advice.v2...

i've given out advice before but this time it's a bit different. the times are changing and kids are coming out to play. you've decided to become a bike messenger...well, there's a few things you need to know. im sure i'll forget to post a few other essential points but these are the ones i've come up with so far...

you won't make anything in your first month. just the nature of the business. some companies you sometimes end up paying more than you're making...doesn't make sense but you have to pay for radio, pager, insurance, uniform, and so on. you'll be a rookie so knowing the ins-n-outs of the city will be very foreign. first off, you have to gain the legs to make enough money to survive. as a starter, you'll be lucky to make 15 deliveries in one day. i find or have found that to make a sustainable living you want to be around 25 to 35 a day...not that easy. i know, i know...some of the vets laugh at this cause they are used to 60 runs a day but times have changed. work isn't what it used to be. also, you have to actually learn the city...you might think you know it but you don't. where's east south water, 180 stetson, ibm, cna, garland ct., financial, and so on...if you know the major streets downtown then it's easier but you still have to know the rest. you have to know the short-cuts...if im at 303 east wacker and need to get to 600 east grand then i head east on wack an take the lsd underpass north instead of heading back to michigan and make my way across that way. there's little things like that that will be key to making you a success out there. you have to know where messenger centers are at and which buildings have them...which buildings you have to check in through the dock and not the front doors. where you can and cannot take your bag. this all takes a while so making money in the first month just won't happen...sorry kids...only the strong survive.

do not try to be fast. sure, only the fastest messengers make more money but being a fast biker doesn't make you a fast messenger. at my old company there was a man we all called turtle...i believe his number was 628. he is the slowest fast messenger in history. i don't know how the man did it cause when i saw him ride he would literally be going about 8mph...wtf?! somehow at that speed he managed to rock out 40+ runs a day on a consistent basis. you don't have to be a quick biker to be an effective messenger...again, know your buildings, know the security, know your shortcuts, and it will all come together. sure going fast is fun and definitely helps in getting more work done but there's no need to blaze too much. steady flows always win out someone who is all over the place and panting and stuff.

always remember to take your radio or phone or whatever contraption your company provides. why? simple...how the hell are you going to communicate with your dispatcher if you don't have it. some buildings you'll need to drop your bag and cats forget to take their radios with them. they go and deliver but no ones around...now they have to go all the way back down to call the dispatch to notify of the situation. time has just been wasted and this job is all about time. any way you can save time is the best way to make more loot. plus, you don't want anyone stealing your radio...read the comments on the my last post for details.

security will be a bitch...not all the time but yes, it'll happen. messenger vs security has been an ongoing feud since the dawn of the first messenger. for some reason both services just won't get along. no big deal...smile or don't smile but don't be a jerk to security even if they are. i know that'll be hard but if you piss them off enough you'll get banned from the building. what does this mean...well, if you're not allowed in the building to pick up or drop off then thats money you cant make. no money equals an unhappy messenger...oh yeah, dispatchers get angry also because we lose the option of sending you in there.

try not to say no to jobs given to you. at times the package might be too big or the package is going way too far for you...do your best to take on the job. why? cause if you deny work then the dispatcher will label you as a nay sayer...if thats the case then you'll be looked over when more work comes along. i know thats sh*tty but dispatchers basically feed the hungry.

patience is a huge factor in the whole thing. if you last a month then hopefully you'll begin to see changes in your check(s). you have to be patient with your dispatcher, cars, security, cops, clients, messenger centers, and so on...it weighs heavy on people so do your best to keep a positive attitude...patience is key.

one last note, always wear a helmet. this job is super dangerous and, unfortunately, can lead to things not nice. stay protected out there...remember, after everything i've said...no package is worth your life. ride within your means...ride hard, ride safe...peace.

it could be worse?

there's a few companies that still use open channel radio's...never worked with them so not sure how good they are or what the benefits would be. i'm sure it's like alot of other services where it has it's pros and cons. the main and noticeable feature is that everyone in the company can pretty much hear what goes on. this means messengers can hear everything you're dishing out and to who you're dishing it to. it's not that big of a deal, especially if you're a fair dispatcher...you know, spreading the love properly. i can see it becoming a problem for a few riders that might make them feel a bit left out and what not.

