Tyler taps in on his 29th birthday to rave about Crust Bikes, Gerry 2002, BLTs, Sweatshirt Hacks, and more.
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In 2021 I bought a shitty 80s road bike for about $300 from this guy named Richard who lives in Ditmas Park— 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 wouldn’t 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. It’s infectious.
I spend 95% of my time in New York City so I’m not sure how much bikepacking I’ll actually end up doing, but I ended up getting a “gravel bike” / “all terrain bike” 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 that’s nerd stuff that doesn’t belong here.
I love it, it’s my baby, and I’ve already put close to 500 miles on it since May. I’m constantly looking forward to my next ride whether it’s 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 n’ 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. I’d love to pay it forward.
My loud n’ 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. I’d love to pay it forward.
