I became a courier as men told me girls couldn’t cut life in the saddle
Stephanie Bartczak, 38, has been weaving through the London traffic for fifteen years. From anger to accolades, she describes her life in the bicycle saddle.
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Stephanie Bartczak - on her trusty bike Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley
I'm from the Burgundy countryside, where you ride everywhere you go. I cycled
to school as a child, but it wasn't as intense as being a courier – this job
takes over your life.
I've been a messenger in London for 15 years. I love the physicality of it – I
cover up to 70 miles a day and even though I've been riding the same streets
for so long, I don't get tired of it.
People say it must be horrible to be in the traffic all day, but riding in the
city is a thrill.
It becomes an instinct. You can hear the roar of the engine and you know
what's going to happen, which way the car is going to go and when the lights
will change. You have to always be alert. With the wind and the rain, people
jumping in front of you, the white van man shouting and a bus behind you,
you can't switch off. But sometimes you can be tired and your legs just keep
going.
It's dangerous, but I don't wear a helmet. A year and a half ago I was dragged
under a bus and I thought someone was going to have to call my mother and
tell her I'd died. But the only thing that was sticking out was my head, so
a helmet wouldn't have helped. Luckily I wasn't injured.