ever since i started my career in the delivery business we've used nextel. as a messenger it wasn't that big of a deal. we had pagers where the work would be, well...paged to. then we used the nextel to chirp the dispatcher to communicate that we received the page, that we picked up, and that we dropped off. usually the dispatcher had two phones cause when you work with more than 10 messengers it can be somewhat difficult for messengers to get through because others are tying up the phones. either way...not a big deal. nextel was alright...like i said, the only problem was trying to get through to the dispatcher at times but thats because other messengers were doing that as well. sometimes the phone would show that there was "no service"...again, not that huge of a deal. this was usually because of elevators or you were in a silly building of sorts.

well...nextel, as some of you may know, merged with sprint. not good...not good at all. for some reason the level of service went waaaaaaay down. not only that, messenger companies, especially the one i work at, got rid of the whole paging system. you know, no need for two contraptions for messengers to carry around...now you get the page through the phone and you get to talk to the dispatcher through the phone. it's like killing two birds with one stone...right?! well, although it sort of is killing two birds with one stone, it is also very problematic. once we page the jobs out the messenger gets his/her text. once the messenger begins reading his text he is in "data". if the messenger is in data then there is absolutely no way of communicating with him/her. the phone will not allow you to chirp and talk to the messenger. you have to keep pressing the chirp button till the nextel gods allow you to get through and communicate with the messenger. see...you have to try and talk to the messenger and let them know exactly what you are paging him/her. now, i know what you're thinking...why do you have to tell them if you're paging them? simple...not all the pages go through. so...i call my messengers and notify them that they have x amount of pick-ups and where they are. if i don't then i run the risk of the packages not being picked up which is not good for the client, the messenger, and me...yes, i get yelled at also. i know what you're thinking now...why don't you call the messenger before you page the jobs? well...i do but it doesn't work all the time. there's locations throughout chicago that for some reason will make the messenger unavailable...what?! now i can't call my messenger...wtf?! also, during down times our messengers go through their pages and make sure they got everything...you know, make sure no packages weren't picked up, make sure their manifests/log sheets are filled out properly, and so on. this means they are back in, you guessed it, "data". cant get a hold of them when they are in "data"...ugh! also, ever since the merger there are a lot more locations throughout chicago that nextel doesn't seem to service...well, as a delivery service for chicago this might be a problem...oh wells.

not sure what the solution could be. maybe if i write a letter to nextel to get them to separate from sprint things could go back to the way they were. at least then the only problem you would have getting through would be the fault of other messengers talking too much to the dispatcher. i could live with that one problem as opposed to the hundreds more i have with nextel/sprint. i guess things could be worse...we could go back to using pay phones...do those even exist anymore?

i can't breathe...

work has been work...nothing spectacular happening. nothing new to report. we lost another messenger...6700 or double-o as i called her. she wasn't the fastest but definitely wasn't bad either...oh wells. we didn't go ahead and hire anyone to replace her cause there just hasn't been enough work to keep cats happy. i find myself hooking cats up on a day to day basis...meaning, if 6723 got hooked up on tuesday then 6721 gets hooked up on wednesday. it's the best i can do...you give these cats one or two nice days then the week doesn't seem like to much of a waste(i hope).

6723 has been having some troubles as of late. not sure whats going on with the cat but things seem to be stacking up on him. he goes to school at night and works full-time hours...sometimes more. i work him hard but he doesn't mind at all. sure, he might fall asleep in class but needs the loot to be able to be at least present in class. today 6723 got a super late start...

6723...man. im sorry. got up late. shitty night and morning. im coming in.

j.dot...no worries kid. we could use your help right now.

...at the time we did have some steady work coming in so his presence would have been nice. i noticed it was taking him alot longer than usual to check in so i called him...

j.dot...yo kid. where you at?

6723...man. i told you im having a shitty day. forgot my damn lock at home and had to go back. im just not feeling it today. im sorry...i'll be in.

j.dot...no worries. umm, you coming in from the south end right? well...rock out this car run coming out the south for me.

