BERLIN

Host city of the first CMWC (1993)

Moving Target, Spring 1995, vol. 4, #3

by Buffalo Bill

THE CITY

Berlin has the biggest cc scene in Germany. There are probably around 200 ccs in Berlin working for around 15 20 companies. The business there got a big kick-start when the wall came down in ’89. At that time, because there were less than 20 phone-lines connecting West Berlin with East, no integration of postal services across the city, no direct transport links and almost no direct road links, virtually the only way of getting anything of importance across the city was by messenger. This meant that the companies could almost charge what they liked ‘cos their services were in such demand. Like Christmas all year round....

At this point in time, in spite of vast civic works undertaken by the authorities to improve the long neglected infrastructure of the East, there remains a huge gap in communications systems that to be filled by messengers. Berlin is full of huge gaps. Half of Mitte, the old Eastern district which is now close to the centre of reunited Berlin after having spent 4 decades in the shadow of the wall, in a building site. Virtually every major street is being excavated and many of the buildings are being 'redeveloped’ or have been simply demolished and are being rebuilt.

BUILD, BUILD, BUILD

Riding around this area, I was reminded of Docklands or the Broadgate construction areas in the late '80s. Everywhere the sound of jackhammers and pneumatic drills, streets jammed with hulking spoil lorries and rubble all aver the street. I hope for Berlin's sake that the people in charge are reading a different manual to the one that the LDDC used. At the moment, considering the 'transformation' in the East: new buildings, new bars and even new street names, the parallel between Docklands is an apt one, I think.

MERCEDES CITY

It is possible that this huge upheaval will turn out as successfully as the Broadgate Complex but when I heard that Mercedes is planning a Mercedes city right in the to build a super-highway tunnel under the centre of the city and other mad shit like that I recalled the overreaching absurdities of Canary Wharf and the Limehouse Link (the most expensive road ever built) and what a complete fiasco the build build build mania of Eighties London turned out to be. We ended up with 3 times as much office space as we needed for the whole of London, the biggest building in the city virtually empty and the builders' bankrupt. Meanwhile, the Berlin ccs struggle with a welter of new diversions and street-name changes that are not even sign-posted on the streets.

THE WORK

First of all, the distances covered are far greater. Motorbikes are in a minority. Jobs of 10km (6 miles) and over are common for pedal bikes. 20km (12 miles) and over is considered a bit of slap and would be a motorbike job at some of the companies. Volume is lower, 25 dockets being a good day, and rates of pay are higher. Quite a few of the decent, but not the fastest, ccs of Berlin have done record days in excess of 250DM or roughly a hundred pounds (And be fore any of the pendants rush to put pen to paper to correct me, that is riders' share not turnover and at the time of writing the DM was 2.33 to GBP you can but hope, eh?). I didn't really have the nerve to ask any of the real gravy dogs what their records were. Berlin messenger companies also operate a super-rush docket-system similar to the North American system. Unlike, London where everything is urgent (unless you work for the Wobbly Cheque where everything is same day), when the client specifies a tighter deadline (say 30 mins for W1 E1) the charge increases. The amount varies from company to company but is around 30 50 % extra. This has to be a good thing.

The companies take their share of the riders' money in various different ways. At messenger the company takes a straight 34% share of the riders’ turnover. At Express, messenger’s big competitor, the riders pay DM400 monthly circuit fee and keep all of the money over and above this circuit fee. The down-side is the system of pay. Berlin messengers are paid monthly and a month in hand so when you start, you work for 2 months before receiving your first cheque. Yes, that’s right 2 months! Further, it is virtually impossible to work 'on the black’. All ccs have to register at the town hall as self-employed. This makes tax evasion virtually impossible. This also rules out access to the wonderful German welfare system. Yep, messengers have to pay for health-care through self insurance schemes (be serious) or through the nose.

There were a few other things that I found slightly curious principally the radio system at the two biggest companies. They use the open-call system... the debate about this will rage & rage. I personally feel that the only way to run open-call is to run it pure. No plot, no empty calls strictly by the book. 1st call without destination empty bikes in the street only, 2nd call empty bikes in the post code and so on. To mix up the system with plot, as is often the case, makes it crooked. Express seemed to be running it 'pure', but messenger certainly weren't. Anyway, any system is only as good as the riders & controllers who run it so whatever turns you on is good, I suppose.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Berlin ccs are riding in a city and a country where the contribution of bikes and cyclists to the health of the city is appreciated and encouraged. In Germany, riding a bike is something that all responsible citizens should consider doing. This is in contrast to the U.K. where the cyclist is made to feel at best, like a poor relation, and at worst, an antisocial subversive who should be committed to a secure mental hospital without delay.

There is an extensive network of cycle lanes all over Berlin. These are way better than anything that London because they are properly laid out and don't end when you need them most. London’s cycles lanes are a sad joke, an excuse for a provision and the sick bastard that 'designed’ the cycle lane to Heathrow Airport should go to Berlin and see what a proper cycle lane is.

However, I still think that cycle lanes suck and my experiences in Berlin confirmed a lot of my prejudices about them. First of all, most of the lanes in Berlin are on the pavement. This means that they are virtually useless for the cyclist who wishes to travel fast ie above 10 mph.

