Glimpse of bicycle courier world

[vtec]

Hi all, just a couple of vids that I enjoy watching, of some of my friends just doing their jobs. A job that I myself am kind of passionate about.

Steve Williams in this video I bumped into taking cycle tours on the Death Road near La Paz in Bolivia earlier this year. He was the only person in my 4 months in SA that I knew from home. Total accident meeting him there.

Vid of Redbull eye in the sky fixie race round auckland.

Shorter version of Redbull eye in the sky here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S90ZxEDAzwI

Not too much work at the moment, so only working part time, so I went visiting about 7 different people on my mountain bike yesterday (as my fast single speed is broken).
Here's what I did in about 6 hours, including stopping heaps for chats with people. Also checked out the crashed plane in the Macleans reserve.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3307787

Before everyone gets all up in arms about how dangerous it is. Bicycle couriers pay a sizeable chunk of their income in ACC. Really hurts actually, more than the crashes.

[Swoop]

Obviously a red light means fuck all...

[vtec]

Obviously a red light means fuck all...

Yes. Just like speed limits to all motorists, and safe overtaking laws give ways, I could go on. The laws fail to protect bicycles, so the only way to avoid people hitting you is to go fast . Just we don't do it with 100's of kgs of steel around us.

[Swoop]

Yes. Just like speed limits to all motorists, and safe overtaking laws give ways, I could go on. The laws fail to protect bicycles, so the only way to avoid people hitting you is to go fast . Just we don't do it with 100's of kgs of steel around us.

Nothing like changing your post.

Show us your ACC levy please!

[vtec]

Nothing like changing your post.

Show us your ACC levy please!

Can't remember exact figures. But I pay.
$250 for car?
$250 for motorbike?
$2000 for being a bicycle courier.
So about $2500 all up. and I bounce really well, hardly ever break my body, even with highsiding race motorbikes.

I know one guy who paid $5000, of his approx $70k bicycle courier income. You also pay the ACC after expenses and GST and Income Tax have been removed so it really stings.

I always change my posts when I'm not happy with how it reads. That's why my writing improves.
Anyway could we not turn this into a bitch fight about ACC or it'll get moved.

Did you enjoy the vids?

[Swoop]

$2000 for being a bicycle courier.

Sheesh!


Employee levy?

[Taz]

Awesome vids mate. Loved it.

[vtec]

Sheesh!


Employee levy?

We subcontract to the courier company so are self employed, and ACC works it out from our tax returns.

[McWild]

That looks awesome.

What kind of bikes do you use? What companies do you work for? And how does the pay work?

[vtec]

When you get good it gets awesome, but there is a huge learning curve, I'd say that less than half of people actually make a living with it and are able to stick at it. Some people don't have the traffic skills and crash every day and give up very quickly. You have to be fast and ruthless if you want to make good money. Motorbikes make more these days due to decreased workload so the jobs are fewer and further between. Still I was making good money on the bicycle filling in for a motorcycle, but I'm pretty hardcore.

I've made up to $300 ($500 customer) in one day, but some days you only make $100. We get 60% of what the courier company is paid for our deliveries. The different companies are Deadline Express, Urgent, Pace, Sub 60. Sub 60 work with a retainer and don't have a huge deal of pedally work.

A 1 hour job in the CBD might be worth $3 customer so we'd get about $2. However you get a fringe job due in 20 minutes from somewhere like grey lynn to the viaduct or Newmarket, and it might be worth $30 or $40 customer. Rare but gets the blood pumping. You live on adrenalin some days for 9 hours a day with no set breaks, so it can age you kind of fast. But the lifestyle is addictive and feels rewarding, don't ask me why, it doesn't make sense. Some days suck and some days are awesome. Weather is a big part. At the moment, you have to be a legend to stick at it, the work dried up with the economy, so have you to be top of the heirarchy for it to be worthwhile.

I mostly use a heavy old rigid (no suspension), 15 kg Giant Boulder mountain bike, as I have broken plenty of road bicycles and this is the only one that has survived. But otherwise I've got an old tenspeed that I destroyed and converted to a singlespeed, the rear wheel spokes blew so I'm getting it rebuilt at the moment, by Jenna who's one of the couriers in the vid.

[Mikkel]

How's your life insurance premiums?

[vtec]

How's your life insurance premiums?

I don't use insurance of any kind. I see it as one of society's evils. Another piece of personal responsibility taken away.

[McWild]

So by the sound of it there's no really entry into it for newbies anymore?

I suppose it would have to be in a large city like Auckland to be worthwhile anyway.

[Drunken Monkey]

That's awsome mane.

Reminds me of this:

[Mikkel]

I don't use insurance of any kind. I see it as one of society's evils. Another piece of personal responsibility taken away.

Unless you have a bankroll that will enable you to cover any potential fuck-up you might end up being responsible for, insurance is a good idea.

...and that is, also, assuming that everybody else aren't lacking moral fibre and common decency.

And while the first is rather unlikely, the latter has - sadly - been repeatedly proven not to be the case.


And anyway, we are talking life insurance here - which has nothing to do with personal responsibility and everything to do with taking care of your dependants in the case of your untimely demise.