Cycling in Berlin (Without Breaking Your Collarbone)

[0:32] You are originally from Australia.

Jack:
[0:35] This is true. It wasn't ... It was like a forced accidental choice, which I don't regret.

Manuel:
[0:41] Tell us a little bit more.

Jae:
[0:43] A forced accidental choice?

Jack:
[0:45] Yeah, it was forced upon me by visa problems in the UK. And then, once it happened, I was like: Wow! This is actually better! And then I never left. It just kept getting longer and longer and longer. And then I slowly became one of those expats, "imm ..."

Manuel:
[1:09] He's doing quotation marks with his fingers.

Jack:
[1:11] Yeah, quotation marks, "immigrants," where I am am horrific at the local language but have lived here for nearly 10 years. Oh God!

Jae:
[1:22] So my question to you, Jack. How long did it take for you to feel like established in Berlin, especially if you were like not necessarily planning on being there? Like how long did it take you to feel like you were actually a part of the city?

Jack:
[1:34] I would say it went into quite distinct phases, because I was here for a few years when I started working and I started living, and I moved into the apartment where I still live now and I got like a solid base. And then I actually came out a few years after that, and then my like second phase of Berlin started as a gay man in Berlin, which very much cemented my feeling of comfort here, for sure. Or just like, I don't know, that was when I really felt like I proper cemented myself here, but that was also when I became more in touch with me as a person, I suppose.

Jae:
[2:22] For sure.

Jack:
[2:23] So that was after three years, but I still wanted to live here forever and do everything, even before that. So Berlin, I think would be where I wanted to be even if I was closeted.

Jae:
[2:36] That's definitely ... That's a topic we could talk about all day! Definitely, I would say, when I was there for maybe five days and I felt a lot more, I would say, just in tune with myself. It's a great place for self-discovery and, I feel, self-acceptance as well, because it's so diverse.

Berlin's Diversity

[2:55] And it's so inclusive that even if you feel out of place, I guarantee you there's someone who feels even more out of place, which makes you feeling more in place a little bit easier, you know?

Jack:
[3:04] Yeah. Yeah, I definitely feel like the word, 'diverse,' for Berlin is different to the word, 'diverse' when you describe a city like London or Paris as 'diverse,' I think you feel it feels more diverse when you're walking around the street and you're seeing a lot of different people who will look very different. In Berlin, when I first moved here after living in London, it did not feel diverse. It was like I was like: Oh my God! What? What! Like it was unbelievably homogeneous. But then once you slowly discover the city, you feel that the way people think is much ... is diverse here, I would say. And it has become more also culturally diverse over the years. But it is a weird place and you feel, I don't know, it's a place to ... Like Paris is superficially beautiful. You go there and you walk around, you're like: Yeah, oh my God! Everything is so beautiful, the people, the buildings. And then in Berlin you get here, you're like: What the hell? It's ugly as fuck! Like why are people living here? It's so gross, especially in the winter it's quite traumatic. But then you learn to love it. And because you've like learned to love it in a way and you see its like inner beauty, you feel stronger for the city, for sure.

Manuel:
[4:38] This has gotten really deep really fast! I love it!

Jae:
[4:40] I love that. How did you guys meet?

Manuel:
[4:44] We met at Apple. We both started working in the Berlin Apple Store in 2012, and Jack was already an Apple employee because he came from the UK.

Jack:
[4:45] Mm hmm.

Manuel:
[4:57] I was just starting. And it was a really good time because we started there but we couldn't actually work in Berlin yet, it was a very weird situation. And so they sent us around Germany to travel, and I have very vivid memories of Jack and I being in Hamburg and goofing around in the subway station, me trying to make you say Friedrichshain! I still have that video, I can pull it up, maybe.

Jack:
[5:23] Oh my God! I would love to see those videos.

Manuel:
[5:26] And you were such a baby! Like looking at this video ...

Jack:
[5:27] Such a child! Oh my God! Berlin definitely also ages you! Like ...

Manuel:
[5:32] No, you're still a baby but ...

The Value of Free Time

Jae:
[5:43] What do you enjoy doing the most in Berlin?

Jack:
[5:47] What I enjoy doing the most in Berlin? I think, I mean, I enjoy cycling a lot, which is handy, which is very handy for today's topic.

Manuel:
[5:57] Which is what we're going to talk about.

Jack:
[6:03] I think what I enjoy most is my free time in Berlin, which I did not have when I lived in London. I used to work all the time and I loved it. And then when I moved to Berlin and I clicked with the different pace of the city, and I realized that: Hey, I actually don't have to be at work all the time to afford to live here or to exist - which definitely is not the case in London - I then became much more conscious of my time outside of work and where I want to be and what I want to do, and how much more valuable this time is and how much more valuable your life is when you're not at work! Like the days or the weeks that you're on holiday, when you're not at work, they feel like years, and then a week at work can pass by in a second, you're like: Oh my God! but like you just experienced the same week of your life, but one was meaningful and full of new things, and one was just, "blink and it's over." So I think my free time is definitely something that I never want to give up.

