Anyone tried pedicabbing?
- Thread starter MajorMantra
- Start date
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Chuffy
Veteran
- Location
- On the banks of the Exe
Not wanting to put you off or anything but crap jobs often have a very high turnover...MajorMantra said:I got a reply almost instantly. I'm to turn up for training on Thursday!
Exciting...
Matthew
...but in your shoes I think I'd have a go. Good luck!
OP
OP
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
Chuffy said:
I know, but I figure I've got nothing to lose except possibly some of my dignity. I think they are hiring because the summer pedicabbers will have quit around now and departed for warmer climes. Wise folk...
Thanks for the encouragement.
Longers,
CCers only get a discount if they help pedal.
Matthew
OP
OP
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
I'm just back from my training session. It was after a long and busy day and after riding home from the pedicab place uphill on the fixed I'm pretty well spent.
We rode around the city centre and took a few people for free rides to get a feel for things. The pedicabs are really rather ungainly but they are geared so low that you can get up most hills without dying. The weirdest part for me is not leaning into turns. Every time I go round a corner I feel like I'm about to be flung off.
Still, this could be entertaining. First night of actual work is tomorrow...
Matthew
We rode around the city centre and took a few people for free rides to get a feel for things. The pedicabs are really rather ungainly but they are geared so low that you can get up most hills without dying. The weirdest part for me is not leaning into turns. Every time I go round a corner I feel like I'm about to be flung off.
Still, this could be entertaining. First night of actual work is tomorrow...
Matthew
OP
OP
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
palinurus said:
My sentiments exactly.
Matthew
Chuffy
Veteran
- Location
- On the banks of the Exe
Well, have fun! As an aging fart with a mortgage I'm really quite envious. Wish they'd been around when I was young and carefree..
Let us know how it goes, assuming you aren't too wrecked to type.
Let us know how it goes, assuming you aren't too wrecked to type.
OP
OP
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
Will do. People work until around 3 to 5 AM though so I will be a mere shell of my former self by the end of the shift.
Matthew
Matthew
Chuffy
Veteran
- Location
- On the banks of the Exe
Yup! New jobs always knock you sideways and physically demanding jobs even more so. I lost several stone when I started work as a postie and when I worked as a delivery driver for Shitty Link I lost so much weight that my trousers were literally falling off me. I reckon you'll end up spending most of your wages on pie and smaller trews.MajorMantra said:
OP
OP
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
Chuffy said:Yup! New jobs always knock you sideways and physically demanding jobs even more so. I lost several stone when I started work as a postie and when I worked as a delivery driver for Shitty Link I lost so much weight that my trousers were literally falling off me. I reckon you'll end up spending most of your wages on pie and smaller trews.
I'm not sure it's physically possible for someone my height to go below a 27" waist. We shall see...
If anyone has any advice on fitting night shifts on the weekend in with normal life I'm all ears.
Matthew
Chuffy
Veteran
- Location
- On the banks of the Exe
27"?!!!!! That's one of my thighs!
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
good on you Matthew, if nothing else you'll never be left wondering what if
OP
OP
MajorMantra
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Edinburgh
I guess it’s about time I reported back.
I worked Friday and Saturday nights starting around 7.30 to 8 and finishing around 4am or a bit later. The first night didn’t go terribly well and I only made about 2/3 of the rent on the pedicab for the weekend. I was cold for much of the time and the next day I woke up with the symptoms of a hangover despite not having touched a drop – this was because of dehydration.
The second night was rather more successful as I had a better sense of where to go for fares and there seemed to be more happening. Despite having brought extra clothing I froze intermittently as the temperature was lower than it had been the previous night. After paying the rent I walked away with about £66 meaning I’d made about £4 an hour averaged over the two nights. If Saturday’s productivity could be maintained (certainly possible with practice I think) I would be in the region of £7 or so an hour. Some of my fellow more experienced pedicabbers were doing considerably better than that.
My lasting memory of this experience will probably be the sheer awfulness of people’s behaviour in the wee hours in Edinburgh’s less salubrious areas. Past midnight or so a very significant proportion of people I saw were either drunk or very drunk and around the Cowgate in particular there was a sense of anarchy as police cars shot back and forth and people shouted abuse and stumbled around blindly. I saw one particularly stupid ned getting arrested after he’d apparently been scrapping about 3 feet in front of a police van.
I enjoyed the camaraderie of the pedicabbers and some of my fares were very pleasant people. At the same time, the level of abuse we received – mainly from ‘men’ aged 18-30 who apparently had something to prove – was impressive. In that respect I found the experience rather depressing.
Given the problems with fitting pedicabbing into my sleep pattern without making uni very difficult I think it’s likely I won’t stick with this. I’m glad I’ve tried and even made a little cash but I’m not sure that it’s sustainable alongside a 3rd year course and I’m also not sure it’s entirely good for my soul.
Matthew
I worked Friday and Saturday nights starting around 7.30 to 8 and finishing around 4am or a bit later. The first night didn’t go terribly well and I only made about 2/3 of the rent on the pedicab for the weekend. I was cold for much of the time and the next day I woke up with the symptoms of a hangover despite not having touched a drop – this was because of dehydration.
The second night was rather more successful as I had a better sense of where to go for fares and there seemed to be more happening. Despite having brought extra clothing I froze intermittently as the temperature was lower than it had been the previous night. After paying the rent I walked away with about £66 meaning I’d made about £4 an hour averaged over the two nights. If Saturday’s productivity could be maintained (certainly possible with practice I think) I would be in the region of £7 or so an hour. Some of my fellow more experienced pedicabbers were doing considerably better than that.
My lasting memory of this experience will probably be the sheer awfulness of people’s behaviour in the wee hours in Edinburgh’s less salubrious areas. Past midnight or so a very significant proportion of people I saw were either drunk or very drunk and around the Cowgate in particular there was a sense of anarchy as police cars shot back and forth and people shouted abuse and stumbled around blindly. I saw one particularly stupid ned getting arrested after he’d apparently been scrapping about 3 feet in front of a police van.
I enjoyed the camaraderie of the pedicabbers and some of my fares were very pleasant people. At the same time, the level of abuse we received – mainly from ‘men’ aged 18-30 who apparently had something to prove – was impressive. In that respect I found the experience rather depressing.
Given the problems with fitting pedicabbing into my sleep pattern without making uni very difficult I think it’s likely I won’t stick with this. I’m glad I’ve tried and even made a little cash but I’m not sure that it’s sustainable alongside a 3rd year course and I’m also not sure it’s entirely good for my soul.
Matthew
night rider
Guru
- Location
- Glasgow
MajorMantra said:I'm considering it on grounds that being paid for what is effectively training would be quite nice. Downsides (aside from the hard work involved) appear to be that you are self employed and thereforce reliant on charm
Any thoughts? Anyone tried it? I've searched and couldn't find any threads on the subject.
Matthew
very little detail about this accident that happened at the weekend. Cue comments about helmets being compulsory....
