Originally Posted by RadDog

Once again, reading comprehension, my friend. I was primarily referring to the people and personalities in the movie. It was spot on messenger culture. What was especially true, and sad, is the drug and alcohol abuse, it is rampant. It also unpacks the mentality behind the risk taking culture that often leads to death. I take you have not seen the movie. I highly recommend it. It goes beyond just talking about the job, it gets into these peoples lives.

Most messengers are people who have not had a lot of traditional success in life, shall we say. They finally find something they are good at and enter a community where they are loved and accepted....just go see the movie, you will understand. Someone asked me what I thought about it so I watched it and it was extremely authentic. Its on Amazon Prime.

Messengers will do whatever it takes to bond with this lifestyle. It is the most exciting job on the planet, its addictive. All this is a recipe for individuals who will do anything....anything to maintain the lifestyle. It should be no surprise that many, many messengers develop serious drinking and drug problems. It caught me too, after I lost my $200 a day gig I had to work as a slug for $50 a day. I was drinking 15 beers a day everyday and doing nasty white powders. I became unreliable (and eventually 30 years sober).

Now, as far as bike riding advice is concerned....I am most certainly not arguing for anyone to take safety lessons from messengers....you would be absolutely insane. I had a death wish because I had become a drunk loser. As most said, stay out of the door zone period. Honestly, I ride on mostly car less tarmac in a fancy smanshy McMansion neighborhood (not drinking turned my life around). I do have some tricks for staying away from cars almost altogether. That is also why I am into gravel and MTB.

However, I do also know some cool stuff you won't find anywhere else. As stated, I never rode a fixie. I was fascinated by the technique, never seeing it before. Again, watch the movie. It is really clever the way these guys and gals do it.

Here is the thing. I am 58, rode for 30 years in every imaginable condition. I raced BMX, MTB and trained with some pretty good road guys. Every time I learned something....a lot. I wish I trained with the road guys earlier because they really are the best when it comes too pure pedaling technique, cadence, and those sorts of things. I associate with a pretty hard core group of MTB guys and I tell them if they want to get better off road train on road with the experts. So, for me, I am always learning. I joined this forum to learn.

The stuff I know from messengering for 5 years is dangerous, but also very interesting.

Namaste

PS...I always wanted to go to Toronto