...the whole day he was down and out. didn't know what to do. i mean, what should i do? i don't do anything but keep giving him work as it comes. he never bothers to call in saying he's clean...which is unusual for him. i can tell something is really bothering him but we're at work and now isn't the time to see what the deal is. after work over some brews i have no problem having heart to heart with cats(i'm a dispatcher/babysitter/friend/brother/father/who knows what) but when it's time to work...well, it's time to work. around two or so he tells me he needs a lunch break...no big deal. i tell him to give me a call when he's good to go...he says, "that'll be tomorrow around 830am"...those are the last words i heard. i also didn't bother calling him back cause i figured he needed the day to chill. the last thing i need is a messenger riding around without his head on straight...too dangerous for that.

on another note, we/i work in an office with no circulating air. there are three windows but they do not open. we can't get fresh air in there at all...it sucks. this is also the season for allergies and Lord knows i can't breathe at all during this season. my eyes have been very itchy and irritated and my nose is stuffed like crazy. i noticed at work we have two plants in the office. never really understood why...because they barely get sun-light and i don't think people water them. i heard from another dispatcher the other day that the reason for the plants is to provide fresh air for the office...wtf?! are you serious? im all for plants but all they have to do is make one of the three windows be able to open...it's common sense. well, looks like im gonna have to be popping pills to try and battle this allergy season...see, dispatchers have to deal with shitty conditions also...peace.

up, down, and sometimes...

well...what do i say? 6463 calls me...

6463...six three.

j.dot...what up?

6463...hey, im at the drop but can't drop it.

j.dot...what? why?

6463...im stuck in the elevator. don't know what to do.

...i start laughing. i mean, why not? there's nothing i can do but laugh at poor 6463's misfortune. the day was slow and the last thing he wanted was to get stuck in the elevator. you always hear stories but in my entire career in the delivery business i only recall one other person i know to get stuck. i asked six-three if he hit the emergency button and talked to security. i asked him if there was any nice looking ladies locked up with him but our phones started breaking up and didn't quite get a response.

i call up the company sending the package and inform them that their package might be late. the receptionist can't believe whats happening but understands. she calls the company it's going to so that they can call the security of the building to let my messenger out. i think he was locked up for a total of 20 minutes or so...might have been less. either way, as a messenger, even if it was only for 2 minutes it probably felt like 4 hours. he got out, delivered the package and all was good.

today wasn't a very busy day...it was somewhat steady at times but nothing to write home about. the good thing about today is that it finally seems like the good weather is here to stay...



sure it looks a bit rainy but warms days from here on in...peace.

day off...

i had the opportunity to take the day off on friday...finally. i've had days off before but it felt like a long time since my last day off. this one was especially nice cause the weather was great, i got to ride around town, and i got paid for it. i stopped by 4star to drop off some brews for helping me out the other day. it was good to talk to mike g...always a cool cat. didn't get to see any of the rest of them cause they were busy rocking out the work.

from there i took off towards madison and wacker were i got to say hello to the lovely gina. she loves and hates messengers as much as i do so it's always a great time talking to her. plus, i get to hear all the latest gossip going around town. you know, who's still working, what companies are rocking out work, who's locked up, who's dating who, and so on. always a great time with gina. while chilling there with her i was hoping to see some faces and taking pics of them...only two cats showed up that i knew.

jerry...i've known this cat for some time now. he works at arrow with me so he doesn't quite count as an old face. he doesn't look fast and his bike definitely doesn't either but this man is a horse...at least when he shows up(ha!). he's a good man and isn't afraid of me pushing him to the limit...did i just say that?





raul...i met raul way back when i used to messenger. he was always good to me...you know, always said hello, let me bum a smoke, and was just a chill cat. we always keep meaning to meet up and catch some fire games but never do...oh wells.



i rode towards thompson center where alot of cats hang out...didn't recognize anyone. didn't bump into anyone else the rest of the day. saw a few cats but they were busy riding and didn't want to disturb them. don't know what i was expecting...i should've known better. this industry has one of the highest turnover ratios that there's no way i would've recognized 50% of the riders out there. it was still cool to see gina and nice to see some old faces riding around.

it was also very nice to have the day to ride around downtown...why? cause i got to see all the construction going on...this is crucial for a dispatcher. now i know what streets to expect delays on and i get to see new buildings going up. the building thing is especially important cause sooner or later we're going to get work coming out of them and i need to be able to help my crew get to them. i need to be able to understand what my crew is dealing with. alot of times dispatchers lose touch with what goes on out there...sure, alot of things stay the same but if i can understand and witness new obstacles the crew has to deal with then i can be that much better at my job...peace.

stolen bike...reunited...

