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From a Melbourne bicycle courier.
Fledge wrote:
Hmm, mountain bikes, interesting....and what about road familiarity, general fitness etc.? How good do you have to be ability-wise to make it as a courier? Surely not A-grade material as #215 put it? *crosses fingers* (x-posted to rec.bicycles.misc for some international opinions) I've been watching this thread and I'm curious... I've got a nice cushy office job that I'm not about to let go of, BUT if there was one job I'd like to try before I retire it's always been a bike courier. Ever since I saw some kids-ish show on the ABC about a bunch of pommie couriers I've been fascinated with the whole scene. If you don't mind, here's some questions: What are the hours like? What are the pay rates like? (performance based, yeah?) Actually.. do you know of any "courier diaries" that would outline a 'day at the office' so to speak? What is your day like? How HARD is the riding and the lifestyle generally? Do any Aussie couriers do like the NYC dudes and ride fixies or is it mostly mtb's? (most of Melbourne's seem to be on mtb's..) Do you have courier races? Is it true that your hearts pump, not blood, but coffee? :-) Why the tape all over the bikes? What's the point in protecting the paint if you never see it? Is this just so you can sell it after 100, 000k's to some sucker as "near new"? :-) What would you say if you were offered an easy office job for double or triple the money you make now? Given that you ride all day every day (I guess) - do you ride "for fun" on weekends or anything? thanks to any couriers for answering these... i've genuinely been thinking about your job as a career choice, although sanity has so far prevailed and i've stuck with the office-bound lifestyle...for now ;-) tipsy hippy |
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#2
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From a Melbourne bicycle courier.
hippy wrote:
I've been watching this thread and I'm curious... I've got a nice cushy office job that I'm not about to let go of, BUT if there was one job I'd like to try before I retire it's always been a bike courier. Ever since I saw some kids-ish show on the ABC about a bunch of pommie couriers I've been fascinated with the whole scene. If you don't mind, here's some questions: What are the hours like? What are the pay rates like? (performance based, yeah?) Actually.. do you know of any "courier diaries" that would outline a 'day at the office' so to speak? What is your day like? How HARD is the riding and the lifestyle generally? Do any Aussie couriers do like the NYC dudes and ride fixies or is it mostly mtb's? (most of Melbourne's seem to be on mtb's..) Do you have courier races? Is it true that your hearts pump, not blood, but coffee? :-) Why the tape all over the bikes? What's the point in protecting the paint if you never see it? Is this just so you can sell it after 100, 000k's to some sucker as "near new"? :-) What would you say if you were offered an easy office job for double or triple the money you make now? Given that you ride all day every day (I guess) - do you ride "for fun" on weekends or anything? Hopefully #215 can help out with this one 1 - Hours: Monday to Friday, generally 08:00 to 17:30, unless you have a regular early run (ie 07:00). Some time on maintenance at home. 2 - Pay: For the majority, it's 100% comission based, no retainer. A decent pushie pulls $1,000/wk or more + super. Bike + parts + repairs are tax deductible (yay!). 3 - Courier Diaries/blogs: No, I don't know of any, and most web sites appear to be dead links. 4a - A days riding. It's very up and down. Some days you don't even get a chance to have a slash, some days you sit on your arse all day waiting for work. The most frustrating part of the riding is when you have real urgent work, you bust your arse and take silly risks to save a few seconds, the n you have to get in an elevator that stops at EVERY ****ING FLOOR. Rain sucks, but you get used to it. Cold sucks, you never get used to it. Goretex is priceless. 4b - Lifestyle? Being physically very tired every night is not too crash hot, tends to restrict the nightlife a bit. But there is a good sense of cameraderie, a you do feel like you a part of a sub-culture (I don't think community is the right word). It's always entertaining sitting in Martin Place at going home time and watching the suits walk past on the way to the station. They go out of their way to avoid us and even try not to make eye contact. It's really weird, and sort of fosters an "us against the world" mentality. Every now and again you nature throws up one of those rare creatures best described as a "pushie groupie". Generally an older office girl looking for some rough .. not good for ones self respect. 5 - Fixies Everything is ridden, except dualies (unless the work bike is broken). Single speed is not uncommmon (less maintenance). Suspension is a bit pointless in the CBD as their is not much in the way of bumpy roads/potholes to contend with. My Cannondale is good because I can turn the suspension off, but sometimes I wish I had the gearing of a roadie, particularly going across the Harbour Bridge. 6 - Courier Races Yes, every now and again. The last round was at Helensburgh, behind the pony club. Excellent weather, excellent day. We sometimes have drag races in the city, where everybody dresses up in drag (don't ask). Sometimes it is suit day, where we wear suits (Luther is dressed by St Vincents). 7 - Blood As a group - coffee, red cordial, Vitamin T, and magic herbs. There is "community use" bongs secreted in various locations throughout the CBD. I also have a fondness for Space Food sticks (I should hassle Whitewings for a sponsorship). 8 - Tape All pushies love their bikes, and nobody wants to **** the paint job. So tape, then stickers. Favourites are "Cops are tops", "No root no ride", "If you don't like my driving stay off the footpath". It also makes the bike less tempting to casual theives as a $2000 bike can look like a piece of ****. All second hand courier bikes are "near new". Just like I "nearly" got my end in the other night. Honest! 9 - Money Of course we would swap jobs for more money. After a while the body starts to wear out, and sweet office job (with regular money + holiday pay + sick pay) seems real tempting. Many go over to the Fark Side. Then return. The leave again. Then return. Then leave again ... See, riding around produces endorphins of some sort, and you do feel good. And it is nice being free (in a way), and getting around. But a normal life can be so tempting. It is also (nearly) impossible to pick up decent girls when you tell them what you do. Can't compete with the doctors, lawyers or "marketing consultants". 10 - Riding for fun Most pushies spend their weekends riding, whether it be in roadie clubs, or single-tracking or whatever. Strange but true. In conclusion: I reckon if you have just finished school, or have been politely asked to take a year off uni, then have a crack at it. But remember - it's not a career, and these days you need a career path by your mid twenties (flame away boys!). Thus speaks the voice of hard, bitter experience. Hippy: I hope this goes some way towards answering your questions! -- Cheers (A not so tipsy) LB BTW: I saw Terminator 3 tonight - much better than I expected, I laughed my head off! |
#3
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From a Melbourne bicycle courier.
Hippy, sounds like you'd be happy running your own bike courrier service,
maybe taking a run or two yourself. Sounds like a good idea . . . |
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