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Life in the fast lane
Traffic-dodging bicycle
couriers thrive on speed, danger and $350 a week
Toronto Star, Tuesday, May 24, 1988
By Nancy J. White Toronto Star
No doubt you've seen them careening by honking taxicabs, hurriedly
dismounting at curbside or impatiently pushing elevator buttons,
looking decidedly different among the dress-for-success office crowd.
In this age of gridlock, the bicycle courier is, take your pick, hero
or villain.
"It's like being a Pony Express rider battling your way over the
hills," says courier Graham Miller, with a flair for the romantic. "You
get the letter there and sometimes the people are grateful, saying
'Yippie Yahoo.' And sometimes they scream, 'What took you so long?"
No one knows how many bicycle couriers are in Toronto - estimates range
from 150 to 500 - but their numbers have definitely swelled along with
downtown traffic.
They work on commission, so they hustle, sometimes leaving angry
motorists, cab drivers and pedestrians in their dust.
A typical courier may average $350 a week, but a savvy veteran can rake
in about $500-$600.
They're a mixed bag of people, school drop-outs, hungry artists,
university grads seeking adventure, even a former ballerina and an MBA.
But they all love to go fast, to skirt danger in the big city hubbub,
and they're drawn to the freedom, the chance to make money in what's
hardly an ordinary 9-to-5 job.
They have their own watering hole, style (Spandex shorts, 2-way radios
hanging from hip holsters) and lingo ("The Can," First Canadian Place;
"Egg," Eglinton Ave.). And no end of war stories: rolling off a car
hood unscathed, crashing into a curb head first.
They disdain the newcomers, especially students who just work the
summer. The difference between a rookie and a pro is having weathered a
Toronto winter.
Meet some of the hardcore cycling couriers:
Graham Miller, 23, once had to carry on his bike a screaming cat from
the vet's. He prides himself on being able to get from King and Bay to
Yonge and Bloor in seven to 15 minutes, depending on the lights.
"There's no better feeling than a good run. You fly down Bay St.
yelling at cars and pedestrians and giggling all the way."
Sue Cormack, 26, is sometimes called "Biker Chick from Hell" for her
speed and for cycling all winter. With a college degree in film, she
zips along the streets collecting material. "I ride by and catch
sentences of conversations and I hear things on elevators. I make up
films in my head."
Dennis Cooke, 46, a former bush fire fighter, has been a bike courier
for 12 years. "You're never an old man on a bike. The feeling of
freedom keeps you young. Of course my wife thinks I'm insane."
Steve Lauridsen, 29. "I know I look like the man from Mars when I walk
in an office - I've got bike pumps hanging off my mountain pack, 3,000
paper clips on my belt, tools stuck in the pouches - but people
seriously stare in elevators. Going up 15 floors, they start at my feet
and go all the way up and back down. It's becoming like a real freak
show. They get a real kick at my emotional expense."
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