Advice for new potential bike couriers...

alanoc83

hey everyone,

Is there any serious advice for someone thinking about being a cycle courier in Dublin? i.e. type of bike, safety, fitness, money?

anything really, doesn't matter how insignificant.

thanks...

Stark

From what I've heard, the pay is something like €2.50 per job. Which means you'll be earning well below minimum wage until you get a name with the radio operators who'll set you up with more jobs and jobs in optimal locations.

Safety wise, I imagine you have to take a lot of risks (breaking red lights, cycling the wrong way through one way streets etc.) in order to complete enough jobs to earn a reasonable wage.

Bike wise, most of them seem to be riding fixed gear bicycles with the ends of their handlebars sawn off to make the bikes narrower (probably makes easier to weave through traffic).

I presume you need to be fit

joker77

I'd also like to hear some more about this.

(I cycle to/from work every day, and am in awe sometimes at how easily some of the couriers glide around the place! Also, because I sit on my hole 9-5, I sometimes day-dream of packing in the office job, for a while anyway, and doing something different, and bike courier is 1 job that would appeal to me - mostly from the fitness point of view)

alanoc83

the bike courier job is me avoiding the office job.

The fitness part has me concerned about it. I wouldnt class myself as particularly fit. Im anything but fat, but all that cycling would be a bit new too me. Maybe im being optimistic thinking id just get used to it and it would make me fit.

if anyone has any really good things to say about it i would love to hear it.

Gavin

Try the search function. There's 10 links below.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055286713&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055227568&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055209485&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055152030&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055035630&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055087692&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055104931&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054926000&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054877802&highlight=couriers
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=276508&highlight=couriers

souter

Did it a for a few months a couple years ago. Fitness isn't such a big thing, I was in my late 30s without any particular fitness regime and managed ok. Was averaging c.50 miles a day. Granted I would be knackered at night, but in a good way - in bed by 10, zonked by 1 gin and tonic.
The toughest thing I found was the navigation - you need to be very proficient in reading your A-Z unless you know the city like the back of your hand.
And the radio discipline takes some getting used to.
Pay is pish. Apart from one day when the dispatcher appeared to give me all the sweet jobs as some sort of challenge. As an earlier poster mentioned, the established riders get all the nice back to back drops.
Bike wise, forget the fixie unless you're used to it - I've only started riding one now in a fairly quiet commute and wouldn't like to use it in heavy traffic.
Single speed maybe, an old beater is the main thing.
The handlebar thing is a just image - if you're squeezing in gaps that narrow you're going to knock someones mirror, which for some reason tends to drive motorists ballistic - standard drops are grand.
Yes, there are a lot of poseurs amongst the couriers who may look askance at things like mudguards, but there are also ones tootling about in an old nelly with a shopping basket on front who do just fine.
It does destroy your observance of rules of road observance. I found myself jumping red lights, one way streets etc, without even realising it, even though I'd always been "good" before.
Final bit of advice is carry some scroggins with you (nuts and dried fruit) - or whatever you'd take on a long cycle - if you run out of energy and lash out on Coke that's a couple hours wage gone. Water you can always scrounge from the receptionists.
Ah the receptionists - that was a good part of the job. Along with the any delivery to a Well Known Model Agency.
Eyes glaznig over...starting to ramble... good old days.... must get back to my office job now.

alanoc83

you paint quite the awesome picture! thanks man.