Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Messenger

Who wants to be a messenger? Do you think you are up to the challenge?

Tell us why?

I do because I am bored out of my brain cells and need to go to work. I need a outlet from school.

old shool and active messengers can chime in but no stupid trash. Keep it clean and to the point.

S/F<
CEYA!

NO MOD SQUAD ON MY WATCH!!!

i do but i know i'm nowhere near ready.

but why?

S/F<
CEYA!

Nope. It sounds like a fun job. I understand it's tough to make a living at it, but the reason I wouldn't do it is because I've got a terrible sense of direction.

I'll do it, boss. Put me in, put me in. I won't let you down. If you just give me a shot, I'll show you what I can do. I just know I can do it. I know the streets, I gotta bag, I'm good with radios. Whaddaya say?

I want to be a messenger more than ever (and I am one...have been for a few years.) Right now, though, I'm also doing my winter job 4 days/week where I sit and program and troubleshoot databases for nonprofits. The more I sit here the more I realize how disgusted I am with the office life, and how continually thrilled and excited I am by working on my bike. I even tell the dispatchers to send a few calls my way during the day so that I can blast out of this office every once in a while and get my heart rate up.

Do I think I'm up to the challenge: yep! I mean, I've been doing it for a while now. But I also got some validation from a bunch of 8th graders last week. I stopped in to drop off some lunch for my wife (she's a middle school teacher) and she said that when I left all of her students were commenting on my calves and thighs and wondering how they got to be that way (especially noticable considering my buddha belly!)

I am on the roster for three companies right now, but it's sloooooow right now, so there hasn't been anything for me to do. Shame, really, since I live right in the heart of downtown, and most of the offices are so close, I could be a foot messenger and still get there faster than some of these youngin's. I am up for the challenge, as in my brief 35 yrs. on this planet, I have been put to the test, and passed. ( still here)

One thing I've noticed, though. Seems to be a silly 'in crowd' vibe with a lot of the younger messengers here in the south. It's just a job, man, get over yourself already.

I'll do it, boss. Put me in, put me in. I won't let you down. If you just give me a shot, I'll show you what I can do. I just know I can do it. I know the streets, I gotta bag, I'm good with radios. Whaddaya say?

first no! then i said no stupid stuff.

S/F,
CEYA!

well everybody has a crowd to hang in. that is how you grow up not to be in them much longer.

3 companies wow. seems you got some down time beause your posting.lol

S/F,
CEYA!

first no! then i said no stupid stuff.

S/F,
CEYA!

Settle down, boss. I'm only half-joking. You should see me in action during the lunchtime alleycats ;) .

I don't want to be a messenger.
It seems like folks just take too much crap. You would expect any other group of workers making so little and sacrificing so much to stand up and demand better. I've talked endlessly with folks here in DC about what it would take either to unionize or to establish better standards, and both would require sacrifices that folks aren't willing to make. To improve working conditions, you would have to formalize the system- people would have to be 'employees' instead of 'contractors' in order to unionize. They'd have to follow basic rules (registration or licensing, etc.) in order for the city to legislate basic working conditions. And too many of the riders here in dc like the lax, unstructured status quo.

At the same time, it's not just riding around in circles on your bike. It's hard work, you have to go fast if you want the lucrative jobs, and it's dangerous as hell. You don't get sick leave, so you're double-screwed if something happens, with medical bills and no pay. If you don't like the weather, too bad, you can either ride in it or not get paid. This isn't a sunny 30 mile lap on carless trails.

In summary: it sounds like fun, but it's hard work, and I can't live without benefits, I can't live with being sent to loading docks instead of through front doors, etc.

I want to be a messenger because I like riding my bike, am pretty good at it, enjoy riding in traffic and adverse conditions, and I hate my stupid job.

I don't wanna be a messenger because though I made better dough than I thought doing it briefly, the rage and agression of near misses and lousy drivers all day plus the constant possibility of death was too much for me - it stressed me out and I couldn't hack it. Those that can (Johnny and Kevin in Mtl, who I still see on the streets 5 years later) and aren't XYY types or bundles of nerves, I still totally admire. I didn't even mind that I was more of a corporate lackey than I am now because riding my bike all day was just that good.

The other day a guy recognized me from a 3 or 4 month stint 5 years ago and was like, so who are you with now? I got a pang because of the stuff at the top, and got over it because of the stuff under that.

"157, where the **** are you you stupid rookie? Did you take Rene-Levesque? Roooookiiiiiiie?!"

(sigh)

I want to be a messenger cause
it's a rush,
it's new people, new places,
it can wear you the hell out in a week,
it's like a real life video game except you can't restart and game over means game over
i like having no benefits
i like making $25,000 a year
i like flying between cars
i like the freedom
i like the challenge

and that dude from the messenger dvd said it right,
why would you wanna job where you can't ride a bicycle??

