Go Out and Speak to People

An economist that I follow avidly - called Gary Stevenson, a former trader now activist against economic inequality - said something on a video that rang true for me recently. He shared his experience that whilst occupying the role of a top trader at Citibank, he was schooled by someone his senior who urged something along the lines of; ‘If you want to learn about the economy, go and speak to people’. Like normal people; e.g. go out into the world and understand the diverse experiences of community members.

This of course makes sense for an economist but can’t we all take something from this? Imagine that humans are progressively becoming more isolated physically, while sourcing more of their information in algorithmic forums online. Are we all at risk of missing the reality of what is actually happening out there for everyday people, further hindering our ability to empathise, relate to and understand others? These highly loaded questions that support my world view might suggest so, but my most recent adventure on a solo bike ride only reinforced this bias. Furthermore, it was a nice reminder that solitude is an environment we create and one that we have the power to adjust and change by simply connecting with others around us, however fleeting those interactions may be.

Let me tell you about this bike ride, then. So I needed to ride 150km as I prepared for this messed up cycling event in Victoria, and I share WhatsApp groups with others that took on the feat. I’m up at 4.30am to make the 5.15am meeting, but I miss the meeting and I’m left alone to take on the brutal training ride. I’m tired, sluggish, lacking in caffeine, but make it South across treacherous roads, looking for an out. I stop for coffee and a treat at a bakery in Sutherland to lift my spirits where I encounter my first reminder to engage with the world around me; a nice chap who recognised my cycling videos on YouTube and a big ex-cop called ‘Justin’ (for the sake of this story).

The first chap said straight off the bat ‘he’s a YouTuber!’ upon first sight of me. So we stopped for a nice chat, an exchange of cycling goals, plans for the day, and a warm handshake before wishing each other well. I grabbed my banana bread and strong coffee, sat outside and accidentally stared into the eyes (for way too long) of a man-mammoth who asked; ‘where you headed, mate’? A nice surprise. I had to lift my voice to share my plans with the strong looking dude who eked of ‘I’ve got my shit together’ and capability (in the best way). He said he couldn’t hear me, and asked me to come and sit at his table. So we talked about our careers, his time in the force and why he left, crypto, economics (Gary Stevenson came up, of course), and just ‘making it work’ in this world amid family and health surprises. We had a fantastic chat and following another warm handshake, I was ready to rip in.

Shortly after, I rode what I believe to be 20kms of the most stunning roads in Australia. During which, I reflected on my time with Justin, trying to picture his life and the experiences he’d described. Before long, I was to encounter the next character of the day ‘mrkotzee’ (his Insta handle), aka Luka. I spotted this chap from a distance; long blond hair flowing in the wind, a big floppy hat atop his head, on a beastly mountain bike rolling down the hill with his whole life strapped to the bike (as well as his skateboard). I thought; this guy is riding a long way and I want to know more. I rode aside him and asked ‘where are you off to mate?’ And he said ‘Melbourne!’, so I insisted we have a chat. Upon asking, he told me he was 17… seventeen! Bike-packing from Brisbane to Melbourne, picking up a bag of rubbish everyday. What a f*cking legend! When I was seventeen my only concern was my hairstyle and being liked. This guy is on the trip of his life, showing his values and care, creating memories, and even attending skate comps on the way down. Straight up sicko. He did have parents who were checking in and people who were looking out for him, in spite of the lack of shoes. Stay safe and relish every single second Luka!

As I rode on, I tried to put myself in Luka’s shoes. I was so excited for this young guy. The maturity and perspective he’s developing at such a young age; the freedom he’s afforded himself; the go-get, independence and ingenuity to take on such a massive undertaking. I know barely anything about this guy but he really gave me a lot of hope to be honest, and I’m pretty stoked that people more than 10 years younger than me are doing this. The day was about to hold even more surprises of every kind.

I got down to the Gong where I stopped for another coffee by the beach. Two dogs - brothers - stumbled over; their eyes a bit grey (possibly a bit blind), unstable, particularly immobile and absolutely adorable. They both lay in the sun on the warm pavement while their owner grabbed coffee, and failed to move far thereafter. All one dog could muster was to come over and sit on my feet! I helped the owner grab the lead of one while she had to carry the other home. I laughed and jumped back on the bike to take on the final 50km of astoundingly beautiful riding through the National Park. Near my rides end, about 50kms North of Wollongong I thought ‘I must take a picture of this greenery’ only to realise there was no phone in my pocket. Sh*t. It’s back at the cafe. OK; I have agency over how I react here - it’s fine. I’ll ride back, wait, no, I should get the train. I arrive at the station in need of help.

Waterfall station is particularly quiet, with one platform of two closed. I knock on the window of the station office and a reserved but friendly older chap on the team of workers there comes out to listen to my predicament. The next train back is in 45 minutes, meaning once the cafe confirm they have the phone, we’ve plenty of time to chat. Back to Gary Stevenson’s strategy of understanding the lay of the land by chatting to people; I ask the worker what’s happening with all these strikes… I proceed to understand the different players in the rail disputes, the unions, the governments role, the different agendas and how it affects old mate I’m talking too. It emerges he’s a normal guy like me who is affected by agendas at the top and the powers that be, of which he can’t control. Do the outcomes go his way? In terms of probability and observing current economic trends, my perception was no. But I saw a window into his life and I felt we understood each other. I thanked him before I jumped on the train.

The next 2-3 hours on the train was solitude (in the midst of jumping off briefly to grab my phone). And in my reflections, I had to remind myself that this was a ‘solo’ ride and yet, I felt energised and inspired as a result of my interactions with others. I learned things beyond my usual agenda of just getting into nature and clocking some kms. It was a nice reminder of a couple of things; 1. life doesn’t have to be solitary and you have the power to pursue connectedness. 2. There’s so much we can learn about the world by getting out there and experiencing it; the value in that often far outweighs the stuff we are getting via our algorithmic and moulded media outlets in my humble opinion.