The Cycling Chat Thread

[TopCat]

10mph is respectable TopCat, >3x walking pace

My right lung hurts. It’s collapsed before. Long time ago mind.

Anyway it should get easier and I am going to put a selfie of me and cycle to work scheme cycle on our Yammer intranet today thus proving I commuted at least once by bike.

 

[spitfire]

It’s when you haven’t eaten enough and your body literally runs out of energy. Can come on very suddenly and is utterly horrible.

Ok thanks, I thought it was an autocorrect typo. I have reserves, hopefully will start burning through that.

(jokes, will eat properly).

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

TopCat, It does get easier over time, but there's no need to try and keep up with the mamils, just go at your own pace. Have a look at Holland, no one's rushing around over there.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Ok thanks, I thought it was an autocorrect typo. I have reserves, hopefully will start burning through that.

(jokes, will eat properly).

Never heard the term bonking in relation to cycling, but did happen to me a few weeks ago, fortunately only around a mile from a cafe. Unfortunately they only had vegan cheesecake available, was bogging, but choked it down with a coffee laced with sugar and made it home. Always carry a small piece of mint cake and biltong now, if I can feel energy draining that will get me through.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Two grams of excess weight. I really don’t know if you are serious.

Weight Weenies - Index page

weightweenies.starbike.com

(I wasn’t being serious btw. But a quick look on that forum will show you there’s some absolute nutters out there…)

 

[TopCat]

Weight Weenies - Index page

weightweenies.starbike.com

(I wasn’t being serious btw. But a quick look on that forum will show you there’s some absolute nutters out there…)

Hehe.
I used to marvel at London’s cycle couriers when I was a MC despatch rider. They would do mad shit to make the cycle lighter. Brakes? Fuck em off or just keep a teeny calliper on the rear. Frame heavy? Drill it full of holes, what could go wrong!

Many of this breed drank beer at lunchtime and gobbled speed. I rarely see any of them now. I hope they all are ok.

 

[DaphneM]

Hehe.
I used to marvel at London’s cycle couriers when I was a MC despatch rider. They would do mad shit to make the cycle lighter. Brakes? Fuck em off or just keep a teeny calliper on the rear. Frame heavy? Drill it full of holes, what could go wrong!

Many of this breed drank beer at lunchtime and gobbled speed. I rarely see any of them now. I hope they all are ok.

they all used to drink at a specific pub, was it off oxford street? the George?

 

[TopCat]

they all used to drink at a specific pub, was it off oxford street? the George?

I’m trying to remember. We used to go in to buy speed for long journeys. No beer for us though.

 

[spitfire]

I’m trying to remember. We used to go in to buy speed for long journeys. No beer for us though.

there used to be a pub in Clerkenwell next to the Italian church that was heaving with them on Fridays.

 

[Cid]

Hehe.
I used to marvel at London’s cycle couriers when I was a MC despatch rider. They would do mad shit to make the cycle lighter. Brakes? Fuck em off or just keep a teeny calliper on the rear. Frame heavy? Drill it full of holes, what could go wrong!

Many of this breed drank beer at lunchtime and gobbled speed. I rarely see any of them now. I hope they all are ok.

Most of the courier jobs went as communications changed. E.g I worked as a contract courier for a photography lab; small place but they had three couriers on staff. Contract is a bit different from the types you’d see shooting about with radios, but you get the idea - a lot of physical media being taken from a to b on tight deadlines. That’s obviously far less the case now.

 

[Cid]

there used to be a pub in Clerkenwell next to the Italian church that was heaving with them on Fridays.

The Duke of York, now The Clerk & Well. Just another gastro pub afaik.