Jae:
[7:21] I feel you. I mean that free time is, I think, very important. I think the Covid taught me that, definitely, of just like how valuable it is and like how much ... And if you utilize it the right way - and this is why I really like Berlin because there's a lot to do - if you utilize it the right way, you can really discover a lot more about yourself, about the city, about your passions, about your creativity, whenever you just kind of let yourself explore. Like the thing I'm excited the most to do when I get to Berlin is simply explore, like not really have an agenda, but just see what's out there and just see what calls to me.

Jack:
[7:56] Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I mean, it's hard. I think I heard you talking on the first episode about when you went out when you first came to Berlin, and you really felt much more yourself. And I can definitely relate. And I think that there are people you'll meet in Berlin in places that you can't like ... yeah, in places that you didn't know that you would be, kind of ... and then you'll remain friends with them for so long and they'll be very ... It'll change your life, I think.

Jae:
[8:27] Yes, exactly. Okay. Now my whole thing about exploring, kind of can lead into like our first question about: How do you explore Berlin?

How to Explore Berlin

Jack:
[8:34] Yeah, So, I mean, I do as much as I possibly can on my bike because I'm very impatient. And I love the idea of public transport, but the reality ... I mean, I love public transport much more than I like ... cars are just like not a thing in my mind. I grew up in Australia where you had to have a car to get around, and the realities of having a car are so annoying. Public transport, next best thing, great.

Jae:
[8:59] Very annoying, I agree.

Jack:
[9:02] But what I can't stand, especially in the winter, is waiting for the next bus or the next train, and so those downtime periods I just can't deal with. And when I was in London I lived with a bike messenger, and they got me into cycling around the city and just getting ... And as soon as I started cycling through the streets, you get to know the city so much better, you connect all these different spots that you knew kind of as little bubbles, and that kind of changed like my whole lifestyle around exploring cities. I no longer used public transport, it was all by bike. I would take my bike on holiday. I almost ... Oh no, I didn't have my bike when I was in Houston and I'm glad I didn't, because I think it would have been useless - but I did have it when I went with my bike to New York, and I've had it in London and Berlin and Paris. And so I would say cycling around is the only way to go.

Manuel:
[10:07] I really agree on your point that it gives you a different image of the city, because public transport is great, it's very efficient in a way. Yes, you have to wait, but also the next subway is usually only five to ten minutes away. But since you're traveling underground for most of the time, you never kind of connect the dots, like you said. Like: Okay, now this is this station. And then when you start cycling, you're like: Oh! You see the subway station from the outside and you're like: Okay, that's what this looks like from above the ground. Now, I understand the route that I've been taking for the past six months, now I understand what's happening! And, I mean, it's so simple really, but it makes a huge difference.

Jack:
[10:49] Just my whole ... I was just traveling with some friends and we were in a city where no one rides, so ... I mean people do ride, but we couldn't ride, we lived in the suburbs kind of, and so we did everything by bus or by car. And I was completely lost the entire time in the city. I could not get my bearings because my sense of direction was wholly dependent on what way I got out of the bus, and it would always be different. And it was a city where there was a coastline, so theoretically it should have been quite easy to be like: Oh yeah, that way is the beach, that means this way is north, this way south, okay. I got it, got it, got it. But it was impossible! And with a bike that just doesn't happen.

Jae:
[11:26] That's fair. So I am coming from a world where I've never, ever had to use a bike. I've always had my car.

Berlin's Cycling Infrastructure

[11:33] So aside from it being like you get to kind of enjoy the city a little bit more, what are the top pros of it, in terms of costing, in terms of like eco-friendliness, in terms of like exploring this city of a little bit more? And also what are the cons? Like what kind of held you back from getting a bike in the beginning?

Jack:
[11:58] I mean before I started cycling in London, I never could have imagined cycling in London because, the roads seem so insane. And it's not like in Berlin where the roads are huge and so there's much more space.

Manuel:
[12:15] Okay. For the record, the cycling infrastructure in Berlin is also a disaster! It is improving.

Jack:
[12:19] I think that really it's jumped leaps and bounds just within the last, I would say, the last six to twelve months. It's like they just discovered paint! And they have been like: Oh my God, we have a lot of space! We could just paint the roads and make them all for cyclists.

Manuel:
[12:34] The problem with paint is that you can easily ignore it and ...

Jack:
[12:38] This is true. I think there was like some weird gorilla setups that the city did during Covid, where they somehow tricked people into accepting bike lanes on streets that I don't know if they were meant to be there, but they created these really wide, really spacious, disconnected-from-the-cars bike lanes during Covid.

Manuel:
[12:57] In a few places. Very few places.

Jack:
[13:00] In a few, but a very few key places for where I live, which does feel like a very long way from where you live, yeah! But it has really, really improved, like internally within the city, I would say.

Manuel:
[13:09] Yeah.

