Limes and Lemons

 Nothing says a job well done than passing out on the way home and yet still maintaining balance long enough to not crash into a power line pole you are veering towards.

Not today Satan!

But I still managed to rip my shifting cable for my rear derailer, so my bike at the end of the night went from a 12 speed to a single speed. That was a bit of a grind back home to be sure. The good people at Cycleworld Miami managed to get Silvana (crossrip1) Trek back and running like a beast, but the happiness only lasted as long as I was able to not give her another ding, and a nice one she got when she slipped along a pole I locked her up to. Well life is a bitch and you only get lemons, then you complain to the manager and tell them you ordered limes and then they tell you sorry there is only limes here in the life store, so you go home with nothing. Here is something to get sour about...

What was the plan here?

 Speaking of sour, cycling in the city more than a 'passing through' has brought about a bit more bitterness towards traffic. Now did I know people in Miami are bad drivers? Yes of course, but did I understand how bad? I was unpleasantly surprised.

Now was I helping, nahhh....

Getting Miles Getting Money

  Having a couple of days of delivery under my belt I can make a bit of an assessment for anyone interested in doing this kind of work, especially for UberEats. When running around you notice how agile a bicycle can be compared to a car. Traffic is far more terrifying, you even start internally running a cost benefit analysis of whether or not you should make that turn or wait at the light, whether you should filter, or play it safe losing time. Time is your enemy, and the layout of the city usually doesn't help, especially the older parts of the city.

Also, fuck wind.

What is the plan here?

  Now I know what your gonna say, "Carlos, just hop into your car and get around faster!" Now I'm gonna tell you, "You don't know shit about parking and one way streets." I noticed that the better markets (where a lot of people use the app) are in the saturated parts of the city, that means sub-burbs are deserts, and your sooooo thirsty.

so.... hot...

I honestly cannot see myself doing this kind of delivery in a car, maybe a scooter, but a car? Hell no. In downtown there is so little parking that anyone pulling off to the side (even to drop off a passenger) gets the ire of all around them. 

so, salty

I did notice that many restaurants make accommodations for delivery cars, but the pick up and drop off part of this work is so much faster with a U-lock and pole. Even so I have seen pairs of people working the delivery circuit, dropping off the bag person while the driver circles around, it is a solution, but now you have to divide the spoils of the delivery.

ALL MINE!

In heavy traffic there is no beating a bicycle, and when you are hard pressed to pull off a deadline, the agility and size of a bike makes traffic a laughable obstacle. 

Enjoy your cages cattle

I noticed some clients whom the order is in a business, order  a bit earlier than the time their lunch is scheduled. More often than not I surprise them, once I even arrived earlier to a location than the customer to their own job. The way traffic is here in Miami, delivery in the city with a car seems like a arduous and painful experience, the road rage alone wouldn't be worth it, at least to me (and if you have seen my videos I have plenty of rage already).

I'm not a complete asshole though....

We all working ourselves into a coma...

More videos are coming down the pipe, make sure to shoot me a like on these videos and I will post some more delivery videos soon, till then!

I Am a Courier Now

  It has been a long time since I have posted here, well now I'm back. Being an art teacher, artist, and self styled master pencil sharpener have taken a bit of time for me to get used to. Now that things seem to run themselves now, I am able to devote some more time back to this blog, super cool. But I must still paint, that I must do.

All day, erray day

Finally I am finding a bit of time on the side to try something that has been on my mind since I started cycling, becoming a courier. 

pretty much

While there is not much, if any demand, for postal rush or same day messaging, there is a lot of lazy rich people that want food, and do not want to mix with the rabble on the streets. Uber has allowed me to service these people, and service them I shall. 

So I signed up to be a Delivery boy for UberEats, and I was one of the few cyclist that picked up the bag. Now I am not saying there aren't any food cyclist out there, I see them all the time in places like Wynwood, Brikell and Downtown Miami, but the surprise I got when I walked into the Doral Uber Headquarters (two guys at a table in a sprint store) was a bit telling. 

My first couple of deliveries where pretty easy, made a bit of money to pay off the deposit for this giant box they want me to strap to my back, and even got a tip (didn't think that was an uncommon practice, rich people don't tip apparently). The interesting part of being a cyclist with a deadline is you push, you push hard, and running around with a place to be and a task at hand is a good motivator for a destination cyclist like myself. Also it is as if I am exercising, and Uber is paying me to do it. 

My Body is Ready

Doral is notorious for having horrid traffic, and surprisingly no cyclist capitalizing on this to make swift filtering to delivery heaven! I'll be posting some of my delivery expereinces and videos when I gather some more highlights, for now, here is a happy/sad thing that happened on a commute the other day.

Cute Ducks here