 

[Cid]

Courier weight weenieness was, of course, largely pointless as it turns out - we’d have been better off getting rid of any ornaments and wearing tighter Lycra, but hey.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Most of the courier jobs went as communications changed. E.g I worked as a contract courier for a photography lab; small place but they had three couriers on staff. Contract is a bit different from the types you’d see shooting about with radios, but you get the idea - a lot of physical media being taken from a to b on tight deadlines. That’s obviously far less the case now.

we used to have an inhouse fella to take plane tickets around central London on a bike, since e-tickets came along that's not been needed...

 

[sleaterkinney]

Tbf, when I did the London to Brighton charity thing there were people walking up the hills in London....

 

[Orang Utan]

Don’t be daft. If you tell someone it’s an easy ride, and they’re struggling 40 miles in, how do you think they’ll feel? Everything is relative… you did a shorter version when you were x years younger and probably better trained.

that’s why i’m saying it’s ok to get off and push if you get tired and it’s ok to take a shorter route if you want

 

[DaphneM]

I’m trying to remember. We used to go in to buy speed for long journeys. No beer for us though.

Quite liked this article

The secret life of a cycle courier

London behind the scenes, the sweet smell of petrol and a blissful exhaustion – teabags delivered to Buckingham Palace and alleycat races … extracts from Cyclogeography, Jon Day’s account of the years he spent hitting the tarmac

www.theguardian.com

 

[TopCat]

Quite liked this article

The secret life of a cycle courier

London behind the scenes, the sweet smell of petrol and a blissful exhaustion – teabags delivered to Buckingham Palace and alleycat races … extracts from Cyclogeography, Jon Day’s account of the years he spent hitting the tarmac

www.theguardian.com

Beautiful

 

[David Clapson]

Cycle couriers got all the cool points and the gushing press coverage. They even had fakenger admirers. But despatch riders were ignored and shunned for ever. We were just dirty, feral semi-humans, the very lowest form of life. Some of us did stink. And it was hard to wash the dirt off your face every day. Some didn't bother until the weekend.

 

[TopCat]

Cycle couriers got all the cool points and the gushing press coverage. They even had fakenger admirers. But despatch riders were ignored and shunned for ever. We were just dirty, feral semi-humans, the very lowest form of life. Some of us did stink. And it was hard to wash the dirt off your face every day. Some didn't bother until the weekend.

I felt like a pariah for seven winters. Scum really.

 

[TopCat]

Cycle couriers got all the cool points and the gushing press coverage. They even had fakenger admirers. But despatch riders were ignored and shunned for ever. We were just dirty, feral semi-humans, the very lowest form of life. Some of us did stink. And it was hard to wash the dirt off your face every day. Some didn't bother until the weekend.

Who did you work for?

My time was with:
Mayday couriers
Addison Lee
MPC
West 1 rapid
Challenger

I earned more money hamming up injuries from crashes than delivering parcels.

 

[TopCat]

Sorry for derail.

 

[maomao]

Cycle couriers got all the cool points and the gushing press coverage. They even had fakenger admirers. But despatch riders were ignored and shunned for ever. We were just dirty, feral semi-humans, the very lowest form of life. Some of us did stink. And it was hard to wash the dirt off your face every day. Some didn't bother until the weekend.

Who did you ride for?

Never felt like I had cool points as a pushbike courier though we did have a show about us on CITV. It's an even dirtier job than being on a motorbike ime, most of us did all our own maintenance as we went too. The only real advantage to the job was the necessity of eating 6-8,000 calories a day. I'm sure I spent as much at bakeries as any motorbike rider ever did at the petrol station.

 

[TopCat]

Who did you ride for?

Never felt like I had cool points as a pushbike courier though we did have a show about us on CITV. It's an even dirtier job than being on a motorbike ime, most of us did all our own maintenance as we went too. The only real advantage to the job was the necessity of eating 6-8,000 calories a day. I'm sure I spent as much at bakeries as any motorbike rider ever did at the petrol station.

Benjy’s kept me fed. Remember them? Massive bacon and egg subs with a pint of tomato soup five times a day.

 

[maomao]

Who did you work for?