[13:12] But hearing just ... Jae, you say, you know, you've never really cycled in a city. I would really say: Hey, safety is ... like, I feel like, Jack and I ... well Jack, especially, cycles very confidently, but it's a little bit, you know, those taxi drivers who kind of drive like they're mad, yet they somehow don't have accidents - I don't know if that's even true, maybe that's kind of an urban myth - but the myth goes: okay, they're so good at it, right, because they've been doing it for years and they're doing it kind of around the clock, and so they see things that a normal person doesn't see. I kind of feel like, you know, Jack is a very good cyclist, and I also cycle a lot, and so I would just say when you're new in Berlin, definitely cycle, but be very defensive. Never, never ... like because doors are opening, people are making right turns, you never can count on people seeing you and giving you the right of way.

Jack:
[14:12] Yeah. I mean, I think it's a big thing. Confidence is key, one hundred percent, and also taking up your own space, making sure that you aren't ... You also have a right to be where you are, and if you feel confident, you'll give yourself enough space so that if someone does open the door, it's not gonna hit you.

Manuel:
[14:33] Absolutely.

Jack:
[14:35] You might be in the lane of traffic, but that is safer than trying to give the car just enough space so that they think: Ooh, I could squeeze through next to you.

Manuel:
[14:43] One hundred percent. I cycle in the middle of the lane, one meter distance to the parking cars, and then the passing cars need, in theory, to do another meter-and-a-half of distance to you, and that means sometimes - often - that they will have to wait. They'll have to wait until there's no oncoming traffic. That's fine. They can wait. It's like ... and maybe we can go into a little bit of detail. If there is a sign, like if there's a bike path and that bike path has a blue sign - I'll put it maybe as the chapter art here - if there's like a blue bicycle sign, that means you have to use the bike path. But very often that sign isn't there, and it's not there for a reason because it's often just a tiny bike path ...

Jack:
[15:30] Yeah, the bike paths can be trash. Yeah.

Manuel:
[15:31] ... that's of terrible quality and honestly less safe than the road, and you don't have to use the bike path in that moment, you can use the road and it's fine.

Jack:
[15:41] Yeah. And just know that you are allowed to be there and that your taking up more space is safer for you often. And so you have to be a little bit ... I don't want to use the word selfish, but maybe it's a bit selfish.

Jae:
[15:56] I mean they're being selfish too.

Jack:
[15:58] Exactly, they're being selfish. And also if this same car is going to have to like ... Double parking, especially in certain districts in the city, it's like the norm, and so these cars who are trying to race past you are just going to have to veer into the other lane anyway in 100 meters because there's some other car that is blocking their lane just parked, double parked. And so I think if they're going to do that for the car, they can do it for us. And in general, I've been pretty lucky, I haven't had any sort of altercations.

Jack's Collarbone

Manuel:
[16:28] You had one terrible accident and that was because you had the chain around ...

Jack:

[16:33] Well, it wasn't because of this ...

Jae:
[16:36] Story time!

Jack:
[16:37] No, no! There's ... it's been ... I've had two accidents. One, a van swerved into a bus lane and hit me, but it was all right. And it was also timed perfectly for someone in the parking lane opening their door, so I couldn't swerve away from the van, but my bike just got destroyed. And then they luckily fixed that all up, that was fine. And then another time I was cycling, and I was on the bike path, which normally I would not do on this stretch because certain bike paths in the city that were built around a certain time aren't made for bikes, they're just trash and just like not there. I feel like they just had to like take a walk somewhere and say: Look there's a bike path here, see, we're bike friendly! But in reality ...

Manuel:
[17:25] Ironically, often they're worse than the sidewalk for pedestrians that's right next to it, where that's like super smooth and flat. And then the bike path literally feels like, I don't know, like you're you're riding on bricks that are just scattered there. It's terrible.

Jack:
[17:42] Basically it's really wild. And so I was riding on one of these bike paths and the chain going around my pedals came off. So I lost all sort of traction and I went over the handlebars. Now this is where the debatable part happens, because I wear my chain ...

Manuel:
[18:03] You still do?

Jack:
[18:05] I still do. This is why it's I would like to not emphasize this part, because having my chain anywhere else annoys the hell out of me. If I hear my chain rattle, I can't cycle. It's like: Oh my God, please stop, please stop. And the only place that it doesn't do that is when it is over my shoulder. I fell, I broke my collarbone. This can happen with or without a chain over your shoulder that as I was in the hospital, they wheeled me into a room. They were like: Okay, we're going to take you into another room. As they were wheeling me out, another guy gets wheeled in, also with a broken collarbone from riding a bike!

Manuel:
[18:47] And he didn't have a chain. Case in point, case proven!

Jack:
[18:48] He probably didn't have a chain! He probably ... Anecdotal evidence is evidence! And then I get moved into a room with another cyclist who also fell off his bike, also broke his collarbone! So it's like: Come on! And this is the most convenient place for me to have my lock.

Manuel:
[19:04] Maybe it's time to get another lock?

Jack:
[19:07] Also, other locks are more annoying, because certain places in the city ... which actually has gotten much better. The last government, it was amazing at removing parking spots for cars and putting in bike stands, but a lot of places you don't have this access to like quite a thin pole that will securely hold your bike. And so I need the chain to be able to go around a tree or be more flexible.

Manuel:
[19:34] Flexible. Yes.