Honestly, I might take spring or fall off before I get my MBA and be a messenger for a bit, see what it's like.

I want to be a messenger so I wouldn't feel like a posenger every time I update the website or go to an NYBMA meeting. I want to be a messenger so all the effort I put into helping the messenger community is more focused & pertinent to me as I'm doing it. I want to be a messenger because I honestly LOVED the sh!tty weather - it made me feel like I had conquered nature that day.

I want to be a messenger because I'd be outdoors all day and be on my bike. I like riding in the city and see the whole city.

I don't want to be a messenger because I like my benefits, I get to be warm on a cold day and I love what I do. My parents helped get this degree and I wouldn't want to let them down by not putting it to use. also I'm too lazy and messengering requires too much effort on my part if I want to get by.

well, i want to be a messenger because i want to be on my bike as much as possible. i like the idea of rushing. i would like the challenge. i would NOT like the cold as it gets very cold and wet in louisville (we actually have a messenger co.). I wouldn't like the lack of benefits and the lack of security.

i would definitely get a degree first. something else to go to when i couldn't mess anymore.

I don't want to be a messenger because I want to be a pretend bike racer.

I NA TREEPLANTINGER!!!! I see a lot of parallels between the two jobs in terms of ****ty work conditions, ****ty piece rate pay, supplemented by the rush of physical labour and you against the job mentality, oh and a complete lack of benefits, unless you count good parties and good friends as benefits ;-). I'll probably be applying for a part-time messenger position for the winter since my summer cash be running low.

The one thing i'm wondering is just how flexible the hours can be for a rookie. Is it common that you can vary your shedule a lot from week to week. I'm a student first and foremost right now, so i'd ideally like a job that i can work around my school/essay shedule not the other way around.

1) Getting paid to ride a bike! Actually, you're getting paid to deliver *****, but you know it's really about getting $$ for doing something that you normally do for free.
2) Walking into an office in my tights and cleats, and being able to gaze disdainfully at the legions of cube rats scurrying about with their shirts and ties.
3) Training. I did all my messengering (is that a word?) in NYC, mostly Manhattan, although I ended up hitting all 5 boroughs. Stop and Go. That means you get lots of sprinting and bike handling. So, on the weekends (I know you're an addict, and can't stay off the bike, not even for a day), you only need to work on mileage and hills, so you can do a little bit of racing without looking like a fool.
4) Independence. Not only are you not chained to a monitor in some faceless ediface of capitalist greed, you're not even tied that closely to the messenger company. If the dispatcher p!sses you off, or the company changes its' rates, you can walk out and go down the street. At least here in New York; your results might vary.
5) Fringe Benefits. You walk into the cube farm. Everyone's got trousers, you're in spandex with Thighs of Death and Calves of Steel. There's a very cute (insert (no pun) preferred gender) sitting there....
6) Fringe Benefits 2. You're there to move stuff around. That's all the company cares about. So long as you're able to work, they're happy. They don't care what you might be carrying in your bloodstream. Hint 1: it's not a good idea to walk into an office smelling of (your preference here). Be cool, fool! Hint 2: don't be the guy who always shows up but never has any (refer to above preference) to share.

Bad Points. Everyone treats you like *****. In small offices and studios, they're pretty friendly, but the big companies think you're some kind of invader. The cops only notice you to ticket you. Cab drivers will f*ck with you, even after you have demonstrated a willingness to drag them out of their steel cage and beat them severely. Pedestrians will step off the curb in front of you, and pretend they don't see you. (actually, maybe that's not really such a bad thing...pedestrian bowling.....hee hee!)
Weather. The worse the weather, the more work there is. Rainy, 38 degrees, 18-20 mph wind...you'll be out there 10 hours on a day like that. On the other hand, you get paid to kick a fix in the snow!


Bike. Besides making sure it doesn't get stolen, you need to be aware that this kind of riding is dirty. I repacked all my BB and hubs every three months. New cables twice a year. I always had spare wheels and tires locked up at the Base, so I never lost a lot of time if something broke. Hint 3: be the guy with tools, and be the guy who knows how to use them. you gotta look out for the guys/gals you ride with. Nobody else cares. Plus, you will be offered a fair amount of (your preference? you forgot?!? jeez, you need to slow that down!) as compensation.

1987-1996: broke my collarbone, then took some time off
1999-2001: I was 44...what else was there to prove?

Who wants to be a messenger? Do you think you are up to the challenge?

I don't need to be a messenger - I get enough abuse at the current job.

