Wednesday, March 12, 2008

keeps your eyes open...

so the past few days have been kinda boring...not much going on. the work is getting done and i've had no complaints from bikers or clients. the car board has been hurting a bit and we've been slow enough to be able to afford losing a few bikers to help out on car runs. now, not all messengers enjoy going distance so i have to make the rounds and see who is up for the challenge...if you can call it that.

chicago is set as a grid system...very easy to figure things out. for those that may not know, every 8 blocks is a mile. now, the loop is madison and state...literally 0 north/south and 0 east/west. when i get some cats to rock out a good car set they can average about 60 or 70 miles a day...wtf?!!



heading north(green)...

well, i pretty much don't care how far north i send you. as long as you keep saying ok then i have no problems telling you to rock it out. these past few days i've sent cats from the loop with drops at 2000 north lincoln, 3000 north lincoln, 2200 west roscoe, and so on. what do i consider the north? easy...from the loop all the way to evanston(which is a suburb of chicago) and as far west as california(maybe more depending on how i/they feel). as long as there is enough work to pick up and drop and the messenger is ok with keeping the wheels turning then i will send you as far as you/they allow me. by "they" i mean the messenger and the actual work. without the work then the wheels just don't turn at all.

heading south(yellow)...

i usually stay east when sending cats south...why? cause the streets on the east-end of chicago are wide, less traffic, and open. i personally love martin luther king blvd, state isn't too bad but can be bumpy in spots, and michigan is cool. in all fairness i also enjoy sending cats south/southeast because most of the work is gonna pop out of those directions. there isn't much that pops out west of halsted when heading south and any good dispatcher should know to send their messengers where the work is at. how far south will i go? again, not up to me...if there's work then it's up to the messenger to tell me they are willing to scoop up more or drop more. i always double check with cats before dishing off extra jobs when doing car work just because if they need a break from rocking out x amount of miles then i gotta give it to them. you know, gotta keep the engine happy and tuned up.

heading west...

eh...don't do it that often. every once in a while we get stuff popping out of rush hospital or cook county hospital but not much happens in the west-end of the city, or at least bikeable packages.

heading east...

no such thing unless you want to take a swim. the beautiful lake michigan holds down the east.

all this car talk reminds me...everyone should check this out...



keep your eyes open...

...don't forget. my messengers are out there, everywhere...not just in the loop...peace.

9 comments:

colin said...

funny, based on your last post i was gonna ask about distance. cause that's where the money's at if the weather's ok. $10+ calls are fine by me

j.dot said...

i rather not go into too much detail as far as pay but depending on whether they are emers or solos they can be very profitable...naw, i think they are worth it anyway if there's a nice set. you pretty much get paid two, three, or four more times of what you would nomally make for one job...good money.

andrew.yeoman said...

I had two east deliveries in my time, not to the beginning of Navy Pier, which is a pain in the ass, but actually out unto Navy Pier, one was a canon to some shittty restaurant that was at least easy to find, the other was something to Chicago Public Radio, they were impossible to find and it was end of summmer and the place was packed with tourists, those runs are rare and horrible.

j.dot said...

yeah...delivering to navy pier sucks cause no one ever actually knows where to go, me included. i guess i did lie a bit about there not being an east end but i just bunch all of that up with north or south...why? cause there isn't much of chicago east...damn you andrew...always calling me out.

Amy Cooper said...

Is every 8 blocks a mile all over Chicago? I feel like parts of the south side have longer blocks. What say you?

j.dot said...

click the "grid system" and read the second paragraph of wiki...i thought it was common knowledge for chicago?

Unknown said...

West side is straight up Battledome. It's weird as hell getting out there. No rules apply from the loop. West Roosevelt? Forget it. Pothole city and every two cars go on the stop sign. Don't even think of taking that Laramie bridge north of Roosevelt. It is one of the few trips in the city that I have crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. No shoulder. Hardly a gutter and a bridge with potholes that leaves you blind over the crest while cars are speeding up and down an unpoliced quarter mile. Just popped into my head when you were talking about this...
I still love it. Molly lives in Cicero and comes in that distance every day. Awesome.

Anonymous said...

Chicago is mostly 8 to a mile.

From 0 N/S to 1200S, it's 12 blocks to a mile, then 1201S to 2200S is a mile, and 2201S to 3100S is a mile.

After that, it's 8 to a mile.

j.dot said...

yup...the southside always plays by different rules. GO CUBS!!