I once shared a co-working desk with a rather eccentric and gruffly mustached American in Paris. Besides sharing a desk and an unhealthy appetite for unaffordable Bourgogne, we were the only two in the office who stubbornly insisted on using our bikes to get everywhere.
For anyone who has ever attempted biking in Paris, you’ll know that it requires plenty of obstinacy and awareness of a few choice French insults. This guy claimed, in his typical hyperbole, that he started flying around the world with his bike in tow and that upon arrival in Charles de Gaulle airport, he unpacked his bike, put it together on the spot, and biked merrily into the city. Whether this was fact is immaterial. The whole idea of bringing a bike around fascinated me and has stayed with me these past few years.