I want to be a messenger because I don't ride my bike enough as a result of working at home.

i dont want to be a messenger because i'd couldnt post bull**** on bikeforums.net (bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=178) all day

I only did it for a short time in the summer six years ago, but I still think about it a lot the more agitated I become with the office work environment. There was an older guy who sat next to me on a park bench one morning back then, eyes wide and grinning from ear to ear, telling me it was the best job you could have. I'd like to do it again someday because he was right. I've had a few jobs, most of them better for a lot of reasons, but none have offered the same fulfillment. To me, everything else has just been a job.

I worked as a messenger for almost 15 years before my current gig. I would still be doing it if the pay was anywhere near what it should be. When I started in 86 most good messengers were making $100 a day....excellent wages for the day. Everyone had pimped out bikes....enough $ to buy a round on Friday and a boatload of good people on the road. Now, almost 20 years! later most folks on the road in these parts are making the same $100 a day. Cost of living increases? yeah right. I loved my time on the road. Met tons of good people. Got to travel to places for alleycats and Championships that I never would have had a chance to go to otherwise. To me that is one of the best things about being part of the messenger community.Coming to visit and need a place to stay? There is always a willing messenger to give you a couch to sleep on and show you the best (read non tourist traps) places to hang out.

i was a messenger for 5-6 months at the end of last winter/beginning of spring at a notoriusly ****ty company here in philly, at first it was great. i'd bust my ass and make 'stupid rookie' decisions, but i always walked out of a checks cashing joint on friday with a fat stack. i ate **** constantly, but was granted the power of a radio and dispatch respect by my second week.

then the warm weather comes, and jonny whoever's start getting hired left and right. we went from 4-5 messengers splitting all the biker work, all of us having a radio, all of us earning our keep, to nearly 40 fringe messengers made up of bored college kid part-timers, crackheads on stolen bmx's, and fat dudes in cars taking biker work cause there was no driver work.

it forced me out of the game. i was sad to go, but i was also pretty damn hungry after $60 paychecks.



anyways, i'm thinking of going back to it once more, now that the cold season its poking its grey, bleak head around the corner.


but only if i can get on a decent company that wont toss me out like a used tissue when spring rolls around.

Who wants to be a messenger?

me


Do you think you are up to the challenge?

no


Tell us why?

i'm not in good enough shape and don't know the city well enough to deliver stuff yet. but it is appealing because i hate the IT market, i dislike working in an office, i like riding my bike, and i like not having to wear dockers. it is also unappealing because of the ****ty pay, no benefits (even though the ones i have now suck), having to ride in terrible weather, HAVING to ride every day (it's a job now, not just something i like to do, which tends to sort of ruin things for me) and busting my ass, and i figure it's almost a matter of time if i were to become a messenger before i get hit by a car, or cars, and get messed up and or killed. kind of a high risk job, and i kind of want to live.

and i kind of want to live.

me too, most of the time, but not if I have to wear Dockers.

(your dockers line cracked me up, dude.)

I want to be a messenger because I don't ride my bike enough as a result of working at home.

didn't you have a "short" run of being a messenger here in NYC last year?

Thank for the replies, some companies give benefits (paid vacation,holiday pay, 401K etc) .

I don't think messengering is not like it was years ago but no way like the community want it to be like.

Weather is not bad because you have to go through it when ome and go from work. If you are prepared then it shouldn't be that bad.

Keep the replies oming folks.

S/F<
CEYA!

yes - i want to be a messenger because i grew up in new york city and ever since i was a kid i have been kind of taken with the idea. i don't know, there's just something badass about it.

no - i don't want to be a messenger because i am not badass.

ceya - how many years were you a messenger for?

i was actually just thinking about this. i have become pretty dissallusioned with my
current job. its a great job actually, i have just out grown it. i am not learning
anything new.

i was complaining the other night and one of my friends said
"well hey, why dont you quit and just messenger for a bit until you find something else"

in theory, it sounds pretty great to me, but from what i hear from messengers, its not
the best job. no insurance, lo pay and you have to deal with idiots all day. its just, being on your bike is so fun.

so, now i am just contemplating it.

dc.

I worked as a messenger for almost 15 years before my current gig. I would still be doing it if the pay was anywhere near what it should be. When I started in 86 most good messengers were making $100 a day....excellent wages for the day. Everyone had pimped out bikes....enough $ to buy a round on Friday and a boatload of good people on the road. Now, almost 20 years! later most folks on the road in these parts are making the same $100 a day. Cost of living increases? yeah right.

Not too long ago, there was a thread on this forum about messenger pay. When people posted what they were making, I was shocked that the pay hadn't increased at all since I was a messenger (in DC) in the late 80s/early 90s... I mean, it's been 15 years since then, and the pay is the same!

