General Cycling Discussion - Bike messengers!

I wouldnt mind getting a fulltime/partime job during the summer as a bike messenger....I love riding in the city. Are there any messengers here that can comment, or any others with info on the subject?

Ta
Brendon
:) :) :)

I love riding dangerously in the city.

wrong attitude. if you think like that i can almost guarantee you wont last long before getting hit. messengers (the good ones) don't ride dangerously because they love it, or because they want to. they do it because it's what's necessary to get the job done. believe me, if they could get the job done and still manage to follow the rules of the road i think most would.

second. there are two types of messengers. those who are in it for the long haul, and the fair-weather types. the veterans really look down on anyone who signs on just for the summer. if you can deal with that, great.

i'm not a messenger myself but i'm good friends with more than a few. i've raced with them, and it really is a tight knit community. that's probably the biggest benefit of being a courier.

well that came out wrong.... as you can see it was 11 05 at night hehe I mean dealing with the traffic... you know what I mean? It can be dangerous if you don't have your wits about you. You have to ride defensively and keep out of trouble......blah that did come out wrong.... I might edit that :p

Brendon
:beer:

Originally posted by fore
second. there are two types of messengers. those who are in it for the long haul, and the fair-weather types. the veterans really look down on anyone who signs on just for the summer. if you can deal with that, great.
well seing how I am only 16 at this current point in time, I would try it during the summer just to see how it goes, then if I love it (chances are that I will) then ill go the harsh winter months :p I just want to know a bit more about it first. I might ride into the city this week and see if I can find a messenger or two and ride along (being careful not to get in their way of course!)

Brendon
:beer:

my son is working part time as a bike courier, but when somebody ask him what kind of work he does, his reply would be "I am a Professional Cyclist, he has a very positive attitude about his job, inspite of the accident that he has, he is very enthusiastic about getting back on the his job, his way of thinking, he is getting paid to ride his jbike and delivering Parcel and letter to their clients is just added icing on the cake.
as for you NZlcyclist, get that job,

Next step would be to find out where would I go to find out about it? To get employed? What references would I need? Would my certificate saying that I finished a 100km race at an average of 33km/h show I'm fit enough?

Brendon
The guy with all the questions and none of the answers :D
:beer:

Messenger services need people in the autumn through spring. Summertime, business slows down, and there are hundreds of snot-nosed kids who think they want to be a messenger.

snot-nosed kids? gee thanx! anyway I still need info as to what the job involves and how to get it etc....and what equipment I'd need.

I am slowly building an image from what I am learning here.

Brendon

equipment needed: a bicycle.

the job involves picking up packages/letters/parcels at one location and delivering them to another. sometimes very quickly.

how to get a job: find the headquarters of any of the courier agencies you're interested in, walk in, ask if they're hiring.

I was a dispatcher for a bike courier company in the 80's and yes the summertime is hard to get hired because it's a good summer job for students. You won't need to show any kind of documentation on your riding skills. What does help is to have a very good working knowledge of the area you will be riding and a very positive attitude. A lot of times the kids that came in with the "I really like to ride my bike" attitude didn't pan out it is much different than riding for fun. It is a very physically tough job as well as mentally. And since your are basically in the service industry you need to have a positive attitude with those you will be working with. If you keep all that in mind you will do very well. One other tip try and work for a company that pays commission as well as hourly pay and then bust your butt you will make some pretty decent money. Good luck.

I was a messenger for 2 full years.

- Get a back pack; a shoulder bag favours one side, and unless you switch shoulders every week, you may end up with mild scoliosis.
- Learn some basic maintenance skills for your bike.
- Use a road bike with drop bars or an MTB with bar ends; your wrists will thank you.:)

Also, at least around here, nobody would even consider a child to do this type of work. It's too dangerous.

If New Zealand is anything like Australia, at 16 years of age, a person may move out of their house and seek employment just as an 18 year old here in the United States does. It was not uncommon to find many, many 16 year olds out on their own, holding down jobs, acting independently as an adult. So it wouldn't be an eyebrow raiser at all for a 16 year old to seek this job at all.

As long as you are of age and can ride a bike, I don't see the problem.

Koffee

That is something that may be a hitch if you are under 18 the company I worked for would not hire you unless you were over 18 a policy not set by the company but by our insurance company they wouldn't cover anyone under 18.

I understand that- but perhaps in countries like New Zealand and Australia, where minors can be emancipated at 16 and are considered adults. I don't know what the minimum age requirements for insurance are in these countries, but I wouldn't be surprised if the insurance policies for these companies accomodated for messengers as young as 16.

KB

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
I understand that- but perhaps in countries like New Zealand and Australia, where minors can be emancipated at 16 and are considered adults. I don't know what the minimum age requirements for insurance are in these countries, but I wouldn't be surprised if the insurance policies for these companies accomodated for messengers as young as 16.

I'm pretty sure they do, although I haven't bothered to check for certain. I see plenty of 16 year olds holding down other jobs, so I don't believe it would be a problem. Heck, I even had a 13 year old trying to sell me drugs in Nimbin a few weeks ago. :eek: