In 2021 I bought a shitty 80s road bike for about $300 from this guy named Richard who lives in Ditmas Parkā I wrote about him here. This purchase sparked a love for biking that has become a borderline obsession ever since, and after validating that this hobby wouldnāt be short lived, I finally upgraded my bike last spring.
There are a dizzying amount of factors when it comes to selecting a bike, but at some point I caught the bikepacking bug from this lovely Instagram page @genosac. Their account is just a couple of people in Minneapolis who go on these weekend camping trips while riding through national forests, and they upload perfectly soundtracked edits that just radiate good times. Itās infectious.
I spend 95% of my time in New York City so Iām not sure how much bikepacking Iāll actually end up doing, but I ended up getting a āgravel bikeā / āall terrain bikeā from a smaller East Coast brand called Crust. The exact model is a lighter steel frame called the Lightning Bolt and a friend (@photo.realism) helped me pick out components + put it all together. I have it pretty decked out, but thatās nerd stuff that doesnāt belong here.
I love it, itās my baby, and Iāve already put close to 500 miles on it since May. Iām constantly looking forward to my next ride whether itās a 20 mile rip before work, a 10 minute errand ride, or an all-day beach adventure with friends. It gets me outside, keeps me in shape, gets me with friends, and shows me parts of the city that I probably would have never went on foot.
My loud nā proud love of cycling has led to many a friend catching the bug as well, so let me know if you need any help or have questions. Iād love to pay it forward.