ok...on tuesday april the 15th i received a call from my fiancee. usually i get calls from her telling me how much she loves me...that day it was different. she tells me someone stole her bicyle...wtf?!! i try my best to console her but am failing. not much i can do...i probably would react the same way, tears and anger. we hang up with each other and now i go in to panic mode...so many emotions/feelings running through my head. i can't even dispatch properly...i start sending people to the wrong addresses and sometimes i just ignored calls.

i regain my cool...somewhat. i immediately start texting everyone i know that bikes...every single messenger who's saved in my phone gets a text. the other bike dispatcher sends out a mass text to our crew about what happened. i begin to get text messages back about how sorry they are that this happened and they will keep their eyes peeled. my crew calls me one at a time to get as many details as possible. her bicycle is so distinct that somehow i knew we would find it...we did!!

i get a phone call close to six o'clock. it's al(the whole time im calling him adam)...he tells me he has the bike at his house. i start freaking out...make some phone calls and my favorite person in the world, michelle, heads out with her car to retrieve the bike. the bike was fine...only the rear tube was missing. don't know why the tube was missing but it was. i'm very happy we got the bike back...still shady on the details on how the bike was stolen, who took it, and so on.

one of my messengers said that another messenger saw a man walking around with the bike...he approached the gentleman inquiring about the bike and the man asked for 100.oo bucks for it. the messenger then punched the man and took the bike back to his crib. this is when they realize who it belongs to and i get the bike back. i have also heard that it was another messenger who stole my sh*t...NOT COOL!! see, as much as i sit around defending you cats then you go around stealing other peoples property. i really hope that the first story is the way it went down. that messengers were heroes and not dipsh*ts. thank you to everyone...seriously...who helped me get my bike back. i owe you cats a brew or three...it's much appreciated. to the cat who stole it...messenger or not...i don't even know what to say. good luck in life kid...life has a tendency to take back what you're stealing.



this is the lovely miss casual's bicycle...



this is the lovely miss casual holding her bike...



she locks up at michigan and ohio...please, everyone...keep your eyes open for it. thank you.

what?!

when riding out there sometimes you have no choice but to come up with innovative ways to keep the bike rolling. i'm sure everyone who rides a bike knows the dollar bill trick...if there's a gash in your tire just fold up a dollar bill and place it between your tire and the tube and you should be ok(for a minute). sometimes you have to just deal with a slow leak so you pump your tire up every three drops or so. if you lose your lock you place the lock through the the wheels to make it look like it's locked and hope to God no one takes it. you can use tubes to tie up bigger packages on your back or on your bike. never have i seen this...





6723 swears he's been rocking his bike like this for quite some time now...it doesn't look safe and it doesn't look like it works but the man is fast and i won't question how or on what he does the work...peace.

tax season...

i am tired...tired, tired, tired. sure i wasn't the guy riding but today just got to me. from the minute i sat down to the a few minutes after i left...i'll explain. it's tax season in the u.s. and anyone that works in the messenger field knows that these are the busiest days in our lives. i worked with 6723, 6706, 6731, 6463, 6665, and 6629. occasionally i heard from others but mainly worked with these cats.

6723...he usually works the ten to six shift. no big deal. today, thank God he checked in an hour early. the minute he showed up i hit him with about four quick runs. didn't give him one break. around one o'clock he calls me that he needs to pound down a quick burger from mcdonald's or something...needs the energy. no problem...i worked him hard all day, the least i could do is give him 10 minutes to breathe. i gave him his break but called him every two minutes to see if he was ready to go...i know that must have been annoying but as he put it..."why are you apologizing? we're finally busy i just needed a quick minute...im ready to roll".

6706...worked him just as hard. the thing that sucks is that this kid kept getting stuck waiting at docks and the elevators were not kind. not to mention that at times his packages were not ready or people were taking their time signing for packages...you've got to be kidding me. it only takes two minutes tops to get a sig but for some reason some drops were just taking forever. i really wish that would've never happened to him. i wanted to hook him up all day but the elevator gods were against him.

6731...bless this mans soul. he was not feeling good at all...he called me after about 15 runs or so wanting to go home. he said he would rock out a few more but definitely was not feeling it. he would call me coughing up a lung and, at times, sounded like he was vomiting. holy sh*t!! he was a true soldier...i told him that i could really use his help as long as he could cause we were just stacked with work. the man stayed until about 430 when i dished him his last run. not one time did he say..."thats it, i just cant anymore". instead, he apologized for going so slow today...what?! i owe him big for today.

