Valerie Topete - Tips For Freelance Bike Couriers

Valerie Topete is a bike courier in New York. She currently works with a company called Mercury Rising but worked as a freelancer for many years. Being a freelancer means you have to find your own clients and sometimes work harder at your job. If you are a freelance bike courier, these tips can help make you more successful

Choose The Right Bike
When you decide to become a bike courier, you should have a good bike that can help you get the job done. Not every bike can be used for a courier bike so you need to choose one that is durable and comfortable. You should also keep in mind that you will be using your bike every day and it will need repairs done regularly. There are certain bikes that are designed to be used for courier services or you can have your own bike modified.

Become Familiar With The Area
You need to be able to deliver your packages and documents quickly and that means you should know the delivery area well. You won’t be able to ride a bike and look at a map so it is a good idea to study maps and become familiar with the area before you start working. If you don’t make your deliveries on time, you may not get paid for them.

Stay Safe
Being a bicycle courier can be a dangerous job, especially if you are working in a big city. You always need to be safe while doing your deliveries. You should carry pepper spray with you in case you run into trouble and be aware of your surroundings at all time. If you do not feel safe in a certain area, you should avoid going there. Trust your gut instinct and if you do not feel comfortable delivering to a certain area, speak up and let the company you work for know how you feel.

Finding Jobs
It can be hard to find a job as a bike carrier. Many businesses and companies do not use bicycle couriers and it can be a competitive job market. If you cannot find a job as a bicycle courier you can offer your services to different companies. You never know who will take you up on your offer and help you start your career as a courier. Many couriers are freelancers who work on different projects and with different clients throughout their careers.

Valerie Topete knows that being a freelance bike courier can be difficult, but it can also be a successful career. If you want to be a freelance bike courier or already are and want to be more successful, these tips can help.

Valerie Topete - Staying Safe In New York

Valerie Topete has been working in New York City as a bike courier for several years. She enjoys the freedom it gives her and being able to meet new people and clients. Working in a big city like New York can have its risks, but if you know how to stay safe you don’t have to worry or feel nervous. These tips can help you stay safe while working or living in New York City.

Valerie Topete

Don’t Look Like A Tourist
Many criminals look for tourists because they are vulnerable. If you do not want to be the target of a crime, you need to avoid looking like a tourist. This means avoiding wearing souvenir t-shirts, looking at maps and wandering along slowly. Make sure you walk confidently and look comfortable.

Be Aware Of Your Surroundings
You should never let your guard down when you are in a big city and should always be aware y of your surroundings. If you feel uncomfortable in a certain area, quickly find your way out of it. Keep an eye on the people around you and avoid dangerous parts of the city

Don’t Flaunt Your Belongings
Avoid wearing jewelry, carrying expensive phones, cameras or other objects or flaunting any other personal belongings you may have with you. These things can make you a target by showing criminals you have such items or the means to afford them. Dress modestly and leave your expensive jewelry at home.

Take A Cab
If you aren’t sure if your destination is safe or how to get there, take a cab. A cab driver will be able to deliver you to your location safely and tell you if the location is safe or if you should go somewhere else instead. You can easily find a cab on almost any street and riding in a cab is much safer than walking on most occasions.

Stick To The Main Streets
If you aren’t familiar with the streets of New York, make sure you stay on the main ones. It only takes one wrong turn to find yourself in the bad part of town and that can put you at risk to be the victim of a crime. If you will be visiting the city at night make sure you stay on streets that are well lit and not empty. When there are people nearby, you are less likely to be victimized.

Not everyone has what it takes to live in a city as large as New York. Valerie Topete enjoys working in a fast-paced city that offers unique experiences and people. If you are worried about staying safe in New York City, the above tips can help.

Valerie Topete - Tips For Improving Your Singing Voice

​Valerie Topete is a talented singer who entertained aspirations of becoming a pop star when she was studying at high school. She still has an excellent singing voice and is always interested in techniques that she can use to get better. These handy hints will help anybody who is looking to improve their technical abilities or those who just want to sound a little better.


