Fool Me Once
Some musings from a glorious week of Spring-like weather, another group ride invite, a very cool subscriber bike build, and the return of Streetsblog corner.
Leg Day is a newsletter about the pursuit of joy as a city cyclist. I write about the mundane oddities one encounters while moving around on two wheels, the infrastructure we rely on to stay safe in our car-addicted society, inspiring cyclists I’ve met, and bike events you simply must attend.
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Click the above headline to open this dispatch in a new tab—it looks better outside of your email account. I’ll also have fixed any typos. Hopefully.
Whether you actually live in New York, I’m sure you’ve seen this meme:
While there are plenty of weather-related memes about other places in America—I’ve seen a version of the "four climates in a single day” meme1 applied to several different regions—the level of specificity of the 12 seasons meme works best in a place like New York City. Here, where even car owners commute without the aid of of their climate-controlled killing machines, people develop an intimate relationship to the conditions they experience when they step outside their front doors.
I enjoyed learning, recently, that someone had created a tool that incorporates 53 years of historical data to determine exactly where we are in the list. The enjoyment faded when I stepped out of my house this morning and felt a dreadfully familiar chill on my face. “Fool’s Spring” has ended, we’ve now entered the “Second Winter” wonderland.
At least I can wrap myself in base layers and gloves with full knowledge I made the most of the reprieve. Even after spending nearly five hours riding through colder than ideal conditions on Saturday with a lovely group of Leg Day readers, I managed to get in rides over two bridges, a loaded up trip home from the grocery store, and a group jaunt down to Brighton Beach in honor of Hannah’s 30th birthday. That ride in particular was a real treat, both because it was the first long ride I had done with my partner in 2026 and because it was the first time it was warm enough that I had to shed a layer on the bike this year. Thankfully, as you know, I have a basket now.
Don’t Worry, We Will Ride in Groups Again
Have any Fomo about missing our Empire State Trail Ride last weekend? Well you’re in luck, the group ride train is going to keep rolling!
I met Max Cea way back in 2019, when we were both writers for GQ. In the years since, Max has been an impressively prolific freelancer, snagging bylines in The New York Times, Esquire, and New York Magazine. He’s also the author of Nothing Bogus, a newsletter about independent filmmaking I’ve been reading since it launched at the end of 2023. If you’re as into the craft that goes into making movies as you are the movies themselves, it’s a must read.
He also happens to be my favorite kind of city cyclist—someone who rides everywhere, but doesn’t obsess about gear. We’ve been scheming for a couple of years to host a group ride together, but were waiting for the perfect opportunity. The city of New York gave us one when it announced Art House Cinema week, a seven day collection of screenings and Q&As at theaters across the city. When scanning through the available screenings, I noticed the Village East Angelika location is showing is “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989), a Miyazaki production I haven’t seen yet. Even better, the movie is showing on a Tuesday, which means people who sign up for a free Angelika membership can get their tickets half off.
So … let’s ride?? On Tuesday, March 24, We’ll gather at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn around 6 pm, with the goal to roll to the theater by 6:20 pm so that we can get there in time for the 7 pm showing. If you want to join, buy your tickets ASAP (I’m sitting in H4 if you want to sit near me), and then RSVP via the link here. If you’re signed into your Angelika account, the ticket should only cost $10.59. After the movie, we’ll ride back over the river together to grab drinks and/or food from Threes Brewing in Gowanus. If you do the whole ride with us, it’ll be about 10 miles long. And you better believe we’ll be riding at Jalopy Freaking Pace.
Let’s Play a Game
The answer will be revealed below!
QUICK INTERRUPTION You’re halfway through this newsletter. Good job! Now can you please hit that like button? That’s right, my engagement hacks have gotten even more shameless.
I Like Your Bike!
Leg Day is read by some stylish folks with extremely sick bikes. In this new (hopefully recurring) segment, I’m featuring them! Today, I’m chatting with Anurag Papolu, the 33-year-old Crown Heights-based producer of SpokesCast, about his very cool pink minivelo. The following interview has been gently edited.
How long have you been biking in the city?
I started biking in summer 2020 during the George Floyd protests. The protest rides back then were some of my first group rides.
How many bikes do you have?
I have 3 bikes. One is a titanium Lynskey GR300, which I use on all my long rides, say 30+ miles, it’s very comfortable and light. The second is a Stinner Carizzo, fancy steel all road bike, I mostly got it cause I fell in love the moment I saw it, it’s very similar to the Lynskey but a bit more road-y. This one is my third.
What’s the model and make of this specific bike?
It’s a Stijncycles Peg. Stijn is a small Belgian builder who designed the Japanese Birdy Bicycles folding bike. The Peg was meant to be a similarly small and easy to store, but a bit more nimble no matter what you used it for.
Where did you buy it?
I emailed him and bought the frameset from Taiwan. He shipped it to me. Unfortunately, I bought it just as tariff madness began, which meant I had to pay a lot of money to get it out of customs. Would not recommend!
