FACTS of Life

I don’t know why we do this. We complain. We complain about how cold it gets every winter. We know it gets cold. It’s winter for crying out loud. Well, messengers have a lot of things going for them, but being above complaining isn’t one of them. And if you live in Portland it’s going to rain. And rain a lot. So why complain right? But I went to Portland twice, and couldn’t stop complaining (if only in my mind) non stop about the rain. None the less, when the rain broke for a minute or two I got this shot of the city from afar. I had to ride outside the city quiet a ways, uphill. But it was worth it.

Portland in the rain

So it is no wonder that we bicycle messengers complain about the pay. It’s not like we know any messengers making a hundred thousand a year. But we somehow feel taken advantage, overworked and under paid . When in New York City this sign on a messenger company wall made the rules very clear. Imagine if you had a sign like this above your desk every morning at work?

Working conditions outlined