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By Alexandra Martineau
Metro Toronto, January 30, 2007
Five colleges and three universities couldn’t keep
James Kuz from becoming a bicycle courier.
After two seasons spent as a bike courier in Toronto, then-art
student Kuz couldn’t get cycling off his mind.
“I couldn’t stick with anything because I
wasn’t interested,” he said.
Kuz is now a courier for The Messengers International.
An average day starts with Kuz picking up deliveries
from the downtown core that are destined for the north end.
“I work my way out there…other calls come
up, which I pick up along the way,” he said.
After making his way back south, Kuz usually has to
repeat the same trajectory once more, he said.
The cold weather doesn’t repel Kuz. “I find
that cold can be managed, it’s heat that can’t be
managed… My big funny line is that in the summer, it’s illegal
to ride your bike naked and you get a hell of a rash,” he said.
Don’t be fooled by what appears to be thin
material on the backs of couriers. They wear special gear that protect them
when the temperature falls, he said.
“A lot of products that come out now are thin but
they can manage to insulate.”
These products draw out any moisture vapour. “If
you build up a lot of moisture vapour that’s how you get cold,”
he said.
Kuz has been in the business so long he doesn’t
need to worry about the dangers of traffic.
“I’ve been at it long enough now that I can
anticipate everything, and I don’t knowingly weave into what I
recognized as a high risk factor,” he said.
But the same cannot be said of all couriers —
especially the novices.
“Some new people come in and they have a very
kamikaze attitude…they increase their risk,” he said.
Being a courier allows Kuz to stay healthy, physically
active and spend time outdoors.
And he feels he’s doing more than just delivering
brown paper envelopes. “I really get a sense of contributing to Toronto. The pace of
the economy that Toronto
generates…it has to be done by bicycle messengers,” he said.
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