Jack:
[19:35] Yeah. So I need the chain for that. I can't put the chain on my bike because it makes a noise.

Manuel:
[19:39] But I have a chain that has something around it, you know, like ...

Jack:
[19:43] Mm hmm. Which gets covered in grime and then will make you dirty.

Manuel:
[19:48] No. Which I then wrap around the bar and it doesn't rattle.

Jack:
[19:52] I feel like I did this and it didn't work. It rattled. It rattled.

Manuel:
[19:54] It doesn't rattle. Okay, don't do what Jack is doing because it will increase your chances of a broken collarbone. And yeah. Okay.

Jack:
[19:59] Mm hmm. Yeah. I'm not saying that's not true. That's ... Mm hmm.

Manuel:
[20:10] I feel like we haven't answered any of your questions, Jae..

Jack:
[20:12] Yeah. What was the first one?!

Jae:
[20:15] No, it's good! We're gonna keep on going. Okay, so I'm kind of ... you're convincing me a little bit more. Now my question is gonna be more about what type of bike should I get? How much typically do bikes cost? What about bike repairs? And how is like Bikemates and that ... ?

How to Buy a Bike in Berlin

Manuel:
[20:36] Yeah. And I would just preface this by saying this is part of the reason why Jack is here, because he literally, together with Hans ...

Jack:
[20:43] I would say it would be like 80-20 Hans. Hans 80%, me 20%.

Manuel:
[20:47] Yes. And then me just sitting there taking photos! These guys built my bike for me, so he knows what he's talking about.

Jack:
[20:56] Hans knew what he was talking about, and I was around to soak up a small portion of the knowledge! That is extremely dependent on the type of bike you have. I would say there's a few good styles of bikes you can have in this city, it mostly depends on what you feel comfortable riding. And so I would say if you have never ridden a bike in a big city, you should get a big Dutch-style bike - yeah, Hollandrad - where you hold on, where you sit up straight, and you have a lot of distance, you feel quite comfortable, you can't go ... it's not a race bike, so you can still go quite fast, but not as speedy as some of the people on the races or like a single-speed type bike, but I think that is a good starter. There's also a lot of these style bikes, are the kind of bikes that you can rent.

Manuel:
[21:48] Yeah, for like a month, like you pay a month, it's like a Netflix thing almost. You pay €30 a month or something and then you just have a bike, and it's like fully serviced. If it breaks, they fix it, if it's stolen, it's insured. And I mean if you really do the math it adds up, right? But if you're the kind of person who wants to take the subway during the winter and only wants to ride the bike in the three months that it's nice outside ...

Jack:
[22:17] I would say it's longer than three months. I would say there's three months within the year in which you don't want to ride, you one hundred percent don't want to ride.

Manuel:
[22:24] Jack, I would just say, rides in the middle of winter in shorts and T-shirt with shoes and no socks, because he refuses ...

Jack:
[22:31] I wear socks and ... Now I wear socks, but I would say January, February, not a vibe. Not a vibe. Do not ride!

Jae:
[22:39] Not a vibe.

Jack:
[22:41] I mean, you can. You can, and I did for a long time because I felt like I had something to prove. Now I'm like: Naa, I don't care, I don't care. I will take the train in the morning and not feel bad about it. But like these renting bikes are a great starting off point if you don't know anything about bikes, don't know how to repair. If you ... Because recently, I thought that I wanted to support my local bike shop. I was like: You know what? I'm not going to do this quite simple repair that I could do myself, because I am feeling quite lazy, and I also want to support these small mom-and-pop bike shops.

Manuel:
[23:22] That's me, always.

Jack:
[23:23] Yeah, the problem is, these small mom-and-pop bike shops, like it was ... I think they took advantage of me, and it cost so much money! I basically bought a whole new bike.

Manuel:
[23:37] What did they do and how much did it cost?

Jack:
[23:39] They replaced the Ritzel, like he gear on my single speed bike, on the back, a new chain. I think they might have replaced one other thing, like it was not so much. And it literally cost more than I just paid for a whole bike.

Manuel:
[23:56] How much did it cost?

Jack:
[23:57] It was like, I want to say €170, but I have a terrible memory, but it was up there. Maybe I also got new tires.

Manuel:
[24:07] Okay, so speaking of racing bikes, basically what Jack and I ride, and what is amazing once you feel comfortable is a single speed racing bike, because ... So the way to go about it - or the way we went about it - is you buy a bike, any bike that is used, that has a really good frame. And those frames are often very old because the good ones last. So I think my frame, I think it's from the 70s or something, it is old, 70s or 80s, it's probably about as old as I am, but it's a steel frame and it's - what's it called, Jack? - Where it's not like soldered but it's like the individual parts are like stuck, like you can tell that that they're stuck into each other instead of just like soldered.

Jack:
[24:50] Oh, I once knew this ...

