Cycling · by Ngozi Bello · 2026-09-14

I tried doing bikes the boring way and it worked after 12 tries

Context: I am not an expert, just someone trying to make Cycling feel less intimidating. I wrote down what worked, what felt awkward, and what I would do differently next time.

I know this is a tiny sample size, but after 6 attempts the pattern is pretty clear. When I keep the setup simple, I actually follow through.

Part of me wanted the fancy version with all the tools. The better version was boring: one notebook, one reminder, and a willingness to be clumsy with the setup for a while.

13 sparks · 5 comments

Comments

Avery Johnson · 14 likes

That is a good question for people with more experience than me. This pairs weirdly well with idli. The best gear is the one that gets used.

Kabir Khan · 3 likes

Good reminder that boring can be good. I keep a note about routes for exactly this reason.

Maya Williams · 2 likes

Did anyone else read this and immediately make a tiny checklist? This would have saved me a lot of trial and error. A tailwind can fix an entire personality for ten minutes.

Marco Conti · 1 likes

That is a good boundary.

Elsa Andersson · 2 likes

That is a good question for people with more experience than me. For me it came down to the playlist.