This is highly recommended, a series where I provide a compelling argument for why you should like something that I like. 

Dear Reader, 

I was thinking about starting this highly recommended with some sort of vague rhetorical question, much like the beginning of the popular educational lecture series, Ted Talks. But I didn’t, for two reasons. One:  I feel like I’ve used this style of opening before, multiple times. (I strive for variety in my writing because I know that you, my loyal reader, craves variety.) Two: I fucking hate Ted Talks. Nothing seems like a bigger waste of time than listening to someone drone on about some sort of “idea that matters” standing on a stage in front of a image-heavy Keynote while wearing one of those weird flesh-colored hands-free microphones. You know where I go if I need to find an “idea that matters”? The Brooklyn Public Library. Or sometimes, the internet. (Like when it’s raining outside or it seems easier to use my phone instead of walking to the library.) Both places will always be better places for ideas than talks named after Ted. 

Instead, I’ll start this highly recommended with a lengthy non-sequitur. You’ll read it and wonder how I’m going to bring it back around so it at least tangentially relates to the thing I’m going to spend the rest of the post recommending. (I’m not.) You’ll wonder if this non-sequitur will be worth it. (It won’t.) You’ll wonder why you’re even reading this blog in the first place. (That’s a pretty good question.) And finally, you’ll lament the fact (maybe publicly, please drag me on the Timeline) that you have spent the past few precious minutes reading a collection of true nonsense. And then I’ll recommend something. 

I highly recommend riding a bike. 

Why? 

Moving Fast 

I really miss having a car, but I don’t miss owning a car. (I wish I didn’t have to own anything, but that’s a completely different blog post.) One of the perks of owning a car was being able to move fast just about anytime that I wanted. The emotional benefits of being able to outrun your physical abilities and Earthly problems can’t be understated. Now that I can’t afford to rent a car whenever I want on my meager blogger’s salary, pedaling on two wheels is the most effective way to satisfy my need for speed. 

Workout Plus 

I truly enjoy working out, but working out usually gives me just the benefits of working out. (Huge muscles, etc.) When I’m riding a bike, I get both cardio and I get somewhere new. It’s not like I don’t want the huge muscles (I do), but the huge muscles do me no good if I’m stuck in one place. Transportation plus huge muscles is the ultimate goal. 

Cost Efficient 

I guess this is where I should come clean – I don’t actually own a bike. But I’m an active user of New York City’s Citi Bike program, which gives me unlimited access to a fleet of bikes for around $180 a year. Considering the New York City subway costs around $130 a month and rideshare apps much more, being an active Citi Bike user is one of the most affordable ways to get around town. (And boy, do I love to get around town. So much to do here!) I guess the cheapest option would be walking, but what would happen if my feet started to hurt? Would I have to sit down? Give up? I can’t afford to take that risk when I have to be so many places all the time. 

Feeling Like Part Of A Larger Community 

Let me preface this by saying that there is no Citi Bike community, probably because most of the people that ride Citi Bike are tourists who don’t stay here long enough to form a community. But I like to think of myself as an honorary member of the New York cycling community. Getting yelled at for not follow cycling rules means you’re officially part of the community, right? 

Better Way To See The Sights 

New York City has a lot of sights worth seeing. But you don’t see any of those sights when you’re stuck in the transportation method du jour, which is a metal tube underground. Last time I checked, the only things you can see when you’re in a metal tube underground are the ground, the metal tube and the other people inside the metal tube with you. Despite the prevalence of social media accounts dedicated to documenting those people, I think there are other things worth looking at. You can see almost all of them on a bike. 

There’s got to be one thing you don’t like about riding a bike. 

Almost Getting Hit By A Car And Dying Every Time I Ride 

Sometimes there are bike lines. Many times there are not. And no matter how many times cyclists tell drivers that it’s not OK to hit people on bikes, it still seems to happen. No matter how many times anybody tells drivers it’s not OK to hit people on bikes, it still seems to happen. Nobody listens anymore. And they certainly don’t listen to me while I’m cruising around Brooklyn on a bright blue Citi Bike. 

At this point, why should I even tie this ending back to what I wrote in the beginning? Do you even remember what I wrote in the beginning? Or are you just hoping that I get hit by a car the next time I’m on a Citi Bike and stop writing highly recommended so then you don’t have to read it? (I wouldn’t blame you.) 

love, 

nicholas