As of April 28, I began my employment as a bicycle messenger with Standard Courier. My first day was a harrowing experience. Chicago welcomed me with brutal wind, rain, and cold temperatures. At the end of the day, I was soaked, freezing, shivering, and sore. But it was grand.
Since then, my hands and seat have adjusted to the posture of a cyclist. In the beginning, every morning was agonizing when I mounted up for the first pedal stroke. At first I was riding an old Panasonic, but have since changed to riding my KHS. Changing bikes was a total transformation for riding; it's smoother, faster, and much more comfortable. But at the end of my third week, I am thankful for the rest and relaxation of the weekends. The physical demands of the job have been relatively easy to adjust to. Don't misunderstand me though. When I get home, I'm worthless.
Riding through the city is an adventure! Surviving the obstacles of traffic, potholes, cabs, BUSES, and masses of people create many intense challenges. Chicago is very friendly toward bikers. Buses and people seem to create the biggest challenges for me. Squirming through the throngs of people at crosswalks can be difficult but dodging merging buses is scary yet at the same time thrilling. At this point, I'm not going into great detail about such experiences for my loved one's piece of mind.
I have made deliveries to some interesting places, mostly to law firms, marketing agencies, banks, and notably to Oprah's company, Harpo. I wasn't hypnotized, but I did notice several Oprah shrines and people begging for alms in the name of Oprah.
Here are a couple of other pictures from my day.
Chicago is a beautiful city. While this job is short term, I'm thankful for this opportunity to ride my bike all day, everyday. I look forward to serving as a pastor, but for now I will keep on peddling.
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