hi all,

i'm a fixed-gear rider of three weeks, minus a few days as my bike's ass was destroyed by a Penske truck last Friday(you might have seen me walking down 37th street, bike on my shoulders,rear wheel bent completely out of shape, in the rain, worlds biggest frown on face).
i'm giving my job two weeks notice for leave this Friday and have been considering messenger work. i figure if 40 year-old men can do it on big, f*cked up mountain bikes then i can do it well.
any advice for a novice or warnings and other such pointers are appreciated. i'm trying to get an idea of what i'm getting myself into.
THANK YOU.

Three weeks and already an accident? Did you start w/o a brake or is there more to the story?

avoid penske trucks

maybe your luck on bikes isn't that great that'd you'd wanna make you living out of it.

https://www.nybma.com
https://www.nybma.com/rights.html

ha, yes! i'm thinking maybe i shouldn't make a living out of it as well. ideally i don't want to, but i'm considering it.

i've got a brake on it..here's what happened..
i'm riding in between the truck and a car..car's on the right truck's on the left, it's a tight squeeze and everyone's waiting for a red light. the car cuts into the left lane, cutting me off, i stop short/brake/fall of my bike, and the truck rolls right over my rear wheel, just missing my leg. i don't even think he saw me he was so huge. i was so bummed.

Maybe you should wait a little longer to start msgring. Sounds like a bummer though.

Don't think you shouldn't make a living out of messenger work before you have even tried it. If you are seriously considering it, try it. If you don't like it, do something else.

Good thing you are ok.

I wouldn't have been bummed. You lucked out. Even the most expensive wheels are much cheaper than the cheapest prosthetic limbs. Count your blessings.

+quote. SAHN!

Reminds me of that messenger in PEDAL riding the fixie 1 legged.

PM stephenhatesyou. he just started this week messing in NYC and might be worth talking to.

oh yes, i'm ever grateful for my leg!
i still can't believe that all i walked away with was a buised ankle.

Don't buy Enron stock. That's my advice.

Just sayin'.

december's a good month to start, plenty of high-paying jobs to go around until the 26th, so even a novice can make money without busting his ass.

take it slow for the first week.

treat your dispatcher well.

take time to think your routes through.

make sure you have a bike you enjoy riding.

try not to get angry.

Maybe this doesn't need to be said but I would avoid waiting for a red light in the blindspot of a huge track at all costs! They have a huge blind spot and I'm sure the driver probably didn't see you. It would be better to be behind the truck even. As soon as I read that first part of your description about waiting for the light I was cringing already. I know it's easy to judge from a distance, don't take this comment the wrong way. I'm just sayin' is all. As for messengering if you want to do it just do it. You'll never know what it's like until you try. The first few days will be hard but stick with it and you'll have a blast guaranteed. Good luck!

dexter... that man's a legend

dude, that bull****. I'll slap together a golf club, a shoe and wrap the whole **** in duct tape for $20.

get some more time riding under your belt before you start hauling packages and trying to make money. it gets hectic and being unskilled will make it that much worse.

It is the most fun job you will pretty much ever have, though.

Don't listen to these guys. If you're a novice, just don't ride so aggressively until you get the hang of it. Just because you're a messenger doesn't mean you have to have 4 minutes between every pickup and dropoff and make $800 a week.

Advice: never run a light unless you're sure you'll make it through. Don't break a leg trying to cut a little minute off your time. You are never in such a hurry that you need to take bad risks. Don't cut off other messengers. They're your only allies out there. Don't piss off your dispatcher. He's pretty much the only person you talk to all day, and they can make your day hellish or heavenly if they want to. Don't argue with security guards. You can't win.

Watch out for ****ing taxis. The faster they drive, the more money they make so they drive like messengers ride except they don't have to worry about getting hurt. They also pay a lot of attention looking for fares. If it's stopped, expect any door on the taxi to fly open.

be careful, the job is addictive...

I've heard you work more and get paid less in NYC than in other cities? True?

good post. Too bad nothing like this was around when I started.

S/F,
CEYA!

other's made vaild points as well as you.

S/F,
CEYA!