Curious. What's the smallest city anyone's aware of that has an active bike messenger scene? (A dude on a huffy with a basket on the front to deliver pizza does not count)

This is going through my mind right now because if I lived in a different (bigger) city I would seriously consider messenger work. But I don't. So I can't.

Mac

Walla Walla

i remember meeting some dude from new zealand at the worlds ..he reckoned he was the only messenger in his town ....he actually played a dvd on film night of himself being filmed working in the nude wearing only a full face !!!!! no sh1t .

here they deliver pizza's on bikes. IT is a small town. Does that count.God, I'd love to have a job utilizing my bike.

sarasota does or has had messengers. it's not the smallest town ever but it's soooo spread out that i can't imagine how it worked.

being a messenger would seriously validate your fixed gear riding. you should move.

you are so cool

the whole reason big cities typically have messengers is because it's faster to get around on a bike then it is a car and you don't need to circle around a block for an hour to find a place to park.

small cities have less traffic, more places to park, less lights, and typically don't have businesses that need to have urgent diliveries, and if they do, they'll just send an intern with his car.

come on people, this is basic knowledge!

I once lived in Sarasota. The way traffic used to back up, i can understand the need. But driving there. Not sure I would feel safe, unless the town has had a major increase in bike lanes. most of the roads were narrow and much too busy.

You do realize what bike couriers are paid, right? You don't just start off working for a big, top-paying service in NYC getting $3, $5, or $10 per delivery. I've talked to some here who said they had to start off working for a piece of crap company making $0.50 per delivery until they established a reputation and work history for themselves and could move on to something better.

I love riding bike around the city too but when it has been 16 degrees with an 8 degree windchill after a snowfall here and I see messengers at 7AM shivering at a traffic light so they can drop off their package, I don't envy them.

I know it seems cool but...

The Post Office is hiring. Make it romantic. Maybe they will let you ride your bike.

Then there is always the classic paper route!

we deliver mail on bikes.
https://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/16/Ta...the_post.shtml

Pacific Power, an electric utility that serves many small to large cities in the west, had a pilot program some years ago for bike riding meter readers. I don't know if it is still being used. It was a "regular" job with good pay, health insurance, pension, uniforms and the need to go to work every day. The meter readers would drive to the days work area in a mini-pickup with the bike in the back, unload the bike and make the rounds on two wheels.

In Saskatoon I think there are maybe four or five messengers at any given time. At the University, they employ some of the grounds crew to ride around on Marin mountain bikes with a little trailer to take care of stuff like raking, weeding flower beds, and small stuff like that. And these Marin's are way to good for the Campus cowboys to be using, but at least they're on a bike.

madison wisc has under 4 for 1 company i think and they only ride one on at a time, columbus ohio has more than i would have thought, and then "bigger" cities have way less than youd think, atlanta has like... 10-20... every city's work and style is different...

haha, wow some of you are reading way too much into my question. I'm not looking to quit my six-figure job to mess. I've got a year left on my grad degree and it just crossed my mind - if I lived in a bigger city, I might quit my part-time pizza job (which I don't enjoy) and try the messenger bit until I graduated and started a so-called "real" job. I wan't asking for career advice, it was just a question that floated through my head.

Mac

Colnago57 - you're in Saskatoon? I lived there for 17 years, moved away 2.5 years ago for school. Got my first SS redline MTB from BikeDoctor on Main, and my first fix with the help[ of Kenny and Darren at City Park Cycle, which is an awesome shop. I graduated from U of S in 2004, Bedford in 2000 ... any chance I know you?

Anyways, Saskatoon is 200,000 peeps, and has between 3 to 5 couriers usually.

Kingston Ontario is 100,000, and has one lifer courier, and one or two more giving it a go at any given point, though the money is terrible for all of them.

hawaii has like 6-10 messengers in town honolulu, i dont know about the other side of the island but i cant imagine there being any

SSSasky, sent you a PM.

Last time I checked Providence, RI had 3 full time and one Part time.

--Aaron

yea i see quite a few out everyday on my way to work/school.

more than i had originally thought.

Uh, why doesn't a "dude" delivering pizzas count as a messenger? What scene are you refering to?

Salt Lake City has at least two companies, maybe more. I doubt there are any other cities/towns in the state that have bike messengers.

Portland Maine is 72K. 200k if you include the "metro area" of which, a messenger wouldn't ride to anyway. I see messengers all the time. gotta be at least a 1/2 dozen.

sigh... if you really want to define a messenger as anyone on a bike delivering anything to anyone, then yes a pizza delivery guy is a messenger. Not in my vernacular, though.

In my opinion:

Pizza Delivery Boy:


Bike Messenger:


Mac