Hey! South of the river rocks! Come down to Brixton a say that!! 
You come to Harlesden and say your from brixton 
“Brap brap brap, i run these streets” and all that good stuff…
Day Four!
Well today went a little better.
I started the week with the map in my bag, as it did not fit into a tank bag I already had. This was highly unpractical and one of the main contributors to my slowness as I would keep stopping to check that I was on course. So today I stuck it in a waterproof thing and bungeed it to the tank. Great!
Picked up and delivered allot today in the N1 and WCs post codes which is good getting to know things a little more, its a matter of repetition and visual memory for me, my verbal and reading memory is crap, as soon as I plan my route I forget which is what happened on Wednesday I would tell myself, left, right left but take the complete opposite order. This also happened on Wednesday when I was so concentrating on getting to my pick up that when I arrived I thought I had loss the document. I tiped my bag on the floor and was ready to call the office. What a twat I would have been if I had, so embarrassing, and Its worst when iam nervous.
Thanks KTM D for showing me the A40 way from Marylobone to kings cross so far I have used it every day.
As for SE1, that’s not the bad area, on Monday I got sent to new cross, SE1? Which I was trying to keep a little edited with details in case anyone from my work reads things they do not like, but iam sure if I was to make another trip or two I would have no probs going un mapped.
As for maps Vs sat nav I had made the dissicion not to use for the same reasons as above, they are crap in city centres where things like road works which lead to road closers, plus it means another thing to worry about breaking damage faulty losing getting nicked!
Maybe in the future if I decide to do my work on a bigger CC, which would mean jobs with more miles then maybe I will get one cos then it would be handy, but I agree it would end up being relayed on to much.
Things I have enjoyed so far, well there’s being on my bike every day, filtering through traffic in the blackwall tunnel (naughty but really fun).
As I said today went better. It started of slow but managed to do 8 jobs. Out of interest how many is the most a courier picked up before? Was that on open circuit or standard?
hard work, good diary. a salute from me
Well done, sounds like you are getting the hang of it!!!
In terms of directions, I find it more helpful just to remember the direction I am finally heading and working out a route visually in my head (approx) first, rather than specific right/left/left/right stuff directly from the map. I also forget straight away which right/left I should take!! but the more landmarks you know, and how to connect those landmarks the easier it becomes.
buy a button compass and stick it on ur tank bag sumwhere that way as long as you no your rough direction to go in you cant go wrong 
SR Fan - did you get that Terry’s job? 
hey dan,
you got 8 drops…see i told ya…
Well its the end of my week and what a week it has been.
I have been through so many different emotions.
Scared & vulnerable Monday, Wednesday in tears Thursday smug and Friday thankful that I still have a job on Monday.
Its generally not a bad job if you can nail the finding (Knowing) your way around. I think I may enjoy it eventually once I have conquered this. And the only way I will get better is to learn the hard way. I must remember to take things slowly, no running before I can walk as its just gonna take time to get the hang of things.
I have checked the bike over to make sure that it is all in one piece checked the battery and oil, adjusted the chain cos it was a new one tyre pressure the usual and all is sound. So I am fit and ready to start again on Monday.
I’ve tried to go through some of the routes that I went on last week to see where I went wrong and what to do next time, and revising the post codes because that’s one of my biggest floors, if I know the location of the post codes I can head for the boarder so to speak and then look up the road once I get there.
It’s a pain in the arse but I think I need to stop and call control a bit more if it is taking more time than expected to get somewhere. I have had them call me a couple of times mid journey, I’ve stop a little later to call which they don’t say much but I think they are chasing me up. Any tips to keeping the controller sweet? Without blatantly sucking up!
Anyway catch you next week!
Thanks by the way for all the tips keep them coming I am taking notes and trying them out when I can.
Dunno how you are carrying your radio, but fit the radio bag you shoulda been given, so it hangs just infront of your right shoulder, that way when you get a call on the go you can just slow down a bit, use your left hand to press the PTT button. Thats also another reason to have a flip up lid…
As for keeping the controller sweet thats a bit hit or miss, they guys and gals at my company were pretty nice/understanding while i was learning. Im gonna say dont feel pressured to lie that you are that much further down the road than you actually are, also always remember to call in POD/Empty after most drops, a couple of times i will have a nice run of say 5/6 drops all over and in my mind i have the route planned out and i would just do it and then call in empty when i had finished the whole lot, but sometimes you might be the closest to a job that has just come in, or even be somewhere that has just ordered a pickup, which all means more money for you. Just be reliable and try and get friendly without getting your nose too brown its a thin line…
Well done, Keep it up. I did some dispatch riding for 8 weeks. Jacked it in, its friggin hard and no easy task so well done.
Ok so I might have played a bit of bumper cars today.
I was on my way to a drop off, loaded up with 2 laptop styled bags on either side of me and heading Richmond way.
I’ve not been there before so I was trying to multitask on the map reading and riding thing.
It does not work!
In first gear, went to pull away, looked down at the map and then heard a thud followed by a jerk forward.
WTF!
I look up to find my self-semi slumped over my handlebars and up the arse of a car.
Thankfully the bike was fine, I was perfect and not any damage to the car other than a rubber scuffmark on his bummper.
Watching him in the mirror & waiting for him to jump out the car and deck me one, but he did nothing. So I pulled alongside and had a quick exchange of words,
"you ok? I’m ok! No damage but do you want to pull over & have a look?
and the guy just said I should look after my self, and that was it, of he went!
I was bricking it, and how embarrassing second week in.
Well again I have learnt the hard way.
Watch the road! Keep my distance! But how i laugh now.
On another subject work says iam doing fine so dont need to worrie to much about that, they have been great and really supportive so thank you guys! You Know who you are.
I dont have a radio yet, i think work is trying to ease the load. i just have to call in every POB, Empty etc to let them know whats going on.
Well iam so tired need to get some shut eye but i will talk to you all soon.
Spotted you had a route from Marylebone to Kings Cross - not sure exactly which way you are using but there’s a decent reverse route for bikes that runs from Tottenham Court Road - into Howland Street about 3/4 of the way up & then down New Cavendish Street all the way to Marylebone High Street.
Quite a few traffic lights but it’s one way all the way down and acres of room to get tot he front at every set of lights.
I used to ride along Marylebone Road every evening but when it’s rammed it’s tough to get through even on a bike (especially my everyday commuter - A K1200GT).
I actually go up Marylebone High Street, left into Paddington Street, then Crawford Street, right into Seymour Place & I’m back on the Marylebone Road but missed all the traffic. To be honest I’m not totally convinced it’s that much quicker unless it really is mayhem on M Road but it’s definitely easier on the disposition & makes the front end of my 40 mile commute go a little smoother!