6463...his a bit older and not as quick as the three mentioned above but he rocked out the work for me as well. we did have a couple of orders that we(we meaning him and i) messed up on. there was some miscommunication and packages were not picked up or packages that were not supposed to be picked up were. really sucked...all we could do is apologize to the client and let them know that the next available messenger would fix the problem. i apologized to six-three for the communication problems because i could tell he was beginning to get frustrated...i hoped it worked cause we're gonna need him tomorrow.

6665...the minute she showed up she let me know that she was hurting bad. she knew we needed her and she stuck it out for as long as she could. she stuck around till about three and just couldn't bike anymore...oh wells.

6629...he's pretty slow. also a bit older but still works hard. the way i have to dispatch him is give him as many orders as i can and just hope he gets them done in time. i usually don't bother him until he calls me clean. other messengers i can take them off their routes but not two-nine...it messes everything up. he still rocks out work but at a different pace.

these last days for taxes can be very tiring both mentally and physically. yes, it is very tiring for the dispatcher also...i have to deal with alot of upset clients as well as dish out proper routes to get the work done in a timely manner. all while taking other orders and dealing with rechecks, meaning tracking down packages and looking for pod's.

the days have been slow so my crew doesn't seem to mind me keeping them rolling. i hope i didn't overdue it with them because we have another day of madness ahead of us and i will definitely need my crew to bring their "A" game...peace.

quota(s)...

the days haven't been too bad lately...sure, they could be better but it's been steady. before the day even starts i get a call from triple-6-5...

6665...hey julio.

j.dot...what up?

6665...hey, im headed in. starting a little late.

...not sure why she calls to tell me she's running late. i/we're pretty used to her being late. it's not a huge deal cause six-five is a bit older...not that it matters much but i/we do take it lighter on her.

j.dot...cool. let me know when you get in and i'll check to see what pops.

6665...alright. remember, i only need 15 today.

...i know, i know. 15?! there's no way others want to just have 15 but six-five isn't as strong of a rider as others and, as i already stated, she's a bit older than most of our other riders. you would think that getting her 15 in a day would be easy but it has been slow...this is the main reason she pushes for 15. it's a liveable amount of runs...crazy but true.

the same happens with 6464...everyday is a little different. he doesn't quite say that he's only looking for 15. instead, i hear from him sometime after lunch time...

6464...ok. lets see. im at city hall and i only need 7 more.

j.dot...seven. well, today is your lucky day. i think we can make that happen. head to 21 clark for three.

...sometimes he calls me and says he needs three more, sometimes 2, 8, 5...and you get the idea. the point im trying to get at is that work has been slowly picking up but in the meantime some of our cats have figured out how many runs they need a day to be able to have a good enough check for the week. it sucks that it's come to that but hopefully things will pick up again.

although, it was nice the last few days when we were able to go over their quotas...as six-five put it...

6665...as long as there's work i'll stay all day and all night. other than that...give me my 15 and im ok.

...peace.

for once...

i finally have a pretty good story to tell...i know im usually reporting how bad things are but not today. today i won't tell you about how 6689's bike went down and he was forced to walk all the way back to base. front axel finally bit it and the rear one is very close to saying good-bye...sorry kid is all i could say. i won't tell you about the 30mph winds and the sideways rain...it was a damn near typhoon out there, all day. it was non-stop rain and wind...i am not even exaggerating. how there was so much work i couldn't give my guys too many breaks to let them take a breather. the best i can do was give enough time for a cigarette now and then but then i had them hustling again.

today im gonna tell you about how to make things go by quicker through these hectic days. anyway, im going to tell you about good friends. today was a friend of ours(i say ours meaning the little crew we hang out with) birthday...jessie, sure she's vegan but damn is she cute. well, now the bridge of communication begins among a few of us about what to do...we came up with the idea of having jeff perkins from cuttin'crew to deliver some flowers to her. why perkins? well, when you click the links you'll know why...ha! i place the call to fourstar where josh picks up and answers...

josh...hey, whats up julio?

j.dot...i need a favor kid. i need perkins, and only perkins to deliver some flowers
to a friend of mine. it's her birthday and we want to get her something special.

josh...sure, umm...what do you need?

j.dot...well, the trick is that i can't pay you cats till later and perkins is gonna have to find a flower shop somewhere...then he has to buy whatever he finds and take it to the lovely jessie.

josh...no problem.

