L
Laz
Guest
just wondering, are you or were you a bike courier/ messenger ? where ?
how's business ?
Laz ( ex-biker, Toronto - 1995-2000 )
how's business ?
Laz ( ex-biker, Toronto - 1995-2000 )
B
Boyd Speerschneider
Guest
"Laz" <[email protected]> wrote in news
[email protected]:
> just wondering, are you or were you a bike courier/ messenger ? where ?
> how's business ?
>
> Laz ( ex-biker, Toronto - 1995-2000 )
I was a courier here in Tampa, FL for a while.
I would deliver legal documents mostly from attorneys downtown to the
courthouse a few blocks away.... *yawn*.
I'd love to try it in a *big* city.
- Boyd S.
[email protected]:> just wondering, are you or were you a bike courier/ messenger ? where ?
> how's business ?
>
> Laz ( ex-biker, Toronto - 1995-2000 )
I was a courier here in Tampa, FL for a while.
I would deliver legal documents mostly from attorneys downtown to the
courthouse a few blocks away.... *yawn*.
I'd love to try it in a *big* city.
- Boyd S.
W
i worked in sf from 1997 to 2000. it was durint eh peak of the .com
days and it was some sort of stus symbol to have packages delivered by
a messenger, all the better if it had a RED HOT sticker on it.
this was also during the time the longshoreman's union was trying to
unionize the urgent delivery business in the bay area. i worked for one
of the larger companies that was targeted for unionization, and being
stuck in the middle between the longshoreman and the ownership was
interesting.
i was pretty fast and savvy then and would get some pretty cool tags. i
liked to ride long; sometimes i'd get to run one to sausalito, over the
gg bridge. beautiful.
days and it was some sort of stus symbol to have packages delivered by
a messenger, all the better if it had a RED HOT sticker on it.
this was also during the time the longshoreman's union was trying to
unionize the urgent delivery business in the bay area. i worked for one
of the larger companies that was targeted for unionization, and being
stuck in the middle between the longshoreman and the ownership was
interesting.
i was pretty fast and savvy then and would get some pretty cool tags. i
liked to ride long; sometimes i'd get to run one to sausalito, over the
gg bridge. beautiful.
L
Laz
Guest
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> i worked in sf from 1997 to 2000. it was durint eh peak of the .com
> days and it was some sort of stus symbol to have packages delivered by
> a messenger, all the better if it had a RED HOT sticker on it.
>
> this was also during the time the longshoreman's union was trying to
> unionize the urgent delivery business in the bay area. i worked for one
> of the larger companies that was targeted for unionization, and being
> stuck in the middle between the longshoreman and the ownership was
> interesting.
>
> i was pretty fast and savvy then and would get some pretty cool tags. i
> liked to ride long; sometimes i'd get to run one to sausalito, over the
> gg bridge. beautiful.
>
yeah, I loved to go on the long runs. I'd take days off in the summer just
to go on a long ride when the forecast was extra nice and biz slow. It was
rough during the winter sometimes; pretty much my 1st year as I learned what
worked and what didn't for all day in -10c to -20c and learned the streets
etc.
a few months ago I was downtown in the evening and saw a biker getting food
off a truck for the homeless- either business is really bad or he's really
stupid spinning his wheels for a nickel and dime shop.
Laz
news:[email protected]...
> i worked in sf from 1997 to 2000. it was durint eh peak of the .com
> days and it was some sort of stus symbol to have packages delivered by
> a messenger, all the better if it had a RED HOT sticker on it.
>
> this was also during the time the longshoreman's union was trying to
> unionize the urgent delivery business in the bay area. i worked for one
> of the larger companies that was targeted for unionization, and being
> stuck in the middle between the longshoreman and the ownership was
> interesting.
>
> i was pretty fast and savvy then and would get some pretty cool tags. i
> liked to ride long; sometimes i'd get to run one to sausalito, over the
> gg bridge. beautiful.
