Happy Friday!
I’m Dave Gershgorn, tech reporter here at Quartz’s New York headquarters. It’s springtime, which means warm weather and a flock of cyclists returning to the streets of New York. I’m one of them, and I want to convince you to be one too.
Yes, biking in a city is objectively scary, but it’s also cheaper, healthier, and sometimes faster than mass transit. And most importantly, it’s fun. This is only my second season of biking to work, but already it’s taught me tons about taking up hobbies as an adult. (I probably have too many: coffee, cooking, and mechanical keyboards, to name a few.)
Morning bliss. It’s a crisp Monday morning, the first warm workday of the year. I have everything I need: air in my tires and saddlebags loaded with my lunch, iPad, and a change of clothes. Work is a labyrinth of meetings and deadlines, but when I step onto my bike there’s one clear, simple destination.
There’s deep satisfaction in checking off a challenge before my real work begins. Productivity gurus say the first thing you should do after waking up is make your bed. It’s easy to check off your to-do list, and you feel immediately accomplished. (Plus, your bed is made.) My joy is harder to earn—biking in New York City is difficult and unintuitive, and that’s good. I might get to work a little slower (after wiping down and changing clothes) and a lot sweatier, but I’ve accomplished something worthwhile. My body wants to be pushed. In my cushy metropolitan life, there are not many instances where that happens organically.
Primal pedaling. I’ve been reading Michael Pollan’s 2006 book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. In its third act, Pollan describes his experience hunting and the sense of awareness it brings. The hunter isn’t just in the forest, they’re participating in it. There’s a life on the line, and that taps into something deep and primal and only casually understood.
Biking is not as ancient or arcane as hunting, but there is a sense of participation that’s different than being a pedestrian or driver. You’re exposed to the city, dangerously so, and propelled by nothing but your own legs and the advantages afforded by mechanical physics. This is part of the itch that cycling scratches for me, but Quartz’s Cassie Werber advises many ways to make your morning similarly satisfying. (Also see: dawn patrol.)
Some practical advantages. In New York City, where I live, a monthly Metrocard costs about $130. That’s worth a few dinners out with friends. And the calories from those meals get burned off on the bike. My typical five-mile ride burns about 300 calories, according to my Apple Watch. And doing that twice daily doesn’t require me to get up any earlier, as going to the gym before work would. Plus, it’s environmentally friendly.
A sweaty situation. Some people don’t sweat as much as I do, and they are truly blessed. But if I bike to work I am guaranteed to soak the back of my shirt. Obviously, this is a problem for a professional environment.
The solution is twofold. Bring a change of clothes, and something to cleanse yourself with. (I use unscented baby wipes and a quick-drying camping towel.) Make yourself a little kit: clothes, deodorant, and wipes. Keep it in your bike bag and replenish as needed. Problem solved. Which brings me to…
The gear theory: Build from the ground up. If you want to bike to work, you’re going to need a bike. You could easily spend $1,000 on a great one and many people say you should. But as a frugal guy with limited income, I can tell you that you can do more with less.
My personal theory of hobby investment is to buy the cheapest tool that you can, reasonably. If applicable, modify it for your use. If you need more features down the line or your tool wears out, you will have gained some valuable insight into what you actually need, with minimal investment.
I bought the cheapest single-speed commuter bike I could find on Amazon that had a strong, clean design and four-ish stars. But I didn’t just trust the cheapest bike on Amazon with my life—I invested in a few upgrades: a different handlebar, some new grip tape, lights, and new brake levers, cables, and pads. I added a rear rack to mount a bag. I watched a lot of YouTube videos on how to build and repair bikes, and did all the work myself. (Instructional YouTube videos are my favorite part of the internet.)
The upgrades cost $175, the bike cost $235, and the helmet cost $20. (You need a helmet!) For about $430 I built my dream bike, and because I assembled it myself, I know how every piece works. If anything breaks, I know how to fix it. (Plus, building your bike = street cred!) I’ve already recouped the cost in un-purchased Metrocards.
This build-from-ground-up gear theory also applies more broadly to hobbies. If you’re into coffee, maybe start with a manual grinder and a kettle for your stove. If you grind beans every day, spend the money for a electric burr grinder. If water “off the boil” isn’t scientific enough for your coffee experiments, maybe you need an electric kettle with a thermometer. But you only discover that you actually need the $300 tools—and you might not—after learning with the $60 tools first.
Be afraid. But then get on the bike. It took me a few days after assembling my bike to actually get on the road. I read a few blogs about safely biking in New York, but finally settled on the fact that I wouldn’t know what to expect until I’d just gotten on the bike.
Like anything, sometimes you just need to take a deep breath, acknowledge the knot in your gut, and push off the curb. And from there, you just need to keep pedaling.
Have a great weekend!
A springtime soup. Warm weather doesn’t just bring cyclists to the streets—it also brings asparagus to farmers’ markets. Pick up a couple bunches of the freshest asparagus stalks you can find, trim both ends, and sauté for a few minutes with some salt, scallions, and olive oil. Then, boil with three cups of chicken stock for less than five minutes and blend for an asparagus soup. Add yogurt for a creamy finish. For complete instructions, check out Merrill Stubbs’ recipe at Food 52.
I’d love to see what you make, I’ll post mine over on Twitter at @davegershgorn.