...i didn't get to dispatch the order but perkins did call me to see what the details were. i inform him of the situation and he says no problem. this is what i love about messengers. they come through no matter how bad the weather is. thank God the flower shop was just around the corner cause i can't imagine perkins riding around with the balloon and roses through this sh*t.

soooo...long story short, this is me publicly saying how much i love messengers...especially fourstar for coming through on the silly order and my crew for rocking out all the work in these nasty days...peace.

bridge of communication...

the car and bike board have a love/hate relationship...they/we have a symbiotic relationship. we have one car board rider on the bike board but we do have other cats on the bike board willing to rock out some distance and/or weight. the money is better and in the slow days...keeps you rolling. when it's slow on the car board the dispatcher starts asking for bike jobs to dish to his drivers. it might not be that much money but it does keep them rolling...which in the end, both sides want to do. we even have a walker that has a foldable cart that can help out with very heavy packages and/or multiple boxes being delivered within the loop. some customers pay for a helper with certain jobs because of the amount of work being transported or the size of the order, which means i have to get a biker/walker that i am willing to lose for who knows how long...oh wells.

it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. where this all goes wrong is when the boards are busy...we(bike board) just can't afford to have riders helping out the drivers because then we shoot ourselves in the foot. i know we all need to meet our percentages and we help each other but sometimes it just can't be done because we need to meet our percentages. i know that one package that the driver board needs help with is only two blocks from the bike zone but if i send him/her to go get it then i have to be willing to lose that biker for 10 to 15 minutes...what?! i know it sounds silly but so many things can happen...package might not be ready, the elevators are taking forever, the package cannot be found, and so on...then what? im out one biker on a silly package. also, those 10 to 15 minutes could be spent helping me and the rest of the crew clean up what we signed up for...the bike board.

sure i want to spread the love, especially if its paying car rates but sometimes, that driver board is on their own. when we are slammed on bike it is very, very rare that you hear the car side ask if we need help. they never check our board to see how backed up we are. me and the other dispatcher just keep to ourselves and get the work down with our crew. it doesn't quite work that way when the car side is stacked...they immediately start asking for help. no big deal...if we have our side under control. i think they don't quite understand that sometimes...we just can't afford to lose out on a few cats so that they can hit their percentages. who are they? we help out both the city and suburban boards...yes suburban. i have yet to send one of the bikers from this company to the suburbs but at my last company i had...ahem, andrew, ahem. we also get bikers to pull packages for the suburban side and meet drivers heading out with them...now i gotta lose that cat for x amount of time to meet up with the driver.

either way...it would be nice if once they would just glance over and see us struggling. me and the other dispatcher are constantly checking out the driver side to see what packages we can swipe. granted, the bike packages don't pay as much but that shouldn't matter much...we all need to hit our percentages. car never realizes we are struggling until they need help and are requesting it...

car...hey julio, got a biker?

j.dot...no man. don't you see my board? still playing catch up from the morning...sh*t, you got a driver?

...for a system based on communication there isn't much. not that we all don't rock the work out it's just frustrating for the bike side to come through and help out time and time again and get no love in return. no big deal(at least thats what i keep telling myself)...one day the bikers will shine and everyone will be praising us...peace.

changes...

chicago is a funny city...one day it can be...



...the next day...



...thank you to my crew for coming out no matter what chicago throws at them...peace.

sometimes...

sometimes im asked to come in on saturdays. we are usually not busy and only about 5 to 7 runs get called in. either way, someone needs to be around to dispatch the few jobs and get the work done. this past saturday was a bit different...we actually had to dispatch close to 15 jobs or so...what?! it's hard to find drivers to get the work done when there's only five and now we have to figure out how to get 15 done...oh wells. we got the work done...no complaints, everyone happy.

now, to keep this bike related and on the saturday theme...it's quaterlies at work. quaterlies happen every three months...it's a sh*t-ton of work. bin after bin is lined up and is tagged...we separate all the envelopes into there proper route bin. you know, all the waukegans go in one, all the oak brooks in another and so on. anywhoo, how is this bike related? the route crew...well, we have about 3 or 4 bikers that handle some of the routes...these bikers are rarely seen by the rest of the crew. these cats only work there routes and call it a day...doesn't bother me much and sure doesn't bother them. they showed up on saturday to separate and fill out the paperwork for their routes...they have a super busy week ahead of them. it's a nice change for them...it's been slow for their routes just as it's been slow on the board. everyone had a big smile on their face on saturday...the sun was shining and the work, well, was more than one could ask for.

on a side note, the benefit of showing up on saturday was the FREE cornbeef sandwich form manny's...

he's back...