Manuel:
[24:58] It's hard to describe, but it's a very high-quality frame that's very old. And so I bought this used bike for, I will say ... I don't remember it, but probably around €200, something like that, something like that. And then basically we changed everything else. So these guys helped me take off the gears and we made it into a single speed. So single speed just means that there's a single gear, you can't change gears, But the thing is, Berlin is not hilly. There's a few little hills, but you get really used to it quickly and the benefits really outweigh the disadvantages because the thing is light, it doesn't break, there's nothing moving, it is very minimalistic and clean, and just works. Like I never have problems with my chain or anything, it just works. And yeah, we basically changed everything, the saddle ...

Manuel's Handlebar

[25:57] We didn't change the handlebars, those broke. That was a scary moment. I was at a red light and it was turning green, and I kind of put my weight onto the handlebar and one just fell off, essentially. And then I went to the bike shop and asked them like: Hey, I need a new handlebar And they were like: Oh man, yeah, this is like the original handlebar, that's probably like 40 years ago. You should change it every seven years or so because it's aluminium, or aluminum, and those ... Yeah, the frame is steel, but the handlebars, aluminum, so you need to change it. But that's kind of the way to go. Like I really love, love, love my bike, and it is super reliable, and also because it's so old and the frame like is good quality, but it just looks old, it doesn't look that expensive you know, I feel ... Okay like you still need to be super careful in terms of theft, but I feel pretty confident that ... like it's not like, you know, some people buy these like matte-black racing bikes that just scream: Steal Me!

Jack:
[27:09] Yeah, not by way of blaming them. It's obviously not their fault that their bike got stolen, but choices were made!

Manuel:
[27:12] Yeah.

You Should Get a Single Speed

[27:18] So basically this would be my recommendation. If you don't want to do like either a Dutch-style bike or a mountain bike or something like that, I would just buy a used bike. One thing, you need to be a little bit careful, so it might be good to bring someone with you who knows a little bit about bikes, because some of these bikes are so old that ... and sometimes they're like specifically French from the 70s or something, and the bike shops will tell you there's no parts for this anymore, like: We literally can't change the pedals, for example, on this bike because those aren't being made anymore, or we can't change the handlebar. So you need to be a little bit careful, but in general, just get a good frame and then invest another few €100, but over time, to slowly change everything out and kind of build your own single-speed right. Not Fixie.

Jack:
[28:16] Yeah, not Fixie. I would say single-speed is the way to go, especially in Berlin, you don't need gears to get around. It's much more simple maintenance.

Manuel:
[28:25] You also really helped me kind of finding the perfect gear. Because you then need to decide like: How hard do I want to pedal? And, I don't really remember, I guess you guys just had me ride your bikes, and you were like: Is this too much or too little? And I would err on doing it ... like picking one where it feels a little bit too hard, because you get used to it and you build up.

Jack:
[28:49] Yeah, you'll get fitter. Yeah, exactly.

Bike Prices

Jae:
[28:51] Okay, so this is a question I feel like a lot of people are going to want to know. Pricing. What is a good price for a bike? What is like [inaudible] too expensive, and what is like too cheap, where you're like you don't even want to pay that little because it's not going to be worth it?

Jack:
[29:10] I think the too-cheap options, it's not ... because it's not going to be worth it. It's one hundred percent because it was stolen probably around the corner by someone who's just looking for a good time, you know, like they ... It's not ... I feel like bike theft in Berlin has definitely dropped, it feels. And I feel like you don't just get offered bikes in the street anymore. You used to be ... if you were around certain bridges in Berlin, a certain type of person might come up to you and be like,"Hey, do you want to buy this bike for twenty bucks?" and you're like, "Hmm maybe," but it's highly possible that it was stolen. So too-cheap, you get stolen. If you feel bad about that, that's the choice, you know, that's up to you. The best place and most reliable place I would say, is the markets. I think also at the ... it's been so ... years and years since I was at Mauerpark ... They don't do bikes anymore?

Manuel:
[30:08] No, they don't they don't have bikes there anymore. I don't think so.

Jack:
[30:10] I would say eBay Kleinanzeigen, which is like eBay but - I don't know if you have it in America - but it's kind of like a local eBay.

Manuel:
[30:19] It's Craigslist, essentially.

Jack:
[30:22] So basically, Craigslist. And most of my more recent bike purchases, or friends who have bought bikes, have purchased them on eBay Kleinanzeigen, and you can find very nice, very good, even single-speed bikes already on there for less than €200, that might require like a fine-tune, but in general are pretty good. And if you are flexible and can also travel, like take the train a little bit outside of Berlin to go and pick it up, you pay much less. So you can definitely do something for around €200.

Manuel:
[30:53] Yeah, and bring someone, like I said. I already said this, but bring someone who knows a little bit about bikes, and just pay attention to the frame. Like if the wheels have [inaudible] or something is off, like it doesn't matter. Just, you know, switch those things out, you will anyway. Just pay attention to the frame and get a good frame, and I think, yeah, you can get a good deal.

Jae:
[31:15] Yeah, so like a lot of things, it's funny, Manuel, but you're always like: Bring someone with you. So I think I'm just going to hire you and Jack just to come with me everywhere I go for those first few months!