What made you want to buy a mini velo?
I was originally looking for a folding bike I could take while I’m travelling and came across the Peg in my search. It seemed like a good compromise, especially once I had convinced myself I could pack it into a duffel bag.
Are there any particular build choices you made here that you were most excited about - how has the bike ridden so far?
It’s actually been very tricky figuring out the build. Things just fit and feel different on a mini velo. I got a 46T chainring in the front, but it’s too small. I’m finding myself needing the hardest gear to feel like I’m moving at all on some flat roads. I’m going to replace it with a bigger chainring.
The SRAM derailleur I have also gets too close to the ground and the wheel rim, so I’m looking at some shorter cage options. I wanted to do the 1x thing to make assembling and disassembling while traveling easier. At the moment, the front brake cable is held in place by a zip tie to keep it from getting too close to the wheel. I tried to fit a mudguard I had but it’s way too big for this bike. It currently kinda looks like a spoiler on a Fast and Furious car. [Editors note: I actually think it looks fun!]
There are plenty of things I like about it, though! The wide 1.95 inch wheels, for example, feel super stable! And I’m planning to mount a dynamo light on the front basket, which will be great. Overall, riding it feels about 10% harder than a more conventional bike, which is fine by me!
What kinds of rides are you most excited to take it on?
It’s been a couple of months since I got it. I get around NYC mostly by bike so if I’m just going about my daily commutes and errands, I use this. The basket is very handy. But what I really got it for is to be able to take it on a train/plane easily.
Want to wax poetic about YOUR bike? Shoot me a note over email (legday@substack.com) or DM me on Instagram.
A Big Ol’ Pedestrian Plaza of a Streetsblog Corner
The Mamdani DOT is repeating the deeply flawed Adams-era claim that unhardened daylighting is more dangerous than no daylighting. What if they used these big on-street bike lockers to “harden” them? Why pay-as-you-drive insurance would be a much better way to reduce people’s car insurance costs than Kathy Hochul plan, which has thankfully been rebuked by state lawmakers. The HungryPanda food delivery app is pretty evil. Do we really need to “make biking great again”? Speed cameras still can’t read temporary plates. Could we get some cooler bus shelters on 14th street? So many “street safety devices” were destroyed by the winter storm … and the city doesn’t seem to have a plan to replace them. Community boards want the city to actually use “Sammy’s Law.” Why car-free streets would make watching the World Cup so much better. And finally, Mamdani’s deputy mayor said the city is considering charging for parking!!
Did you guess right?
Maybe by asking the question, I gave the answer away! But …
That’s right, only one! Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess!
Loose Links
Do you care about professional women’s cycling? Toss some money into the GoFundMe for The Cyclists’ Alliance. The independent union provides legal and emotional support to racers, mainly in the continental levels of the sport where wages are usually scant. They were previously funded by companies like Trek, SRAM, Cannondale, Liv, Specialized, but ALL have pulled their money. It’s bleak!
A lovely ode to the Urban Arrow cargo bike that also includes a paragraph that made my brain turn to mush. James Huang is clearly a very talented bike mechanic and reviewer, which means that many of his stories get deep into the weeds. This one was uncharacteristically earnest and sweet … once you got past the part where he describes a bike he felt sentimentally attached to by literally listing its components.
Never change, James!
The fact that this is necessary is really an indictment on delivery culture. I try to order delivery as infrequently as possible—I like being my own delivery driver— but apparently some of the people who do need to be routinely smacked in the head. In the piece, which is a guide to appropriate tipping etiquette, a driver talks about how someone tipped him $5 on a $500 order. People … don’t do this!
A cycling jersey I actually want. I like the overall aesthetic of Portal, a grounded activewear brand from the minds of a couple of cool indie designers, but am generally confounded by the fit of some of its cycling kit. Like, you would not catch me dead with the camel toe on these bib shorts.
Also, why does this model look so scared! (Photo credit: Portal) The latest product drop included a cycling jersey with this cool wind direction pattern on it that I thought would be pretty fun to wear when the weather warmed. Unfortunately, I just checked the sizing chart and don’t think I could squeeze into even the XXL.
“Gear isn’t just gear. It’s a gatekeeper.” You can sort of forgive Portal, an independent brand with a small audience, for not being particularly size inclusive, but should we? In 2026, especially in the outdoor and fitness space, there are still a ton of big and small brands that just seem uninterested in inclusive sizing. Here, after sharing her own struggles with ski jackets, Outside contributor Marisa McMillan shares some recommendations of manufactures she’s begun to trust.
Doohickey of the week: Suncompany Clip-on Bicycle Compass ($13) I generally know what direction I’m traveling, but since I started having therapy in Bushwick, I’ve been trying to find new ways home as much as possible. This thing would help a lot.
Finally, my friend is about to start hiking the AT. I’ve known Michael since high school and am honestly thrilled that he’s started publishing his writing more publicly. His pictures are pretty nice too!
For reference:
I guessed right!
That pink bike looks sick! The owner must be really cool!