6688 is back. remember he was the one who got doored and broke his fingers...well, it was nice to hear his voice again. the man is very good and very fast. he finally was cleared to work...im sure his fingers are in working order again...maybe?!

also, we got an old face working with us...6731. i worked with him at my last company and it was good to see a familiar face come over. he's also very good and fast(notice i didn't put "very"...ha!). anyway, the man started his first day of work on thursday the 3rd of april. he rocked out just the way i remembered...he lives up north so he was able to help the car board late in the day. around 530ish i dished him about 3 car runs headed towards his home. it was perfect and just as i remember...he doesn't mind the work(even if it was starting to rain).

well, on friday things were rolling fine. customers weren't complaining, i had my crew rolling steady, and no complaints from the bikers...i know, i know...messengers not complaining?!! anyway, it's around five o'clock and i got a couple headed on the north-end...i call up 6731 to take care of them...

j.dot...3-1, 3-1

6731...yeah?

j.dot...i got two going north. rock them out for me?

6731...sure. umm, i would like to stay in the loop today if you want me to stay late...is that cool?

j.dot...yeah, i got you.

...he picks them up and begins to head north. after he pops out of cityfront he heads north and gets doored!!

6731...hey julio...

j.dot...what up? what up?

6731...i just got doored...what should i do? should i stick around and fill out a report?

j.dot...up to you bro.

6731...umm, im ok but my front wheel is jacked up.

j.dot...well...umm, i say fill out a report but if you don't need to go to the hospital thats cool with me. that way we can avoid all the drug testing bizz and having you clear for work and stuff.

6731...umm, im not worried about that.

...well, i tell him to stick around and handle what he's got to do. i'll send someone to pick up the two going north from him. he stops me and says that he's just gonna head out and rock the last two packages. he'll ride his wheel the way it is even though it's waaaaaay out of true. i ask him again if he's sure but don't really push too much...in the end, it's up to him and he obviously rather get paid in full for those last two.

i called everyone left out to call it a day and i start to get ready to leave. 6731 calls me back and says he's clean and is headed back to the loop. what?! the entire time im thinking he's going to drop the two and then head home cause he just got doored but...i was wrong. the man wanted more work...fu*k! i really wish i had work to give the man but believe when i say that i will do my best to hook him up.

this is what i love...cats who want to work...peace.

seriously...

alright kids...i know it's slow. it's slow all around from what i hear...as the years pass i hear it..."it's not the way it used to be". we lost another rider today...6707. you know, there isn't much loot to make out there and it's getting harder and harder to make enough to pay rent, eat, and drink. that being said, you can still make money but the trick is you have to, dare i say, work?! i know its a strange concept but seriously...if you show up to work the money will follow.

now, what do i mean by work? working as a messenger is very different...it's one of the most tiring jobs any man or woman can take on. you will be tested both mentally and especially physically. you don't want to ride in windy, snowy, rainy weather anymore. you don't want to deal with that one security guard that for some reason always picks on you. the last thing you want to do is deal with cabbies caring more about where their next fair is going to come from rather than pay attention to you. sometimes waking up in the morning is one of the most difficult things to do, especially if the weeks have been slow. you feel as if it's pointless to show up. all im saying is if you chose to be a messenger you have to understand that to make money you have to work three times as hard as anyone else. you have to wake up and get in as early as possible and you have to be willing to stay as late as you might be needed. i know it sucks to hear that but it's the nature of the industry...the only way it pays is by putting in your time.

thank you track-0-rex for posting the link to the new york post article with squid...

If you want to be a good messenger and make money, you wake up nice and early and be sure your bike and equipment are ready to go. You check the weather so you have the proper gear on. I carry a spare tube and a pump because the main thing that keeps you from rolling is a flat.

I ride in from Brooklyn at 6:30, and I'm ready to go by 7:15. Work starts coming in at 8.

so yeah...i know it's hard but seriously, get up and rock. you have chosen to ride for a living you might as well do what you can to make the job work for you as opposed to working for the job...peace.