Knowing People

Jack:
[31:27] This is also what I was thinking on your last episode where you're talking about getting a place. And like never give money or documents to someone whose apartment you haven't seen, just send someone there. Like people, some people don't know people ...

Jae:
[31:43] Okay, well if anyone listening wants to give Manuel and Jack a freelancing job, just hit the button, to go look at your apartment and check out bikes.

Jack:
[31:55] I mean it's true, yeah, oh yeah, it can be so hard. But like I do kind of forget that people are moving to the city starting from literal zero, and where they have no connections, literally zero. And I don't know how they do it. I honestly don't.

Jae:
[32:05] Literally zero.

[32:12] I don't either. That's why we're doing this podcast.

Jack:
[32:14] Yeah, it's really, really wild to think that someone can just go from one country, often from another country to another, to a random city, they might not speak the language, and then just start existing there, because so many of the things that you need to set up in life - a place to live, a way to get around - are so heavily dependent on knowing people. I mean you can also be okay ... You also have to be a little bit okay with when you do move to a place, paying a little bit more for things than you might pay normally, because you don't know, but then once you do know, start paying less quickly.

Jae:
[32:56] One hundred percent. I mean, this is my third time moving to a random city with people ... like a place where I've never known anybody.

Moving to a New City

[33:04] And I mean you kind of just do it. Like I think that's the thrill of it. You know how people like go bungee jumping or to go skydiving? You don't really know if you're gonna land or not, but just gonna try it.

Jack:
[33:15] Well, I mean, I think this is ... When I moved to London, and when I moved from Berlin to London ... from London to Ber ... No, I moved to Berlin from London.

Manuel:
[33:22] London to Berlin I think. Okay.

Jack:
[33:27] I thought that I could just keep doing this my whole life. I was like: I can keep going, I've got no strings, I can go anywhere I want. And now that I don't want to live anywhere but Berlin, I'm a little bit scared. I'm like: Oh my God! What if Berlin gets shit? Like I don't want to move, I want to be here. It's a bit daunting, wanting to be somewhere.

Jae:
[33:52] Then you'll just be shit in Berlin! You'll embrace it! Yeah.

Jack:
[33:54] Yeah, that's true. Maybe we'll both grow terrible together!

Jae:
[34:01] Okay, my next question ... I have three more questions, but my next question is going to be more about like scenic views or whatnot.

Tours Around Berlin and Through Europe

[34:08] So where are the best places to just bike and just enjoy your time? Like great places just go. You just want to just like get out, just want to clear your mind and just enjoy the scenery.

Jack:
[34:18] I mean there are amazing, amazing ... There's amazing bike infrastructure around Berlin. Like once you get out of the city, the roads actually are very good, there's a lot of dedicated bike paths, there's beautiful forests and Walds, you can ride around on lakes, you can go around in literally every direction from the city.

Manuel:
[34:40] And actually, to be honest, this is true for all of Germany. And I've ... you know, Americans are always so impressed because you can literally cycle all all through Germany, like from Kiel at the very north to all the way at the south, and it's just beautiful. And you're right, like there there are bike paths everywhere, even kind of the bigger highways - like not the Autobahn - but like the big Bundesstraßen for cars, there's usually a bike path at the side, otherwise you can just cycle through fields and stuff. And I've done some of these tours. I mean, not nearly as long as you, Jack, have done, but you can literally just get an app - what's the app that you guys ... ? Komoot. And you just put whatever ... Berlin to Hamburg, and you go on it.

Jack:
[35:25] Komoot is the best one. Yeah, just Berlin.

[35:33] And trust the app, trust the app! Every time we were like: Hey maybe we're smarter than this app, we were in fact not, and we should have just done what the app said.

Manuel:
[35:42] That's true. It's true because that app knows about kind of the street conditions and stuff and if it's "cyclable" or not - I don't know if that's a word!

Jae:
[35:52] What's the best place that you have biked to?

Jack:
[35:55] I would say, the thing is, so bike infrastructure, structurally, within Germany, great, really good. Once you get out of certain areas in Berlin, there's not great food in Germany, or it's harder to find. I'm sure it exists, I just haven't had it. But when I cycled once with a friend through ... we cycled all the way to Marseille through Germany and then ... and once we hit France, the food there, on top of the amazing infrastructure and just riding around the Alps and doing all that, that was probably the best, that was pretty unforgettable. It was just ... cycling around Europe in general is breathtaking, especially in the Alps where the roads and the people are used to there being cyclists everywhere, so you don't feel unsafe. There's the infrastructure there, there's a small little places you can eat, constantly around. It's not like Australia or America where the distance between humans is hundreds of kilometers. Everything is much more reasonably spaced.

Manuel:
[37:11] Spaced. Yeah, your tours are insane. Like you've been doing these tours where you cycle for one or two or three weeks and you go literally like 200 kilometers every night, right? You used to cycle during the night and then sleep during the day.

