Couriering

So in my second post I am going to talk about what I currently do for a living (I am using that word loosely BTW). That is, I am a bike courier in Melbourne. When people find this out they invariably start asking questions and want to know about the ins and outs of it. I have been doing this job for about 3 months now, so I am far from being an old hand. Nevertheless, here I'm going to answer some common questions and provide a few thoughts and insights into the job.

 - Is it hard work?

Good question and the answer is yes . . .  and no . . . Basically it depends on how busy you happen to be that day. If you are busy, then yes, it is bloody hard work. If not, then no, you tend to sit around a lot.

- How much do you get paid?

It varies between companies. My company pays a retainer of $120 per day as long as you are available for 8hrs and actually do the work you are asked to do. The jobs you do on each day are tracked and if you make less than the $120 then you get paid $120 for that day. If you make more than $120, then that is what you get paid for that day. Different companies have variations on this theme, and some don't offer a retainer at all.

Each job's worth is based on two things: the location of the job pickup and drop off points and the urgency of that job. The further you have to carry the job, the more it is worth. This is usually based on suburbs, so going from Collins St to Bourke St will pay the same as from Exhibition to King st, but crossing the Yarra to South Bank will be worth more. Also, we have three levels of urgency: Standard, VIP and Red Hot. Standard basically means - when you get the chance, VIP means - don't hurry, but don't muck around too much and Red Hot means - ASAP.

- How far do you ride?

Generally between 55km and 70km per day (and this includes a 4km commute each way). I have done the occasional 80+km day and some less that 50km. This usually equates to 3 - 4hrs of riding, average speeds around 18km/hr (lots of stopping and starting). Below is a Strava map of a day a couple of weeks ago that I brought my GPS along for. This was a busy day.



- What do you deliver?
Basically anything that can't be send via email. The majority of our deliveries are from law firms, dentists, importers, building management companies or printers. However, I have also delivered architectural and engineering drawings, computer equipment, X-Rays, books, wine, clothes (a suit), fabric, cheques, cash, keys, football tickets, chocolate and a precious gem. Sometimes these things are small (i.e. and envelope) and sometimes they are big (a box) and you never really know what you're going to get until you get there. This photo is of one of the larger things I have been expected to carry.

- Do you ride a Fixie?

Personally, I do not. I ride a steel cross bike with gears. I do this for 2 main reasons: 1. because it is what I have, and 2. because I value my knees. If I was intending to do this for a long time, I would consider a geared hub, or maybe a 1x9 setup. I also ride with MTB clip in pedals. This is a pic of the bike I ride:

As for the other couriers, the majority ride single speeds with a few who ride fixed. There are a few who ride gears, either 1x9 setups or geared hubs. Most ride with flat pedals with top clip/straps and there are a few who ride clipless like me. Basically robust, cheap with low maintenance is the rule here.

- Do you run red lights?

Personally no, well most of the time anyway. Basically if it is an intersection I almost always stop. If I am turning left, or it is a pedestrian crossing light (such as those on St Kilda Rd) and I'm in a big hurry I may sneak through.

As far as other road rules go, I do ride on tram tracks as it is much safer; trams don't randomly turn, stop, pull out, etc. I also ride on footpaths - which is apparently illegal in Victoria - this is simply practical, if two pick ups are on the right hand side of the road and 100m apart, I am not going to cross the road, ride 100m up it then re cross the road again.

- How much do you eat?

A fair bit. I eat 2 lunches a day and am snacking most of the day. This is what I generally eat on a daily basis:
- 2 maintain bread wraps (salami, cheese, carrot, mushroom and spinach)
- a 95g tin of tuna
- a bag banana chips
- fruit (a banana and an apple)
in my back pocket (for eating whilst riding):
- 2 homemade meusli bars
- little bag of natural confectionery lollies

- What does it take to be a bike courier?

You need to be fit, resilient and organised. You need to be able to ignore the occasional snide comment, deal with shitty weather, mechanicals, wind, traffic, heavy deliveries, wrongly addressed deliveries, many buildings having a delivery spots that are different to the address you have been given and you need to be able to ride a lot. The pay is low and sometimes it is dangerous and frustrating. Nevertheless, you do get paid to ride your bike and it can be pretty fun and a bit sociable once you have done it for a while.

Introduction

Hi and welcome to my blog. As the title suggests this blog is focussed on three main things: cooking, eating and riding (my bikes that is). However, it is entirely likely that plenty of other subjects will be touched upon at some point. The point of this blog is to share some of my experiences, projects and thoughts with cyberspace, and whoever else takes and interest.

So firstly, some background about me:

My nom de plume for this venture shall be S J. Yes, these two seemingly random letters do have some relevance to me, in fact they are my initials. I shall leave it open as to which part of my name each initial refers to for now. I am mid 20s, currently living in Melbourne Australia with my girlfriend, a fish and our bikes. There are some other things in our home, but those are the important ones. It would be a little exhaustive to list everything else we own and not a little boring for you.

I have a slightly obsessive nature and a few years ago this lead me down the road to cycling, then the singletrack of mountain biking and finally over the muddied, beer stained barrier of cyclocross. This pastime lead me to consider more closely what was eating, and as I cooked for myself, what I was cooking. This has now become a mild obsession too and cooking food, eating food and thinking about food occupies a not insignificant amount of my time. I am also mildly obsessed with a number of other things but I’m sure they will become apparent further down the line.

Final titbit about myself: I grew up on a beef farm in south western Queensland and after an extensive university career I am currently working as a bike courier (tell me about it). Definitely an interesting and demanding job, I have the utmost respect for those who make a career out of it.

Anyway, enough about me for the time being. I shall endeavour to introduce myself a bit further over the coming weeks. Finally, here is a photo taken of me on top of the Aigiulle du Midi in front of Mt Blanc in the French alps.