This is an amazing piece! As a Brooklyn biker myself, it was easy (and fun) to picture your route down Kent and beyond. You capture the beauty that lies in the grit and monotony and grime of the city. Congratulations on 5 months dude!
This was a good read : ) Being 41 and well into perceiving time a little differently has been terrifying for me. But this read put some of that into perspective pretty seamlessly and is weirdly comforting. Thanks for the contribution!
I didn’t know, and my immediate reaction is that I just shared what had been valuable to me and that YOU taught yourself to breathe. BUT, I do know that I was…am… deeply connected to you and will always be.
I know every inch of that ride. I think about living elsewhere often but would be lost without the ability to actually commute on a bicycle. It’s a spiritual practice.
Hi Ben! I'm a Brooklyner but not a cyclist. In May of 2020 my husband, who is a cyclist, went for a ride during that terrible Covidy time. I got a call about an hour later from an ENT that he had fallen in Prospect Park and was headed in an ambulance to Methodist Hosptial. He ended up being ok, besides dislocating his shoulder and road rashing his whole right side -- and OF COURSE it could have been a lot worse! But it was scary and the hospital was intense and not a place we wanted to be in May of 2020 or ever. I brought some clothes to the ER and sat with him until he was steady and ready to be discharged. It was 7 pm when I left the hospital, and all the nurses and hospital staff were coming out just behind me, switching shifts. On the corner of 7th Ave and 6th Street, a few steps from the hospital, a group of people who came every night to bang on garbage cans with tennis racquets and cheer for the medical workers were out, so I joined them and clapped and shouted in gratitude. I was so relieved that my man was ok and had that feeling of overwhelming love for all of my neighbors and humans that live here and were taking care of each other, and as you remember everything was so fucking weird and raw at that time so i was really feeling things. JUST at that moment, you rode by on 7th Avenue, slowing down (the BLUR?) on your bike and turning your head back in approval to look at us woo-hooing and banging on the garbage cans with the racquets (which did made a killer sound). You were nodding and like, "yeah man!" It was almost like you had scripted this moment in MY life, and then rode right through it in a cameo! It was so cool. Thank you for all of it. The way you look at things is so beautiful and hilarious and true. I love the way you love stories and people and connection. Congrats on 5 months.
I’ve been following your work for years and years, since I first moved to nyc myself back in 2014. It changed how I view the city! It changed how I view people and my interactions with them.
And now I think this has changed my view on my consumption of weed. I’m on day 2 of a break after years of smoking everyday, seemingly like yourself.
Thank you for this story, and for your vulnerability. Enjoy the walk with your dog ✌🏼
I work with Tassy! We’ve been colleagues for 9 years now and I remember watching season 4 while taking the bus into work with her. Hope to connect if you’re ever up in Seattle.
There is probably no better high in the entire world than riding a bike through New York on a pleasant summer evening. Thank you for writing about it now and back then.
This is an amazing piece! As a Brooklyn biker myself, it was easy (and fun) to picture your route down Kent and beyond. You capture the beauty that lies in the grit and monotony and grime of the city. Congratulations on 5 months dude!
Beauty, what a drug
This was a good read : ) Being 41 and well into perceiving time a little differently has been terrifying for me. But this read put some of that into perspective pretty seamlessly and is weirdly comforting. Thanks for the contribution!
just turned 42. I am digging the 40s so far for that very reason. Time isn’t just linear. It’s all happening at once, both internally and externally.
5 months!!!!! Hell yeah, Ben
Brie I always light up a little when you comment. Thanks for the support.
This was a delight to read. ❤️
You taught me how to breathe, did you know?
I didn’t know, and my immediate reaction is that I just shared what had been valuable to me and that YOU taught yourself to breathe. BUT, I do know that I was…am… deeply connected to you and will always be.
I know every inch of that ride. I think about living elsewhere often but would be lost without the ability to actually commute on a bicycle. It’s a spiritual practice.
Going away and coming back is particularly enjoyable
Hi Ben! I'm a Brooklyner but not a cyclist. In May of 2020 my husband, who is a cyclist, went for a ride during that terrible Covidy time. I got a call about an hour later from an ENT that he had fallen in Prospect Park and was headed in an ambulance to Methodist Hosptial. He ended up being ok, besides dislocating his shoulder and road rashing his whole right side -- and OF COURSE it could have been a lot worse! But it was scary and the hospital was intense and not a place we wanted to be in May of 2020 or ever. I brought some clothes to the ER and sat with him until he was steady and ready to be discharged. It was 7 pm when I left the hospital, and all the nurses and hospital staff were coming out just behind me, switching shifts. On the corner of 7th Ave and 6th Street, a few steps from the hospital, a group of people who came every night to bang on garbage cans with tennis racquets and cheer for the medical workers were out, so I joined them and clapped and shouted in gratitude. I was so relieved that my man was ok and had that feeling of overwhelming love for all of my neighbors and humans that live here and were taking care of each other, and as you remember everything was so fucking weird and raw at that time so i was really feeling things. JUST at that moment, you rode by on 7th Avenue, slowing down (the BLUR?) on your bike and turning your head back in approval to look at us woo-hooing and banging on the garbage cans with the racquets (which did made a killer sound). You were nodding and like, "yeah man!" It was almost like you had scripted this moment in MY life, and then rode right through it in a cameo! It was so cool. Thank you for all of it. The way you look at things is so beautiful and hilarious and true. I love the way you love stories and people and connection. Congrats on 5 months.
I’m glad I was there for you. Keep your eyes out for another cameo ❤️
Sweet reflection. May you blur into focus as you focus on the blur.
Congrats on 5 months!!
I’ve been following your work for years and years, since I first moved to nyc myself back in 2014. It changed how I view the city! It changed how I view people and my interactions with them.
And now I think this has changed my view on my consumption of weed. I’m on day 2 of a break after years of smoking everyday, seemingly like yourself.
Thank you for this story, and for your vulnerability. Enjoy the walk with your dog ✌🏼
Hey man, keep going. I think it’s good perspective to have that it’s not requisite for living life
I work with Tassy! We’ve been colleagues for 9 years now and I remember watching season 4 while taking the bus into work with her. Hope to connect if you’re ever up in Seattle.
Love your show.
There is probably no better high in the entire world than riding a bike through New York on a pleasant summer evening. Thank you for writing about it now and back then.
you’re a beautiful prose writer Ben.
Ben Sinclair looking at the world with clarity - watch out world! And congrats on 5 months!
That's what I was talking about when I mentioned your show. There's magic in riding a bicycle through the city streets. Keep pedaling, loser! 😉 🫶
Old man River
An excellent piece of writing AND major congrats on 5 months, dude!