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You’re pedaling across the city at full speed, the traffic is heavy and your eyes are nervously scanning between the stationary cars on the lookout for urban hazards. An opened car door or a stray dog could mean an afternoon spent in hospital. In your ear you hear the crackle of your station operator asking you for an update on your ETA. No time to reply, you jump a curb and mount the pavement in search of the nearest lamppost or railing to secure your bike. On entering the client’s office block you take elevator up to the fifteenth floor, pausing for a moment to catch your breath. Less than five minutes later you’re back in the saddle and heading off to your next pick up.

Sounds simple? Well if you’re a fit and athletic person with a great knowledge of the city streets it may well prove to be a simple and enjoyable job. For everyone else it could be the hardest, most strenuous thing they ever do in their life. Few people have the desire or fitness to spend 5 days a week in the saddle covering up to 100 miles a day in order to earn a living. You have to love bikes and enjoy working outside in all weathers to make it in this industry. Even then, being a bike messenger is not the same as enjoying a bike ride in the countryside, deadlines need to be kept and cycling in heavy traffic can be stressful, dangerous and dirty.

So if you’re still keen despite the risks, where do you start if you want to become a cycle courier? Well, first off you need a good bike and a good lock as these will be the tools of your trade. Most cycle couriers customize their bikes by trimming down the handlebars to make them narrower so they can slip between the traffic and fitting slick tires. Next, a search on Google should identify some courier firms in your area; give them a call to see if they are looking any new recruits. They are likely to ask you in for an interview during which time your knowledge of the city’s streets will be tested. As a bare minimum, study some maps and know the names of the major roads and landmarks before you attend the interview. If you pass the tests you will probably be offered a trial couple of weeks to see if you can hack it. All being well, work hard and you should be well on the way to being a fully fledged cycle courier.

Most cycle couriers are self employed meaning you pay your own taxes at the end of the year. However this will generally work out in your favor as you can also offset many of your costs from doing the job against your tax bill and effectively pay less tax. Wages are reasonable too, experienced couriers in London with good local knowledge can earn around £400 per week, or $600 per week for their American counterparts based in New York. Plus you can take small comfort in the knowledge that for every parcel delivered on a bike, it’s one less parcel to be delivered by a truck and the world has just become a little greener for it.