>
yeah, I loved to go on the long runs. I'd take days off in the summer just
to go on a long ride when the forecast was extra nice and biz slow. It was
rough during the winter sometimes; pretty much my 1st year as I learned what
worked and what didn't for all day in -10c to -20c and learned the streets
etc.
a few months ago I was downtown in the evening and saw a biker getting food
off a truck for the homeless- either business is really bad or he's really
stupid spinning his wheels for a nickel and dime shop.
Laz
L
Luke
Guest
In article <[email protected]>, Laz
<[email protected]> wrote:
> just wondering, are you or were you a bike courier/ messenger ? where ?
> how's business ?
>
> Laz ( ex-biker, Toronto - 1995-2000 )
>
>
Also an alumnus of the Toronto scene, 2001 - 2004. I bailed because it
was increasingly difficult to put food on the table and a roof
overhead. The competition of today's bike messenger is less the auto -
indeed, with the increasing traffic congestion downtown, that's a race
that's easily won - and more the electron: Fax, Broad-band data
transfer, email...
Our clients' (TD, Royal Bank) move away from paper toward electronic
documents and data transfer rendered the messenger largely redundant.
After all, the overwhelming majority of packages (I) delivered were
paper documents.
There will always be a need for (bicycle) messengers, but technology
has made an undeniable impact on demand. Still, despite the subsistence
income and attendant aggravation, there are few days that I don't
consider rejoining the ranks, or remember the experience fondly.
Luke
<[email protected]> wrote:
> just wondering, are you or were you a bike courier/ messenger ? where ?
> how's business ?
>
> Laz ( ex-biker, Toronto - 1995-2000 )
>
>
Also an alumnus of the Toronto scene, 2001 - 2004. I bailed because it
was increasingly difficult to put food on the table and a roof
overhead. The competition of today's bike messenger is less the auto -
indeed, with the increasing traffic congestion downtown, that's a race
that's easily won - and more the electron: Fax, Broad-band data
transfer, email...
Our clients' (TD, Royal Bank) move away from paper toward electronic
documents and data transfer rendered the messenger largely redundant.
After all, the overwhelming majority of packages (I) delivered were
paper documents.
There will always be a need for (bicycle) messengers, but technology
has made an undeniable impact on demand. Still, despite the subsistence
income and attendant aggravation, there are few days that I don't
consider rejoining the ranks, or remember the experience fondly.
Luke
W
"a few months ago I was downtown in the evening and saw a biker getting
food
off a truck for the homeless- either business is really bad or he's
really
stupid spinning his wheels for a nickel and dime shop."
third option being he's a slow slacker. it's by no means an easy living
but if you "come to play" and get a good rep with the dispatch, it's
gravy.
i made mad bank as a messenger, but i rode 10 to 12 hours a day
willingly. it was all commision, you got paid a percentage of each
delivery. the amount and manipulation of that percentage was a key
reason behind the union effort.
we'd carry the craziest things, from a 3'x6' roll of bubble wrap to a
pig's head (really) from a sausage factory out past bayshore to a
dental school in pacific heights.
food
off a truck for the homeless- either business is really bad or he's
really
stupid spinning his wheels for a nickel and dime shop."
third option being he's a slow slacker. it's by no means an easy living
but if you "come to play" and get a good rep with the dispatch, it's
gravy.
i made mad bank as a messenger, but i rode 10 to 12 hours a day
willingly. it was all commision, you got paid a percentage of each
delivery. the amount and manipulation of that percentage was a key
reason behind the union effort.
we'd carry the craziest things, from a 3'x6' roll of bubble wrap to a
pig's head (really) from a sausage factory out past bayshore to a
dental school in pacific heights.
T
Dear messengers & OP:
This is a pretty good thread, with stuff in it that could be part of an
Elmore Leonard (or Cormac McCarthy) novel.
I build bicycles and would love to hear from any of you off-line. You
can check me out by googling "thursday bicycles' I always knew I was
in the right space when messengers would pull up to me and ask "who
do you ride for?" That was the old days.
