Toronto Star, August 9, 1995
by David Graham
A few months ago, Jayne Hart, owner of the Standby Cafe on Temperance St., added something new to her menu - a ragout recipe she created with a mixture of mushrooms, carrots and white wine.
Her exclusive clientele was not impressed, "White wine," they grimaced. You see, the Standby caters to bicycle couriers, who just haven't got the stomach for anything they consider highfalutin.
"They're a pretty direct bunch," says the 24-year-old restaurateur. "This place is their refuge, their sanctuary inside the mad metropolis. They love this place. No one tells them to get their bags off the floor. No one stares at them because they dress weird or because they smell."
To Bay St. suits and executive secretaries, couriers are a motley crew of disreputable ne'er-do- wells. To the people in cars who are forced to share the city's streets with them, couriers are obnoxious daredevils - accidents waiting to happen.
Bicycle couriers, for their own reasons, hold suits and motor vehicles in the same contempt.
But at the Standby there's always a sympathetic ear, a fridge full of their favorite brew and the high energy food they crave.
Needless to say the ragout was history.
These days the menu is kept simple. That's just how the couriers like it. During the summer months, daily specials range from pasta casseroles to enchiladas, burritos and shrimp and rice curries. When the snow flies, the Standby keeps bikers warm with selections of hearty stews, goulashes and shepherd's pie.
This weekend, about 600 couriers from 15 countries will compete in the third annual Cycle Messenger World Championships in Toronto. Heats and championship races replicate the daily conditions faced by the urban bike courier. The Standby will be cookin'.
Every year more than a million packages are delivered around Toronto by bicycle courier. It is estimated that if the same number of packages had to be delivered using a mid-sized car, those vehicles would require 60,000 gallons of gas.
Couriers by contrast keep their motors running on glycogen - what carbohydrates become when they're stored in the muscle and liver.
If you consider the average courier covers about 60 kilometres each day - dodging downtown traffic at breakneck speeds, inhaling a steady diet of exhaust fumes - you'll understand why it's important for them to keep their motors in top condition.
Ask any courier and they'll tell you. It's the carbs that count.
Kelly Anne Carter-Erdman is a registered dietician. The former Olympic cyclist was a member of the Canadian cycling team for eight years and is a regular columnist for the Canadian cycling magazine Pedal.
For athletes, professional couriers and for recreational cyclists, Cater-Erdman insists "glycogen is the primary fuel they will run on."
Pasta is the carb of choice for most cyclists, she says, but warns, "Not all pastas are created equal. Lasagna and cannelloni are more filling and fat than carbohydrate." She recommends instead a tomato-based pasta sauce, or perhaps a pasta with a vegetable sauce like primavera. Even an alfredo sauce can have a lot of fat.
While pasta is popular, Carter-Erdman also recommends other sources of carbohydrates, such as rice and baked potatoes. In fact, one cup of rice contains 50 grams of carbohydrate compared to 37 grams in a cup of pasta. A medium baked potato contains 50 grams of carbohydrates.
Keeping this carbohydrate intake level topped up requires consistency. It's the stored form of carbohydrates that provide energy. That's why most endurance athletes start carbo-loading days before a big race, and actually exercise very little. "They may have as many as 18 grain servings in one day - one bread, one-half-cup of rice, one-half-cup of noodles and so on," says Carter- Erdman.
For the most part, bike couriers acknowledge they must eat the right foods if they hope to keep pace. Some are more consistent than others.
Bill Long is a 36-year-old courier who takes his diet seriously. From the minute he wakes up he keeps a constant watch on his intake. The formula that works for him is a mix of 60 per cent carbohydrates, 40 per cent fats and proteins.
"I always have a breakfast of cereal or oatmeal. Two hours later I have a bagel and juice or coffee. I try to eat throughout the day. I grab food wherever I can. But I stay away from junk foods."
Long makes most of his own meals. But he finds it a hassle to carry food with him all day. "I don't need the extra weight," he says, "and there is plenty of food downtown."
Ron Freeman, 37, knows the pitfall of a greasy breakfast, but claims a plate of bacon and eggs buys him an extra two hours of energy in the morning. "My energy level falls off by 11 o'clock if I don't have a really big breakfast," he says.
Long's lunch is more likely to be a portion of rice, a salad or fruit. "If I eat a heavy lunch I feel most of my energy is going into my stomach to digest the food. I need the energy in my legs - not my stomach." His evening meal is prepared right at 5:30 p.m. "I have to replace what I've gotten rid of immediately."
When student Chris Howell isn't working at the Bike Ranch on Adelaide St., he's in the kitchen. The 27-year-old former courier makes and markets his own line of vegetarian sushi rolls, and he's convinced they're the perfect take-along biker's snack.
Howell, whose mother is Japanese, has altered an old recipe to meet his modern needs. There is no fish in his rolls. Instead, Howell relies on a vegetable mixture of alfalfa, carrot, cucumber, avocado, and sometimes asparagus. On a small square of seaweed called norri, Howell spreads a layer of rice and sesame seeds. Then he adds a layer of the vegetable mixture before rolling it all up. A Japanese horseradish powder called wasabe and soya sauce add flavor.
Since Howell began making the rolls two years ago he's turned them into a small sideline. "The norri is teeming with vitamins and minerals. The rice will add carbohydrates and the vegetables have a little bit of everything, including carbohydrates and proteins."
Keeping their bodies hydrated is another concern shared by professional cyclists and bicycle couriers. Blair Webster, executive director of the Ontario Cycling Association, puts it simply. "Eat before you're hungry and drink before you're thirsty."
Carter-Erdman agrees, and she advises anyone who is contemplating a long-distance bicycle trip to fill up days in advance. Glycogen is stored along with water, "so with glycogen loading we also have to focus on increasing fluid intake," she adds.
"As you sweat and become dehydrated you lose fluid from your blood. It's as if your blood become thick like sludge and your heart has to work harder. Water is good, but it is boring."
Carter-Erdman often recommends sports drinks which come in a variety of flavors. Many contain important electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and chloride, which maintain the fluid balance in body cells.
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