Sing Often
Few things in life come easily and those who are not blessed with natural singing talent are going to find that they need to practice to make improvements. Sing along to any of the songs that you love when they are playing, but try to pay attention to pitch and tone while you do so. This will allow you to match the efforts of the singer on the record, improving your own voice in the process.

Practice Scales
Your voice is an instrument, much like a guitar or piano, so it is important to practice the basics so that you can develop the technical skills that you need to tackle difficult songs. By practicing scales for a few minutes every day, you will be able to extend the range of notes that you are able to hit and thus become able to sing more songs.

Record Yourself
Valerie Topete believes that hearing yourself sing can play a large role in highlighting issues that you need to work on. By recording yourself belting out a few tunes, you can play them back and make improvements. Save multiple recordings over time so you can document your progression and stay motivated.

Valerie Topete - Essential Tips For Road Cycling Safety

As a bike courier for Mercury Rising, Valerie Topete has an exceptional safety record and has never been involved in any traffic collisions, barring the occasional small scrape with taxis. To maintain this record for safety, she makes sure to refresh her knowledge of security while road cycling on a regular basis, which is particularly important given that she works in New York. These pointers will prove useful for anybody who is wary of cycling on the road, particularly in built-up areas that are often congested with traffic.

Avoid The Sidewalk

A lot of new cyclists try to ride on the sidewalk, rather than the road, in an effort to avoid collisions with vehicles. This is not only dangerous to yourself and pedestrians, but may also lead to you breaking the law in some states. Avoid the sidewalk whenever you can and make sure to get off the bike if you have to use the it. Remember that trying to weave in and out of groups of pedestrians is extremely difficult at the best of times, but is much more so when doing it at high speed on a bicycle.

Make Eye Contact

One of the key challenges that faces cyclists is ensuring that other road users recognize their presence so that potential accidents can be avoided before they happen. Though you may find it a little uncomfortable at first, by making eye contact with drivers, especially when at stop signs or traffic lights, you make sure that they are aware of your presence. You don’t need to get into a staring match, as a look and a smile should be more than enough to suffice and keep you in their minds as they pull away.

Always Wear A Helmet

One of the first safety tips that any cyclist will be given is to always wear a helmet, even on the shortest rides. This is particularly important for road users and may save your life if you are involved in a collision. Hard concrete hurts and hitting it at speed can lead to traumatic injuries that, in the worst case scenario, could have a dramatic impact on the way that you live your life. Always be sure to invest in a quality bike helmet and make sure that it fits before taking it out on the road.

Wear Light Clothing

Valerie Topete points out that cycling at night presents a range of challenges that you won’t face during the day, the biggest of which is maintaining visibility. Always make sure to wear light-colored clothing when you are out on the road so that drivers can easily see where you are. Reflective stripes and other high-visibility clothing will also be able to offer additional protection.
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Valerie Topete - Things To Consider Before Becoming a Bike Courier

Valerie Topete became a bike courier after she moved to New York, following the completion of her studies at UCLA. She started out as a freelancer, taking jobs from Craigslist and online forums before she came to the attention of Mercury Rising in 2011. She has since developed into one of the top bike couriers in New York and was recognized as the Top Rider for the company in 2015. There are a number of things that people need to consider if they are interested in following in her footsteps and becoming bike couriers themselves.

                                     

How Well Do You Know Your City?

Before you start making deliveries, it is important that you develop an almost-encyclopedic knowledge of the area where you will be operating in. This can be a challenge, especially in built-up areas that can often feel somewhat maze-like when you are out on the road, but it is going to prove essential if you are to make fast deliveries and stay safe while doing so. Pay special attention to designated cycling routes and take full advantage of them, as they may allow you to cut out large parts of journeys if used well.

Is Your Bike Up To Task?

As surprising as it may seem, speed is not always going to be the top priority when working as a bike courier, as it will often be the case that you can’t get up to top-speed due to traffic or the winding nature of a journey. Instead, you need to have a bike that is reliable and capable of handling long distances without causing you any issues. Invest in a bike that has a strong frame and do your research before committing to a purchase. Your reputation could end up being ruined by a poor bike that breaks down at an inopportune moment.