Meanwhile I wd say these are some pretty good stories.
jn
"Thursday"
This is a pretty good thread, with stuff in it that could be part of an
Elmore Leonard (or Cormac McCarthy) novel.
I build bicycles and would love to hear from any of you off-line. You
can check me out by googling "thursday bicycles' I always knew I was
in the right space when messengers would pull up to me and ask "who
do you ride for?" That was the old days.
Meanwhile I wd say these are some pretty good stories.
jn
"Thursday"
R
Luke wrote in part:
> The competition of today's bike messenger is less the auto -
> indeed, with the increasing traffic congestion downtown, that's a race
> that's easily won - and more the electron: Fax, Broad-band data
> transfer, email...
There was much talk of the fax machine and email killing
the messenger business but in fact these became popular
just before a surge in the messenger business, as
office personnel across the land in burgs
like Denver, Seattle, Houston, Portland, etc. embraced
the novelty of the bike messenger that had been more
associated with the financial districts of NY and SF.
The messenger bubble corresponded roughly to the dot com
bubble in these cities.
The electronic filing of court documents is a huge problem
for bike messengers. When the federal court started
mandatory e-filing in June, it meant 20-25% out of the
paycheck, just like that. We are trying to make it up
in other ways and quality outfits probably will. E-filing
won't kill the industry but it will take quite a chunk,
devil take the hindmost type of thing.
Some of these attorneys have been receiving such
rocksolid service for so long that they are
put into difficulty by the transition to mandatory
e-filing. With the messenger, they know that within
15 minutes of picking up a phone they could have a
package delivered (and signed for). Sometimes, even the
electron isn't going to beat that. And, after all, they
just pass the cost of these deliveries on to their
clients. Meanwhile, computers lock up or get spilled on,
networks go down, ISPs falter, paralegals forget passwords
or are just plain computer illiterate, viruses...
Some of those documents are massive, thousands of pages.
I've had one customer complain that she was completely
unable to e-file her massive document--probably
because every other lawyer in town was trying to submit
their own massive documents all at the same time. And
the court's only a half mile away! They can probably
see it from whatever high rise they're in. Must be
very frustrating. Good old fashioned manpower (or,
increasingly, womanpower) is still hard to beat. Alas,
there is no place to store all that damn paper at the
collecting point, so the transition must be made.
Robert
> The competition of today's bike messenger is less the auto -
> indeed, with the increasing traffic congestion downtown, that's a race
> that's easily won - and more the electron: Fax, Broad-band data
> transfer, email...
There was much talk of the fax machine and email killing
the messenger business but in fact these became popular
just before a surge in the messenger business, as
office personnel across the land in burgs
like Denver, Seattle, Houston, Portland, etc. embraced
the novelty of the bike messenger that had been more
associated with the financial districts of NY and SF.
The messenger bubble corresponded roughly to the dot com
bubble in these cities.
The electronic filing of court documents is a huge problem
for bike messengers. When the federal court started
mandatory e-filing in June, it meant 20-25% out of the
paycheck, just like that. We are trying to make it up
in other ways and quality outfits probably will. E-filing
won't kill the industry but it will take quite a chunk,
devil take the hindmost type of thing.
Some of these attorneys have been receiving such
rocksolid service for so long that they are
put into difficulty by the transition to mandatory
e-filing. With the messenger, they know that within
15 minutes of picking up a phone they could have a
package delivered (and signed for). Sometimes, even the
electron isn't going to beat that. And, after all, they
just pass the cost of these deliveries on to their
clients. Meanwhile, computers lock up or get spilled on,
networks go down, ISPs falter, paralegals forget passwords
or are just plain computer illiterate, viruses...
Some of those documents are massive, thousands of pages.