My time was with:
Mayday couriers
Addison Lee
MPC
West 1 rapid
Challenger

I earned more money hamming up injuries from crashes than delivering parcels.

I knew a controller from Challenger (Paul). Absolutely off his head conspiracist/Ike fan.

I worked at Add Lee for four days and made seven grand (redundancy) but really didn't like it.

I rode for Security Despatch, CFP and a couple of little two-bikes-and-a-van places.

 

[maomao]

Benjy’s kept me fed. Remember them? Massive bacon and egg subs with a pint of tomato soup five times a day.

Fuck yes. Particularly the ones on Tott Ct Rd and Victoria St. Giant jam doughnut and a coffee for 60p or something. They were still there in 2004 or 5 but had started doing some sort of 'less bread in the sandwiches' bollocks.

 

[TopCat]

I knew a controller from Challenger (Paul). Absolutely off his head conspiracist/Ike fan.

I worked at Add Lee for four days and made seven grand (redundancy) but really didn't like it.

I rode for Security Despatch, CFP and a couple of little two-bikes-and-a-van places.

A lot of the courier companies stole from riders. The controller would set up a dummy rider account and nick five percent of everyone’s jobs figuring no one checked.

I had this happen and it caused a lot of problems and resultant violence.

Addison Lee we’re cunts like the rest but never stole from your pocket.

 

[maomao]

A lot of the courier companies stole from riders. The controller would set up a dummy rider account and nick five percent of everyone’s jobs figuring no one checked.

Yes, this absolutely happened. It was control room corruption completely ignored by management. Controllers would set up a fake driver (known as a 'dead man') in the system and allocate one job from each rider per day. Stopped happening when riders started carrying 'XDA's which had a record of the week's jobs as well as signatures on it but controllers on the whole were utter cunts who thought the riders and drivers owed them something.

When I controlled couriers I had a scam that involved allocating double bookings to a friendly van driver and then he'd give me half the money. You have to steal from the right people.

 

[David Clapson]

Who did you ride for?

Never felt like I had cool points as a pushbike courier though we did have a show about us on CITV. It's an even dirtier job than being on a motorbike ime, most of us did all our own maintenance as we went too. The only real advantage to the job was the necessity of eating 6-8,000 calories a day. I'm sure I spent as much at bakeries as any motorbike rider ever did at the petrol station.

Addy Lee and Delta in the mid 80s, and a couple of firms whose names I forget about 20 years later. I think the pollution was much filthier in the 80s -leaded petrol etc. You'd ride with your visor open all day and when you took your helmet off there was a sort of grey sunburn effect. Our clothes got black from dirt and oil etc. Nothing was ever washed.

 

[DownwardDog]

Addy Lee and Delta in the mid 80s, and a couple of firms whose names I forget about 20 years later. I think the pollution was much filthier in the 80s -leaded petrol etc. You'd ride with your visor open all day and when you took your helmet off there was a sort of grey sunburn effect. Our clothes got black from dirt and oil etc. Nothing was ever washed.

I worked for Chain Gang in Fulham when I was a student from '85 to '88. They were run on a shoestring but actually an OK bunch.

 

[TopCat]

Yes, this absolutely happened. It was control room corruption completely ignored by management. Controllers would set up a fake driver (known as a 'dead man') in the system and allocate one job from each rider per day. Stopped happening when riders started carrying 'XDA's which had a record of the week's jobs as well as signatures on it but controllers on the whole were utter cunts who thought the riders and drivers owed them something.

When I controlled couriers I had a scam that involved allocating double bookings to a friendly van driver and then he'd give me half the money. You have to steal from the right people.

The fleet manager at MPC went too far with this. High volume of jobs at low pay and he nicked too much and we noticed. We spoke to the MD who told us to fuck off so we stole the server from the control office and beat up the involved controller.

The negotiations to swap the server for owed money were tortuous. I worried someone would get shot.

It all got sorted but the company went to the wall.