Cycling is the future

This is me, riding a bicycle in the summer of 1995. The rest of the tape tells me we were on a family holiday somewhere around Trouville-sur-Mer. Except for what’s on this old tape, I actually don’t have much (if any) memories of going on holidays over here.

When I looked at this footage, I realised that among all the things I’m keeping myself busy with, cycling takes more space than I thought, and more importantly, that it’s been there pretty much since I learned how to ride a bicycle. Hobbies come and go with time, but cycling (maybe with photography) is one of the few that I found myself falling back into since I started, and one that I enjoy more than ever, today.

Except for the few operations that require a very specific tool, I’ve never visited a bike repair shop for basic maintenance. I’m not particularly handy, but I know enough about the inner workings of a bicycle to repair a puncture, put together an integrated headset, tighten a brake cable or clean a drivetrain on my own.

I also take pride in the fact that I once designed a bike, that I still own to this day. I got to choose and design everything about it, from the tube shapes and angles, to the horizontal dropouts, and every single component making it complete. It is technically half a size too small when compared to the optimal frame size I should be riding on, but that’s because I wanted it to have the shortest possible wheelbase.

In its current setup, it’s on the wrong side of the German law, and probably the worst bike to ride on gravel, cobbles, wet roads, uphill, or on long distances. But it absolutely shines when the conditions are good. You can buy a better, more comfortable, more robust, faster or lighter bike, but this one is mine, and with time, it has become the one against which I measure every single other bike.

I just returned from a 4-day bike trip to Copenhagen, and I feel like this is exactly what I needed. A few days on the saddle, on my own. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it works well for me.

While it is recommended to follow Eurovelo 7, I decided to create my own route, which is not the most direct one, but one that follows as many cycling paths as possible, and would allow me to reach Copenhagen in about four days.

I immediately noticed that among all the people on the road during these four days, I was one of the few only carrying next to nothing. Following up on travelling for an entire year only with a carry-on size backpack, I still believe that you make any travel better by carrying less. On a bicycle, less things means less weight, which results in better handling, and a faster ride. Not having to carry any camping equipment and choosing to sleep in hotels and guesthouses also helps a lot here.

I have no shame admitting that I got on a short train ride to reach the north coast of Germany, because I was feeling like my legs wouldn’t be able to take me there, and also because the weather forecast wasn’t looking great. In the world of cycling and outdoor adventures more broadly, it seems like there’s a competition about “roughing it out the most”, and doing it in the most hardcore way possible, but I ain’t part of it. I’m not skilled enough to ride a road bike on a rainy forest path, and I’ll always plan to reach my destination before sunset, even if it means waking up much earlier than I would want to. I’m not about that hardcore life, and just want to enjoy the journey.

I reached Copenhagen in just over three days, and had an entire day to just cruise around and visit the city. I already visited the city in the past for a short weekend, but this time, I paid a lot more attention to their cycling infrastructure. I’ve been reading and watching a lot of content related to cycling infrastructure lately, and being able to ride these roads with my own bike was enlightening, and allowed me to better understand what I had been reading and researching in person.

Urban planning related to cycling infrastructure might be one of the very few industries in which I can easily see myself working in, sooner or later. If anyone believed I have the right skills to help their organisation solving issues related to improving cycling networks within cities and/or between cities, and came with a job offer, I’d probably say yes on the spot.

I don’t know if cycling is actually the future, but I know for sure it’s part of mine.

Bonus:

I was a guest on the 13th episode of the Accidental Bicycle Tourist podcast, where I talked about my cycling adventures in Asia. I already wrote about these trips last year:

• in Taiwan (“Bike now, pain later”)
• in Jeju Island (“The blue line”)
• and across South Korea (“Coast to coast”),

but if you’re interested in some more details I didn’t write about, please listen to it on the website, Apple podcasts or Spotify, and feel free to leave any feedback. Thanks!