I worked as a messanger for one day got offered a job doing food delivery for my favorite restauraunt in the world, realized I would be making a little less money doing double delivery shifs for 6 hours a night and its still less work and im still working on my bike, and I get free food, My on day as a messanger was disastourous I had been riding fixed on a suicide for like 3 months and that one da destoryed me I was glad to not be doing it. I think that now that ive been riding for a while I could do it if i wanted to, but im content to deliver food and flirt the waitresses at the food places I work at. I'm commonly mistaken for a messanger, i guess im just a huge poser with a tiny ass.

I'd like to be a messenger again so that I could:

- make $5000 a month again to spend on bikes and parts.

- wear my awesome briko shades again.

- blow my loud whistle at people standing in the way.

- feel the adrenaline rush.

- coordinate bike thief chases over the com-radio

- bike 310 miles a week at work and then go for an easy 74 mile run on Sunday off just for fun.

a) yes, b) yes, and why: If I had to get back on and work again, I would and could. Me loves New York. Of all the physical jobs, this one was the best. Hardship? Whatever. I'd love to do it again too so I don't feel so damn guilty, like some outsider deserter. Doing runs for my studio at work just ain't the same.

But I'm past that stage now - got to devote everything to seeking my path and making my art, do the one thing I know I'm here to do. I am now a messenger of design.

Im a career messenger, I own my company.......that solves alot of the problems with the job in general. Like almost everything else in life it is what you make of it, it can be brutally tough sometimes, but it can also be quite easy too. Its the sort of job that chooses the person, not the other way around. Ive never done anything else nearly as satisfying for a living. If you get into it for all the wrong reasons you will not have a good time or be good at it, it is a very unforgiving job to mistakes and foolishness. I wouldnt trade my freedom for anything, life is too short.

For those of you that dont think your in good enough shape, thats mostly BS.........I was 35 yrs old, 40lbs overweight, and hadnt touched a bike in 20 yrs and I went right into riding more than 200 miles/week.

I'd like to be a messenger again so that I could:

- make $5000 a month again to spend on bikes and parts.


Holy moses, how many runs a day did you have to make? Were you sleeping with the dispatcher?

Holy moses, how many runs a day did you have to make? Were you sleeping with the dispatcher?Around 50 runs a day from 8 til 6. It was during the so called IT-bubble, the last half of the nineties when everyone called for a messenger. Those were the days but I wouldn't wanna have the 10 min lunch consisting of 2 Big Mac meals and then directly go for a triple rush back.

Freddiesan, where was this?

Freddiesan, where was this?Stockholm -95 til -98. Alot of new messenger companies was born here then. It's diffrent now. Have a few friends left that are still working. You know anyone over here?

not me.
i made my living on a bike for a few years (racing, not messing), and it was a freakin' blast, and i'm really glad i did it, but it was ALL i did, and who i was, and i don't want my job to define me that much.

i like it better the way things are now; i don't get to ride as much as i'd like to, so every time i DO go riding i'm really happy about it. (riding when you're sick and you have no choice isn't really that fun.)

i also have time for other things in my life that are important to me.

Man did we look up to the cool messengers i NYC!

no thanks

i love my current job too much

but if i ever quit or lost my current job i would definately give serious thought to being a messenger...im not the fastest person in the worrld, but i know my way around the city

i worked as a messenger for almost 10 years, '90-'99. i'm over it now, although it would be fun to go back for a day or a week sometime. all that riding in traffic was fun, i miss it sometimes. but not too much.

Man did we look up to the cool messengers i NYC!

Ha! I was a messenger here in ny then, and down in Baltimore/Dc in the early nineties. I think you guys probably had a better time of it than we did, moneywise if nothing else.

does it have to be a bike messenger? can it be something more meaningful like the biblical messenger of death?

yes - i want to be a messenger because i grew up in new york city and ever since i was a kid i have been kind of taken with the idea. i don't know, there's just something badass about it.

no - i don't want to be a messenger because i am not badass.

ceya - how many years were you a messenger for?


I did it for 17yrs (NYC and all on track bike) .

I am a rookie with experience now..LOL

I left a ouple of times and I moved to others states for a short time also but only 4 months out of the year. Always coming back to this crazy place.


S/F<
CEYA!

does it have to be a bike messenger? can it be something more meaningful like the biblical messenger of death?


If you want you can be the messenger that delivers the messenge to the 4 horse men that comes from the four corners to end life as we know it.



S/F,
CEYA!

Who wants to be a messenger? Not I.

Do you think you are up to the challenge? Probably not.

Tell us why? I am a union electrician apprentice and I love what I do. Cycling is a passionate hobby of mine, but to make "work" of it would seriously damper my enjoyment...I think.



.....

Always remember alot of guys are doing their hobbies. If it was work it will suck.
Hobbies become livelyhoods , it becomes something you enjoy that makes money. Once the fun goes , you need to go.

S/F<
CEYA!