By Michael E. Ruane
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 28, 1990
 

He rides like a jockey, hunched forward and standing on the pedals sohis legs take all the pounding.

Nimble as a circus star, he threads traffic jams - hopping curbs, andrunning the tight gantlets of parking meters, side-view mirrors and double-parked delivery trucks.
 

His job requires physical skill, street knowledge and a mettle likea matador's: "Nerve," he calls it, tapping the side of his head with hisforefinger.

He is Jeff DellaPenna, 21, a cyclist/messenger for Kangaroo CouriersInc. And in a line of work whose demands often result in a fast burnout,DellaPenna, with a tenure of three years, is among Philadelphia's longestsurviving veterans of the macadam.

With the approach of the dog days of summer - a punishing but lucrativeseason for a courier - DellaPenna, who lives in the Port Richmond section,paused this week to explain how he has lasted.

At times, it has been rough.

He is on his third helmet. His stubby-framed, red 10-speed mountainbike, nicknamed Kyrie, has only a few of its original parts. (He brokethe frame once when he collided with a parking meter.) And he has suffereda broken collarbone and a ton of "road rashes" in spills from the bike.

His garb is simple, slightly paramilitary, but with a certain esprit:Sneakers. Combat fatigue pants, with lots of pockets for carrying things.Black T-shirt. Padded cycling gloves. Two silver earrings in his left ear.A blue bandanna around his head. And a black, ribbed, high-impact plastichelmet.

He carries everything from payroll checks to computer tapes, legal documentsto architect's drawings. His runs can be as short as a few blocks, or aslong as a 15-mile trek to Torresdale. And his cargo can be as small asa single envelope or as large as a 30-pound box.

His chief tool, aside from his trusty vehicle, is a large paper carrier'sbag in which the parcels are placed. He wears it slung on his back andfastened under his left arm with a slip knot that he can tighten or loosendepending on the size of the package.

Thus outfitted, he appears at the dispatching desk of Kangaroo Couriers,2012 Sansom St., most mornings about 8:30 ready for another day of joustingon the streets.

"When I first started," he said during an interview, "I know I did nothave the temper for it. But I got it now. You either get it or you getout.

"It's a science," he said. "It's an art. I mean it all involves nerve:how much nerve you got. I've had accidents where you lose it; but you getit back."

It is a science, though, that others can't or won't master.

"They usually burn out," said DellaPenna's boss, Jack Wood, the ownerof Kangaroo. "Bicycle riding down in Center City's pretty tough anymore.The normal life expectancy of a bike messenger is probably about, you know,nine months, with the automobiles and the traffic situation.

"It's a hazardous job," he said, "and they're hustling all the time. . . and I guess that creates a faster burnout, really."

Wood said the couriers are paid $1.40 per delivery or pickup in CenterCity. So the more runs they make, the more money they earn. DellaPennasaid he makes about $220 a week.

Wood, a former Western Union dispatcher, said he had about 30 couriers,most of whom ride bikes. About half a dozen work on foot. He said thereare about 15 firms in the courier business in Philadelphia.

"You need a certain type of person to ride that bicycle," he said.

It takes "a nice kid" who should be "offensive, but not too offensive,gutsy, a little brash, and like a street cowboy."

DellaPenna fits the mold. He "is a good worker," Wood said. "He's honest.. . . He's a hustler."

DellaPenna's hustling starts from Kangaroo's three-story stone storefronton Sansom Street, where he picks up his cargo and destination slips. Hehas had to make as many as 18 stops per run when things are busy.

And things tend to be busiest in the worst weather. "The heaviest businessis when it gets like to be 95 degrees, real hot and humid, or when it'sreally cold," he said. "It gets nuts."

But he likes the work.

"It's kind of convenient," he said. "It's comfortable, actually." Toomuch so, perhaps. "I've been at it too long. Even the boss is saying, 'Whenare you going to get a real job?' "

Plus, DellaPenna said: "I spend too much time in elevators."

Still, there is pride and challenge in the work.

"It's just the thrill sometimes," he said. "Just being out on the roadand all this . . . (chaos) around you and sometimes how much it amazespeople. I've had school-bus loads of kids come in from out of town, andyou ride by and they say, 'Look at this guy!' Dipping in and out betweenthe school buses. That's fun."

But as a veteran of the streets he said he would have one fundamentalpiece of advice for a rookie courier:

"Avoid the cars."