Whilst the German drivers are not as prone to parking in the lanes as their English counterparts (who seem to regard cycle lanes as overflow parking) the German pedestrians do not consider the possibility of getting a Michelin (or should I say a Continental) up the arse when they cross from, one side of the pavement to the other. To be frank, these lanes are designed for gutter bunnies on shopping bikes.

B**** TO THE SKITTLE ALLEY

So having recognised the cycle-lanes as being skittle alleys, the competent cyclist naturally moves into the road where one can go fast. This is where the difficulties start. German law states that cyclists must use the lane where one is provided ie if it's there you gotta use it. Berlin cops will nick for this but it's not the cops that are the problem. German drivers get really angry with cyclists who do not use the lane. They will use their horns and yell if you are riding out of the lane. It is not uncommon for the ‘pirate’ road-user to get run off the road and it has been known for drivers to rear-end cyclists who were out of the lane. Nice, eh?

THE TRACKS

And then there are the tracks. Oh Gott, die fuckin' schiene. For those of you that ain’t ridden on streets with tracks, well... don't if you can help it ‘cos they are a bastard. Wide enough to trap a 700c wheel and snap it, they are a complete nightmare. In some streets they stand proud of the tarmac to a height not much under pavement height. On some of the older streets they are surrounded by cobbles just to make them doubly deadly. The tracks make switching lanes a bit of a performance even on 26s. If that wasn't bad enough, the tram drivers are notoriously bad tempered and will accelerate and intimidate cyclists in their path. In the wet... Fortunately the west side of Berlin has few tram tracks and obviously, if you are used to them, you deal with them better and you also know where they are and where to cross them. How ever, even veterans make mistakes and I met a few with broken bodies and bikes caused by track accidents. The icing on the cake am the spot fines that are handed out by the boys in green. Yes, the cops in Germany are in green and they carry guns. Anyway, the spot fines start at DM120 plus DM40 admin and the sky’s the limit. That's about GBP40 all told. Minimum. It's not all bad news tho', Conny of Panne reckons that the best thing about riding in Berlin is that there are no hills!

STYLE

Style messenger is widely acknowledged to have some of the hippest riders in Berlin, possibly the world. We all admired the messenger WOW team at the championships with their matching Phillies Blunt shirts. The hard-corps at messenger (principally: King Rad Vossi and Style Prince Ernesto) are into skating and other rad dude activities and this is reflected in what they wear and ride. Cut offs and trick MTBs are much in evidence. The old green donkey stood out like a sore thumb in Pestalozzi Strabe. At the other end of the spectrum are Express boys who are mainly pulsating lycra and 32 spoke road bikes. In between, you have all the hippies at Moskito who are more kind of pirate style with the trashed bikes, trashed bags and large amounts of proj. But they all have one thing in common: those wonderful plastic rucksacks which are so stylish and so practical. And they have to buy them from the companies as well. Most companies insist that their messengers use them and they cost anything from DM50 to DMl50.

These bags are well stupid. I have tested one of these bags and they are as bad as they look. Sorry people, major style faux-pas. Also, I was surprised that almost no-one except that geezer Bob Schiele rides fixed. Berlin is the perfect city for it, as well.

THE BOYS FROM THE RED STUFF

Special mention has to go to Kreuz & Quer who have recently signed a sponsorship deal with Kraft, the best brand of tomato ketchup in Germany. K&Q have a tiny and warmly chaotic office in Kreuzberg 36, the old squatter’s ghetto and MT's favourite district. They do all their jobs by pedal bike. Their riders are as straggly a bunch of cycle freaks as you could ever wish to meet. And they are dressed as Kraft ketchup bottles. The deal is this simple: Kraft supplies 2 pairs each of Gonso shorts, longs, short & long-sleeved jerseys, a bag, a helmet (optional), gloves, GoreTex jacket and an ally framed LX-equipped bike at no cost to the rider, yes, no cost to the rider, and the riders agree to wear and use this kit whilst they are working. The catch? Well, all the kit is red and says Kraft & The Red Side of Life on it. Sounds like a touch to me! The rider agrees to wear the gear for 15 months or return it. I can't imagine that the kit is going to last that long, tho'.

THE COFFEE

The coffee is excellent. Lots of very decent cappuccino and a few places where you can get Cafe Latte or Cafe au Lait in a bowl. Have to ad mit that Berlin is better served for coffee than London. But... two criticisms: bitter chocolate % the price which is roughly twice what you would expect to pay in London. A reasonably comprehensive guide to cappuccino can be found & the first issue of Panne. Best coffee in Berlin? Panne Productions, Kreuzberg.

SO WHAT?

My impression of the Berlin scene was that it is (sorry if you have heard me say this before) strikingly similar to London 5 or 6 years ago. Yes, that's right the good old days are still happening over there. But for how long I won der? Well, it's hard to say. Berlin is a boom-town and will keep booming for a while yet. But for sure nothing lasts forever and all good things come to an end.... maybe sooner rather than later so make hay now, people.

COULD I WORK THERE?

If you can speak German. Most of us stupid English people can't so the thing to do would be to go over do a 3 week intensive course to get the basics down and then go on the road. It seems that an awful lot of the Berlin messengers are from the East hence not a lot have good English so a bit of German is essential. However, you don't need to be able to discuss the finer points of Nietzsche to be able to be a good messenger so don't be put off. The money is much better than over here and the general scene is a lot more exciting & vibrant than London in a lot of ways.

If you have comments or suggestions, email me at messvilleto@yahoo.com