Jack:
[37:25] Yeah, but that was a mistake! We did something ... we thought ... We were young and we were also like two guys who were like: Yeah, we can cycle that far in the day, like why does that ... ? Sure, if you can do it, I can do it And then we realized that we don't have to kill ourselves every day. We can also have a great time and just ride far but not destroy ourselves. And that's when ... There's like a fine balance between the distance that you can go in a day while still being able to enjoy your lunches and your breaks and not think like: We really have to go, otherwise we're not going to get there until 10 o'clock. But yeah, there were some fun tours which we had. The last one was a few years ago actually.

Jae:
[38:12] Okay, so that actually leads to like a good point, like these tours or whatnot, biking with other people. What are some good biking groups in Berlin?

Critical Mass and Other Groups

Jack:
[38:21] Hmm, I'm not sure about the organized ... I'm not sure if there's ... I mean there are probably Facebook groups for organized biking tours. I am unsure.

Manuel:
[38:31] You know what just occurs to me, there's this, not even organization, this concept, called Critical Mass, and that's really cool. So basically this all originated from kind of an obscure law or paragraph in the road regulations in Germany where it says basically, when there's a red light and a vehicle has started passing the intersection when the light was green and then the light turned red, and the vehicle, because it's long, it's still passing, that's fine. And the other thing is that if you're, I think, five or more bikes in a group, you're cycling together as a group and you're five or more bikes, you count as one vehicle essentially. And someone thought: Hmm, what if we took this a little further? And they organized these events called Critical Mass where they would just - kind of on very short notice or almost I think without any organization in advance - say: Okay now, we'll all cycle together now. Like: Everybody, come here, it's time for Critical Mass. And you would have these impromptu bike rides with hundreds if not thousands of people. I was at a few of them, sometimes by accident because I was just cycling home from work and all of a sudden there's like hundreds of people passing me and all the cars are like stopped in their tracks, and I would just cycle with them. And it's just an insane feeling, it's just like you're taking over the city.

Jack:
[40:05] It's pretty unforgettable. Yeah, you're riding through parts of the city that normally you wouldn't be riding on. I think they even ride on the Autobahns and go through the tunnels and do things that we're not really normally allowed to do.

Manuel:
[40:14] Ew, yeah, it's probably a little bit sketchy! Yeah.

Jack:
[40:17] I did it in London a few times and there it was much less official. It didn't have police everywhere. I think in Berlin it's a little bit more organized.

Manuel:
[40:24] Nowadays I guess it's not so impromptu anymore. Nowadays the police is there to kind of make sure it's safe. But it used to be like this here too, where they would just start and just yeah, cause trouble!

Jack:
[40:37] Yeah. I think, yeah, there must be groups that you can ... Facebook has a lot of groups, it pains me to say, that are quite handy for meeting people.

Jae:
[40:46] Honestly, I found a lot of good things off of Facebook. I mean, aside from all of Facebook drama. But like in terms of when it comes to like finding different groups are finding different events, like Facebook groups have been in lifesaver for me.

Jack:
[41:02] Yeah. Finding events on ... If you can find events, when you go to these events, there will also be full of other people who are looking to meet people as well. So that's probably a good idea. There's also these communal bike workshops, so if you don't have ... I've struggled a lot. Like something that me and Hans used to do a lot with struggle - really hard to do a thing with the incorrect tool, for hours, hours and hours we would struggle - and then we would take it to a bike shop where they had the tool, and the guy would do it in literally five seconds. And so having the correct tool for the job is so key. And these places, these free workshops where you go, and they'll help you repair your bike or, you know, lend you the tool, are a lifesaver.

Manuel:
[41:48] That's a good point. And I want to say, I learned this from you, is if you're not like a crazy bike enthusiast but you want to be able to do minor things yourself, get one of those multitools that has the ten most important things that you'll need for most of the things, in one handy tool that you can also take with you when you're doing a trip. That's super handy. And, I mean, you started off earlier by talking about the bad experience in a bike shop. I will say I've had some really good experiences with bike shops, also in Berlin, there are some really amazing shops where you can feel that the people just do it for the love, right? Like I've even gone to places where it feels like they fix something and they're like: No, no, no, it's fine. Like you don't need to pay because it was such a small job. Maybe it's not the norm, and I don't necessarily have a list of recommendations or recommended shops, but I would say wherever you end up living, try to find your bike shop, and don't settle for the big one or the first one you see, because that one might be shit, and it might be the tiny one that doesn't even have a sign outside that's kind of the good one.

Jack:
[42:56] Yeah, I would say that yeah, shop around until you find somewhere you're comfortable with. And they can be grumpy old men, but they can also be great, non-grumpy old men who will help you and want to help, and will lend your tools if you need or will teach you a thing or two.

Apps and E-bikes

Jae:
[43:15] Yeah. Okay, so I have one more question and this is probably my biggest question. So I'm a techie. I love technology. I love anything like that. What do you guys think about e-bikes? And like those types of things, so like electronic scooters or whatnot?

Jack:
[43:29] I am not a scooter fan.