Learn To Handle Stress

Remember that every single package or document that you carry is very important to the person asking you to make the delivery and should be treated with the utmost respect. This can become very stressful, especially if you have taken on a number of jobs for the day that all require very speedy deliveries. You need to be able to handle the often-frenetic nature of life as a bike courier when riding, plus it is crucial that you take advantage of your time away from the road to unwind.

You Have To Love It

Valerie Topete has been a successful bike courier because she has a passion for cycling. If you don’t share this passion, it may be worth reconsidering the career choice as you are going to end up spending long days on a bike, every single week. A lack of passion leads to missed deliveries, which often means that you don’t get paid for your work.

Valerie Topete - Bike Equipment That Every Cyclist Needs

So you have finally purchased a bike and you are looking to get out on the roads as soon as possible. However, before you do, it is important that you pick up all of the relevant equipment that you will need to make your journeys as comfortable as possible. As an experienced bike courier in New York City, Valerie Topete knows better than most just how important good equipment can be, particularly during long days of cycling. All of these are important for any new cyclist to have if they want to stay comfortable for longer.

A Helmet

The very first thing that you should purchase before you head out on your bike is a good helmet. Make sure that you do some research and pick a helmet that has been made by a quality manufacturer, instead of trying to buy the cheapest option available. After all, your helmet may end up saving your life if you are involved in a collision or end up coming off the bike for any reason. It is also important to ensure that you purchase a helmet that properly fits your head, so that you can enjoy full protection.

A Water Bottle

Long rides can get very exhausting and the constant sweating may lead to you becoming dehydrated in fairly short order, especially if you are cycling in warm weather. This means that you should always have a water bottle available so that you can take a quick swig if the ride is starting to wear on you. Always refill it before you head out on the bike and make an effort to clean it properly when you return home. If you’re on a very long ride, it is also wise to take advantage of any opportunities that you have to get a refill by stopping off at water fountains that might be on your route.

Valerie Topete

A Puncture Repair Kit

Tire punctures are one of the biggest issues that a bike courier or long-distance cyclist is going to face, so you always want to be sure that you have what you need to make quick repairs so that you don’t end up stranded on the side of the road. Purchase a good puncture repair kit that leaves you able to repair multiple tires if needed. It is also a good idea to bring a bike pump along with you as well, so you can re-inflate a tire following the repair work.

Gloves

Valerie Topete finds that the friction that her hands experience from constant gripping of handlebars while she is working as a bike courier can be problematic. By investing in a good pair of cycling gloves, you completely eliminate this issue and will also be able to remedy any problems that could be caused due to vibrations while riding.

Valerie Topete - An Intro to Mercury Rises

Valerie Topete has been working as a bike messenger in the New York City area for many years. As a freelancer, she overcame many challenges to iron out a good living for herself, and her family. After working on her own for three years, fate intervened, and she met John Tudebaker, CEO of Mercury Rises, a hyper-competitive bike courier service operating in New York City.


Topete had no idea what she was getting into when she accepted a test interview from Mr. Tudebaker. Tudebaker had found her based on her reputation as an excellent freelance courier with no traffic incidents on her record. It was based on that information he thought Topete may have what it takes to compete in Mercury Rises.

One thing that became apparent for Topete when she officially started at Mercury Rises, is their spirit of competition. Tudebaker has every employee of his company in direct competition with each other. The company is all about skill and precision, speed and accuracy.

Mercury Rises has a standard that does not compromise. Tudebaker simply wanted the best couriers that New York City had to offer, and Valerie Topete found herself on that list.

Valerie Topete has now found herself immersed in the competitive culture of the company. Though at first glance the competitiveness may seem strange to outsiders, Topete has developed a kind of bond and comradery with her fellow couriers based upon mutual respect. Topete continue to perform at her best, as working for Mercury Rises offers little alternative.