First day as a bike courier

Last Thursday I decided I wanted to try my legs at bike courier work,
here in Melbourne, so made a few phone calls and visits to companies,
and by Friday arvo was set to start on Monday.

Now Monday has been and almost gone, and 70km, 8 hours (started late
'cause of training), 15 jobs and 1 car door later, I think I like it;
enough to keep doing it for a while, anyway.

Uuugh, the traffic! I know even less why people drive now. The jobs to
Port Melbourne are a welcome relief from the CBD.

But today's weather was nice.. Generally I have an appreciation for any
kind of weather, and quite enjoy "bad" weather -- hot or cold or rainy;
maybe windy I'm not so keen on, but I could learn to like it.. I hope.
...I hope my enjoyment of bad weather extends to courier work.. shall
see.

Mmm.. the car door wasn't so nice; a taxi passenger hopping out too
quickly, me cycling down Little Collins.. DOOR! CRUNK! *CLATTER*! ouch,
blood, hand, cut, arm, graze, shoulder, knee; oh good, bike is fine,
I'll still be on time. I like that bike.

A big dinner and big breakfast kept me going all day. No sugar; no
coffee; no meat; no dairy. No wall.

It was somewhat exhilarating.

- mkli

PS, The taxi passenger was considerate and made sure I was okay and
sought out some bandaids for the cut. Said he couldn't believe he did
that, considering it's an issue he is quite aware of. Mmm.. if you're
reading this, a pizza could make it all better
Or an olive loaf from that patisserie/café on the Lt Collins/Causeway
corner; they are soooooo gooooood!

PPS, Sorry for disjointedness awkwardness writing style. Tired, must
sleep. Should sleep.

no coffee;
It was somewhat exhilarating.


- mkli
Shiza! NO COFFEE That sounds crazy to me!
I hope the 'Fun-o-meter' stays hi with the new job


--
JayWoo

What's the rig?
Slick shod MTB?
Roadie?


Aren't tramways in Melb a godsend?


--
Marx SS

Marx SS wrote:
Aren't tramways in Melb a godsend?

Ooh, they are nice. /Very/ handy especially when a car driver decides to
abruptly pull out.

The impact of pollution isn't as bad as I thought it'd be, but the past
days have had a sea breeze. Still, my lungs feel like they're a bit more
clogged than usual.

- mkli.

Welcome to the riff raff.

I've been a pushi in town for too long. Up to 8 years now. Not on today
and don't like the heat. Drink a fair bit today but most of the heat comes
late in the day. Soon each day will be esier and you will find most days
don't faze you.

You will need to pick up on the job count though to make decent money. You
will get faster and most importantly get the better jobs the more you work
and longer you are there. The industry has changed a lot over the years and
its definately more laid back and less urgent.

Just rember its not worth getting yourself killed over a $3 job. Drop into
440 collins where we all hang and say hi. Who are you working for??

And I wouldn't recomend Cox, rapid or even blue circle as companies to work
for.

Chad
#215


"mkli" wrote in message
...
Marx SS wrote:
Aren't tramways in Melb a godsend?

Ooh, they are nice. /Very/ handy especially when a car driver decides to
abruptly pull out.

The impact of pollution isn't as bad as I thought it'd be, but the past
days have had a sea breeze. Still, my lungs feel like they're a bit more
clogged than usual.

- mkli.

wrote in message
...
Last Thursday I decided I wanted to try my legs at bike courier work,
here in Melbourne, so made a few phone calls and visits to companies,
and by Friday arvo was set to start on Monday.

Now Monday has been and almost gone, and 70km, 8 hours (started late
'cause of training), 15 jobs and 1 car door later, I think I like it;
enough to keep doing it for a while, anyway.

What kinda cash do you make for those stats (15 jobs a day etc)
changes here at work may mean i'll be lookin for a new job soon

dej Wrote:
wrote in message
...
Last Thursday I decided I wanted to try my legs at bike courier work,
here in Melbourne, so made a few phone calls and visits to companies,
and by Friday arvo was set to start on Monday.

Now Monday has been and almost gone, and 70km, 8 hours (started late
'cause of training), 15 jobs and 1 car door later, I think I like it;
enough to keep doing it for a while, anyway.

What kinda cash do you make for those stats (15 jobs a day etc)
changes here at work may mean i'll be lookin for a new job soon
what sort of credentials did u need to present to get the job?
who's your courier company?


--
pase

pase wrote:
what sort of credentials did u need to present to get the job?
who's your courier company?

Nothing, suprisingly; just that I like to ride and ride a lot. Perhaps
that I called out of the blue had something to it, and since I'm just a
contractor then what've they got to lose? If I'm too slow or then they can
ditch me without notice, no reason required.

I'm glad I'd been training myself up for it, making sure I ride every
day and push myself while at it -- living out at Burwood helped, since
to get to town it's hills and 20+ km, and friends all live in the
Brunswick/Northcote area. If I hadn't been training at all then I'd've
been buggered before lunch. (Actually.. what lunch?! There's pick-ups to
do and deliveries to make!)

Food consumption:
2kg fruit (inc. plum tree for the gleaning nearby
1 Loaf of bread
1 phat calzone
1 bowl of noodles
6 pieces of toast with tahini, olive oil, vegemite, red laver seaweed.

..gotta eat some beans for bean protein..

Companies to try (melbourne) could include: allied, cox, toll fast,
rapid, blue circle, yellow (?), & just look in the yellow pages and try them.

- mkli

I'm glad I'd been training myself up for it, making sure I ride every
day and push myself while at it -- living out at Burwood helped, since
to get to town it's hills and 20+ km, and friends all live in the
Brunswick/Northcote area. If I hadn't been training at all then I'd've
been buggered before lunch. (Actually.. what lunch?! There's pick-ups
to
do and deliveries to make!)

Top effort! For basic training I'm planning a 'Tour de Cote' loop that
takes in Ruckers Hill & possibly crossing the Moonee Valley. Short but
should get me back after injury & other related convalescing.

Back to courier stuff, ensure you keep up a consistent daily
carbohydrate & liquid intake, and please keep an eye on your weight. If
you're hungry, eat. And don't rely too much on coffee & alcohol to get
you through (or over) the day. Ok that advice may not be scientific but
it did originally come from a courier. One more point, not all
receptionists have that 'door bitch' attitude. But some do. Ignore
them, do the job & have fun.


--
cfsmtb

cfsmtb wrote:

Back to courier stuff, ensure you keep up a consistent daily
carbohydrate & liquid intake, and please keep an eye on your weight. If
you're hungry, eat. And don't rely too much on coffee & alcohol to get
you through (or over) the day. Ok that advice may not be scientific but
it did originally come from a courier. One more point, not all
receptionists have that 'door bitch' attitude. But some do. Ignore
them, do the job & have fun.

Morning and evening I load myself up with good food, plus start nibbling
on bread early-mid afternoon when my stomach starts hinting.

Energy starts to fade a little in the afternoon, but still feeling
alert. (But not alarmed. ..sorry

Probably eating some fruit throughout the day would help a bit.

Coffee and alcohol aren't things I do; 'though the sensory experiences
of consuming them can be great, caffeine and ethanol don't have much
appeal.

For some reason idiotic driving doesn't **** me off the way it used to;
too busy trying to get somewhere to let it bother me. But I'm now more
aware of it than ever. Hmm.. Just have fun -- that's the way.

-mkli