Manuel:
[43:33] No, the scooters are a problem. I mean I've used them. I even just used one last week because I went to the supermarket here and I went outside and my backpack was so heavy, and there was a scooter right in front of the shop. I was like: What if I just stand on this scooter and ride home? And so I get it. But first of all, every time I see people riding, I'm like: It looks so dangerous, like you shouldn't be riding at that speed with wheels that are that tiny, that close to the real traffic. I don't know, they look incredibly dangerous. And the biggest problem is that they're just lying around places. Like they're constantly on the bike lane everywhere. So they are a problem. And I would actually be in favor of kind of like outlawing the rental services.

Jack:
[44:23] I mean, I would say the rental bikes, they're a little bit better.

Manuel:
[44:26] Right, that's the thing. No, those are good. I have all of the different apps. So the expensive ones are the e-bikes, like it used to be Uber, now it's Lime.

Jack:
[44:36] Yeah. I love them. It's slightly problematic, but they ... Yeah.

Manuel:

[44:38] They're pricey, but they're, yeah, they're fast because they're e-bikes. So.

Jack:
[44:43] And it feels like you're driving a tank. So if you aren't ... if you don't feel confident on the bike, get on one of these. At first, it's almost it feels a little bit temperamental, like a horse, you know. It's like: Whoa! It's like you realize that there's a little bit of power there, but once you get going it is really unstoppable.

Manuel:
[45:03] That's true. And I would just say get all the apps, because I also have Donkey Republic, I have Nextbike, I have Call a Bike ...

Jack:
[45:09] I think there's a good one, this Jelbi, which like morphs them all into one.

Manuel:
[45:14] Oh, what's that called?

Jack:
[45:18] Jelbi, J-E-L-B-I. And this is an app which ...

Manuel:
[45:21] Okay ... that shows you all the bikes ...

Jack:
[45:23] ... the bikes, but also public transport. And I think you can even buy a ticket for the trains and things through this app.

Manuel:
[45:28] Ah, and it's run by BVG. Okay, so it's run by the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe.

Jack:
[45:31] Yeah. And so that will kind of ... You're in one spot and you can see all the different brands that are close to you, and it really allows you to, you know, get around.

Manuel:
[45:38] Yeah, and it is true. Like the good thing in Berlin is wherever you are and whenever, like there's never a moment where you're not able to move around. Because honestly, I have all the apps, I have all the car sharing services, I have the electric scooters, which are also fun, I must say, and the good thing about them is that you don't have to find parking because you can just park them on the sidewalk, and then the bicycles.

Jack:
[46:03] They're so silent. They sneak up on you out of nowhere.

Manuel:
[46:06] Yeah, yeah, they're electric, so they're very quiet. And then the bicycle apps I almost never use because, you know, I have my bicycle, but they're good. And especially if you have a visitor, someone's visiting you, you can just use the app because they're cheap as well, and they constantly give you like free minutes and stuff. And so if you're just visiting Berlin for a few days, or you don't want to deal with finding a bike in the beginning, just use those apps, it's fine.

Jack:
[46:30] Yeah. Milk these venture capitalists for all of their free minutes! And then they'll eventually fold into some other company, and then someone else will come along!

Manuel:
[46:40] And then just park the bike somewhere sensibly and don't just like throw it on the sidewalk, because that seems to be a thing people do.

Jack:
[46:45] Mm hmm.

Jae:
[46:48] Yes. Let's all have nice bike etiquette. I think that's the least we can ask for!

Jack:
[46:51] Yes, bike etiquette is definitely a thing. We live in a society!

Jae:
[46:56] Yes. Well, honestly, after this conversation, honestly ...

Just Get a Bike

[47:00] I mean, I was always thinking about getting a bike, but definitely you guys have convinced me to mainly look into that, also because, I mean, I'm not that big of a fan of of driving and I like to walk. But I think biking, I think, is like my medium. So when I get there, I will be getting y'all's like actual one-on-one help. So maybe that could be like a Part Two of like Jae actually getting a bike! That'll be fun.

Jack:
[47:27] Actually getting a bike!

Jae:
[47:28] Yeah! But, it was great to meet you, Jack. E-meet you, virtually meet you, like talk to you. E-meet you!

Jack:
[47:34] E-meet you. E-meet you. I feel like there should be a better term. No, I feel like there should be a better term than e-meeting.

Manuel:
[47:41] I recently got an email from someone who said nice to e-meet you, and I was like: Maybe we should stop this relationship in its tracks!

Jack:
[47:49] We will not be friends! We will not be continuing! Hmm. Because I think ... No, I think another word for it makes sense. Because when people say like, "Oh, it's nice to meet you," like we have chatted for two seconds!

Jae:
[48:00] You don't know me!

Jack:
[48:04] Or one hundred percent electronically. We haven't met. But actually, maybe I shouldn't be so cynical.

Jae:
[48:07] Mm hmm, virtually meet. It's great to be in the atmosphere with you.

Jack:
[48:15] Atmosphere! Oh my God!

Jae:
[48:15] Let's say that.

Jack:
[48:20] No, it was great. Thank you so much for all of the questions that I think when we listen back, I will have answered none of them.

Jae:
[48:28] No, you answered all of them. Like I have a good picture.

Jack:
[48:32] Mm hmm. All I want to say is: Just get a bike and ride in Berlin. It makes the most sense. Just not January, February!