What Does Your Commute Say About You?

Our employed correspondent, Becca, writes about the art of making the most of your commute to work. For those of you who are unemployed, read it anyway. It's not like you have anything better to do.

Listen, as New Yorkers we all know that our choice of how we get around this island says a lot about us. If you’re on a bike on your morning work commute, you’re living a different life than that of a consistent cabber or a 30-minute walker. The great appeal to New York is the ability to choose instant change—from the jostle of Times Square to a wander in the sun-streaked West Village. Yet New Yorkers only feel at home where they live because of their habits. You’ve got your fruit stand guy, your coffee spot and the ever-puzzling ACE bar (skee-ball’s aight, but seriously, why do I keep going there?) As creatures of habit, New Yorkers find a way to get around and stick to it, consistently committing the same amount of time and money to our SUV-free vagabondage. But could that $81 all you can eat wait for the L be put towards getting sloshed with your cutie? Consider all of your options.

Bikes rank as pretty sweet among the vintage wearing crowd. They may even invite you to their McCarren Park kickball games if your cruiser has any sort of wicker basket. Though that cheeky bastard is hard to keep around in this town, adding a bike in the morning is the cheapest, best exercise you can get without joining a costly gym. And if you bike to work, you bypass traffic and pits-to-the-face on the summer subway pigpen. There’s a great cyclist subculture in New York that’s easy to get into by visiting one of the hundreds of specialty shops around town. Check out these free training programs committed to “mak[ing] sure that riders have the best experience possible.”

You may have tried this “walking” business despite its affiliation with the European set, but a daily walking commitment has to be approached differently in New York. As a morning commute, it has great potential—walking wakes you up gently (unlike getting walloped by subway stench) and is a more efficient way to do breakfast in a rush (if your food is mobile, you will actually get to eat every day). Walking New York knocks you around with the great gallery of its characters, which is swell, except on a bleary-eyed morning commute. Luckily, little preparation is needed to keep the eccentric cast at bay. Headphones are to walking in New York what Chipotle is to the burrito: overdo it and you’ve got an unnecessary heap to deal with, but balance your needs and you get satisfying variety that may double as art. Also, under the pretense of noise-cancellation, ignore street jerks like those Greenpeace lurkers. (‘Do I want to stop violence related to Amazon deforestation? No. I mean yes, but not if we have to stand near that stinky street meat cart.’)

But I digress. A choice pair of headphones is the way to have complete control regarding the tone and pace of your morning. They’re a polite way to filter your interactions, and with the right morning mix, you’re golden (I recommend “Close to Me,” The Cure or Get Up Kids). WeSC headphones are fun, Bose are classic, while Grado series are droolworthy. Headphone guide forthcoming.

If you decide walking is for plebes and commoners unlike yourself, then start your day on a unicycle, like David Stone. As club founder and dictator for life of the New York Unicycle Club (NYUC), Mr. Stone “used to commute A LOT—27 miles a day” by uni. He notes, “now I mostly just ride for fun,” and we can only assume the non-fun time on his uni is spent jousting, or skimming tightropes between skyscrapers. For those interested, NYUC offers assistance to New Yorkers wanting lessons, just attend a meeting and “bring your unicycle or try one of ours.” Mitch Butler, NYUC web-and-wheelie-master, insists “Commuting on uni is great, and it's easier to get a uni onto a subway or bus than a bicycle.” He adds, “it's a great workout for your abs to commute on uni.” Once you get the hang of it, unicycling to work will earn you bonafide zany New Yorker points. If nothing else, it’s an excuse to wear a top hat.

Remember what it was like to burst through the doors at recess and feel everything in sight was your playground, ready for climbing and exploring? That’s what New York is like for skaters. Skateboarding is cheap, incredibly fun, and often quicker than commuting by bike, which you’ll have to lock down with the jaws of life whenever you go inside. If someone tries to steal your front wheel, you get the satisfaction of swinging on ‘em, since your deck will be tucked under your arm. To commute by skateboard, start with a cruiser deck with big, sticky wheels or get a longboard for stability. Make sure not to overdo it or you’ll end up with a pirate ship-long plank. There are thousands of skate shops in the city and putting together a custom deck is playtime for these guys. Ask them to tighten up your trucks so that a little road texture won’t buck you off your board, and enjoy cruising your commute.