 hours. He has worked at Jimmy John’s on Marshall Street since August.

According to his Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS watch, LaNoue averages about 90 miles per shift. The most he’s biked in one day is 150 miles. The many hours and miles he’s biked high-mileage, along with his familiarity with Syracuse geography, has allowed LaNoue to form his own science of road navigation.

“It’s all about eye contact with the drivers,” he said. “It’s all about assuming the worst possible situations will happen.”

The worst has happened.

LaNoue said he has been “doored” before — this is when a car driver opens his or her car door only for LaNoue to crash into. He also suffered from a car accident in Michigan, when a driver went through a stop sign and hit him. Luckily, he didn’t break any bones.

LaNoue worked for Jimmy John’s in Ann Arbor for six months prior to moving to Syracuse. He said he enjoys that Jimmy John’s sanctions his bike deliveries.

However, it’s an investment. LaNoue estimates that each item of bike gear he sports, by his own “rule of thumb,” costs around $100. For instance, the bike messenger bag he wears to carry sandwiches was $130, which he had to pay for.

But in an effort to act sustainably, LaNoue doesn’t own a car, which justifies the investment for him. LaNoue said he makes about $300 per night.

Bill Parent, Jimmy John’s area manager in Syracuse, said LaNoue is clearly conscious about the self-made culture of the restaurant business. “It’s up to you what you make,” he said.

“He knows that the quicker he goes, the more money he’s going to make,” said Parent, who has been a Jimmy John’s employee since 2007.

Parent said there must be commitment upfront for bike delivery, and LaNoue has a real passion for it.

“He doesn’t just stroll around on his bike,” he said. “It’s important to him.”

Chrissy Ost, LaNoue’s co-worker and roommate, describes him as “very intense most of the time.”

“He has so much energy. He loves it,” she said.

Ost, who graduated from Syracuse University in May with a bachelor of science in geography, thinks the community likes LaNoue because of the novelty that he represents.

But for LaNoue, it’s more than novelty.

LaNoue said he wants to do something in life “that’s just outright superior,” and something that “everyone supports because it’s just better.”

“I think you have to look for those lucrative opportunities,” he said. “It’s more than a job for me. It’s much more.”

Published on February 11, 2014 at 1:20 am

Contact Allie: ajcaren@syr.edu