You've got the Gig!

WANT TO KNOW WHAT ITS REALLY LIKE TO QUIT YOUR JOB AND RIDE YOUR BIKE FOR A LIVING?

100,000 miles, four years, two amazing cities, one relentless adrenaline and caffeine-fuelled adventure full of thrills, pills, hills, and bellyache.

You've Got the Gig! Is an all-access, backstage pass to the little-known yet highly controversial world of the gig economy. The larger-than-life world of the cycle courier is vastly underreported, yet hundreds, sometimes thousands, of these square-shaped backpack-wearing delivery drivers are the blood in the veins of many city centres across the UK and around the globe, taking food and drink to the hungry masses, like efficient worker ants, every hour of every day.

Terrified by the prospect of being stuck in the same job for life, and faced with the need for an income while back at uni studying for a change of careers, Ryan Murphy made a break from the 'real world' and set out to do something he loved. After an exhilarating cycle journey around San Francisco, he turned his attention to the one thing in life which had always brought him unbridled joy and adventure.

But what began as a convenient way of earning a living, and a way to escape exams and essays, ended by showing a new way of life, with many unintended and unbelievable consequences. Unshackled from the traditional employer, able to make his own way in the newly emerging gig economy by working for Deliveroo, Ryan has come up against both the obvious drawbacks and the undeniable benefits of riding your bike for a living, and seen the changing face of a huge and growing sector of the modern economy, from its early growth stage to the crucial role it played in the middle of a global pandemic.

Editorial Reviews

"Much like the uphill climb, Murphy paints a detailed and suspenseful portrait of life as a Deliveroo courier from its early founding days up to the pandemic. Like any other dream job, the good aspects of the gig begin to lose their luster over time, revealing more of the rough underbelly of the beast that is working as a contractor in the gig economy. What pulls Murphy through all this is the true passion of being on the bike-that childlike joy of freedom and being in closer touch with nature that you don't quite get when you're sitting in a car in heavy traffic or at a cramped cubicle desk and you need to stretch your legs. I read hungrily through his depictions of cycling in all seasons and in two different English climates, thinking to myself, "there's gotta be something horrible that happens next." Murphy certainly knows how to keep readers on the edge of their saddles demanding more. You've Got the Gig! is a go-to guide for cyclists who have always wondered what life would be like if they turned their hobby into a hustle, and doesn't hold back on sharing the perks of the gig alongside the crashes and burns of working fifty hours a week in the saddle." -- Reedsy Discovery

"Revealing insight into the extremes of life as a delivery rider. Reveals a lot about the gig economy in an entertaining fashion." -- ride.cc

"An engaging author. He gives the reader plenty of facts, to some that could be filed under too much information." -- The Crack Magazine

About the Author

Ryan was born in Ashington, Northumberland. He studied sports at Leeds Met, graduated and worked in the leisure industry for seven years. He went back into higher education to study international politics for a postgraduate degree at Newcastle University and has been a cycle courier ever since. He lives in Newcastle, and enjoys investing, house music, politics, economics, coffee, whiskey, fitness and travelling. He has been a beach lifeguard, multi-sports coach and DJ amongst many other jobs. He now spends the majority of the time in the saddle, behind a computer screen, or in bed sleeping.

@ryanYGTGmurphy