Cycle Couriers

[claret73]

Came across this last night
http://www.thehungrycyclist.com/blog/20 ... entry.html

Crazy!!!! Anybody on here done it? Or fancy doing it?...

 

[one-eyed_jim]

I was a messenger in London in the mid nineties for just over a year, then briefly in Melbourne. I'm glad I tried it, but it's not something I'm in a big hurry to repeat.

If you strip away the mythologizing it's a dirty, tiring, dangerous and fairly mundane job. On the other hand, it's a great way to get to know a city, you get very fit, and the camaraderie between messengers is extraordinary.

 

[uktyler]

I did it for a while in London, most of the time I loved it, but those rainy winter afternoons when its getting dark early are terrible.

It was always a long slog home after a days worth of work as well

 

[claret73]

I was wondering how well it would work outside of London? Smaller Towns that don't have a dedicated service like this. Could you operate Solo, IE Taking collection/delivery info & dropping off...

 

[uktyler]

Can't see it working outside of the city, towns are too far spread, so distances are greater. As the stuff is straight away urgent you couldn't really do it solo, because you'd be losing customers every time you turned a job down.

Outside London its mostly done by people in vans.

 

[Harryburgundy]

I did a year in London too, around 96/97. Most fun job I have ever had

 

[one-eyed_jim]

I was wondering how well it would work outside of London?

I knew a chap who set up as an independent in Nottingham. He'd been at it for a couple of years when I knew him, acting as his own dispatcher with a mobile phone. Business had grown to the point where he was looking to take on a second rider, but he was complaining about growing competition from Fax and e-mail.

That was in the mid nineties, and I haven't been to Nottingham since. His name was Freed or maybe Farid - he rode a very nice, clean Kona Cinder Cone. Anyone know him?

 

[dbmtb]

Did it in Copenhagen for a while - but the weather and the pay were pretty grim. Basically too many messengers for not enough clients so too much time spent waiting for the next job and only rarely more than one load in the bag at any one time.

 

[Piperdave]

I did a little of this years ago in London. Best job i had on the circuit was taking a parcel fro 2nd floor to 8th floor of the same building :shock:

Dave

 

[Raging_Bulls]

I considered it, but simply never got round to applying for a job as a courier.

With hindsight that's a good thing, because I really hate city traffic nowadays. I'm probably the only sane person on the road here, and even I get tickets for reckless and suicidal riding.