I've had one customer complain that she was completely
unable to e-file her massive document--probably
because every other lawyer in town was trying to submit
their own massive documents all at the same time. And
the court's only a half mile away! They can probably
see it from whatever high rise they're in. Must be
very frustrating. Good old fashioned manpower (or,
increasingly, womanpower) is still hard to beat. Alas,
there is no place to store all that damn paper at the
collecting point, so the transition must be made.
Robert
L
Luke
Guest
In article <[email protected]>,
<[email protected]> wrote:
> There was much talk of the fax machine and email killing
> the messenger business but in fact these became popular
> just before a surge in the messenger business, as
> office personnel across the land in burgs
> like Denver, Seattle, Houston, Portland, etc. embraced
> the novelty of the bike messenger that had been more
> associated with the financial districts of NY and SF.
> The messenger bubble corresponded roughly to the dot com
> bubble in these cities.
>
> The electronic filing of court documents is a huge problem
> for bike messengers.
....
<snip>
A problem for bike messengers; a solution for everyone else. And
therein lies the dilemma: The ideal scenario for an enterprise doesn't
involve a relationship with a reliable courier, it precludes the need
of one. This is only natural, and advancing technology is providing
companies with the tools to do so despite the inevitable glitches and
setbacks.
Of course, we are physical beings and will always require the transport
of physical goods. One of my more novel deliveries illustrates: I had
to drop a parcel of six chocolate penises at a stagette (one ****
melted enroute). Thankfully, there's not yet an algorithm that'll
encode a half dozen milk chocolate phalli and upload them via ethernet!
But, as we both acknowledge, the information revolution has drastically
decreased the repertoire of items that qualify for delivery by
(bicycle) messenger. Surely it will continue to do so.
Notwithstanding, I'm still optimistic. In Toronto, horrendous traffic
congestion, skyrocketing gas prices, outrageous parking fees - when
parking is possible, and chronic summertime smog alerts are driving
home (no pun intended) the costs of an auto-centric lifestyle. And as
the auto increasingly becomes less effective and less economical to
commercially and privately operate, I'd like to think that the humble
bicycle will be considered among the alternatives. After all, it will
always be a clean, economical, healthy, and, over short distances,
quick form of transport. It just makes too much sense to be ignored.
Luke
<[email protected]> wrote:
> There was much talk of the fax machine and email killing
> the messenger business but in fact these became popular
> just before a surge in the messenger business, as
> office personnel across the land in burgs
> like Denver, Seattle, Houston, Portland, etc. embraced
> the novelty of the bike messenger that had been more
> associated with the financial districts of NY and SF.
> The messenger bubble corresponded roughly to the dot com
> bubble in these cities.
>
> The electronic filing of court documents is a huge problem
> for bike messengers.
....
<snip>
A problem for bike messengers; a solution for everyone else. And
therein lies the dilemma: The ideal scenario for an enterprise doesn't
involve a relationship with a reliable courier, it precludes the need
of one. This is only natural, and advancing technology is providing
companies with the tools to do so despite the inevitable glitches and
setbacks.
Of course, we are physical beings and will always require the transport
of physical goods. One of my more novel deliveries illustrates: I had
to drop a parcel of six chocolate penises at a stagette (one ****
melted enroute). Thankfully, there's not yet an algorithm that'll
encode a half dozen milk chocolate phalli and upload them via ethernet!
But, as we both acknowledge, the information revolution has drastically
decreased the repertoire of items that qualify for delivery by
(bicycle) messenger. Surely it will continue to do so.
Notwithstanding, I'm still optimistic. In Toronto, horrendous traffic
congestion, skyrocketing gas prices, outrageous parking fees - when
parking is possible, and chronic summertime smog alerts are driving
home (no pun intended) the costs of an auto-centric lifestyle. And as
the auto increasingly becomes less effective and less economical to
commercially and privately operate, I'd like to think that the humble
bicycle will be considered among the alternatives. After all, it will
always be a clean, economical, healthy, and, over short distances,
quick form of transport. It just makes too much sense to be ignored.
Luke
