Through the whole book you keep going back to one question: whom is this book for? A book that discusses strategies to reduce the mindless consumption of apps and websites can be directed at people who are already convinced that this is needed and are looking for a recipe. The same book can also be trying to convince people that are not convinced that this is the right thing to do.

If the book is directed at the choir then it is a good summary of very practical tactics to achieve the goal of minimizing digital disruption in one’s life. But all too often the book is preachy and in those moments you think “Nope. Not going to happen. A Facebook addict will simply not even pick up this book.”

There are very good ideas in the book and if you already buy into the notion that facebook is largely a waste of time and that mindlessly scrolling through click-bait websites is possibly not the best way to spend your evenings, you will enjoy this book. Some of the ideas that particularly resonate well with you are:

Spend time off line. Here your joy of fixing bicycles certainly shines. Cal provides an example of a person who quit his impressive job to build motorcycles which sounds way too close to home. Yes, if you sit on your ass all day working in Tech then stopping at some point, going into a workshop (or the yard) and cleaning, tuning, mending, patching your bike certainly seems like a very good idea. One could argue that this is still tactile work, but we are evolved monkeys and most of what we do involves our hands so lets get on with it.

Turn off alerts. YES! This one drives everyone you know crazy. Why? Because a while back you turned off all forms of notifications on all apps on your iPhone. This means that you have to actually want to check messages or email or…wait that’s pretty much it, in order to see if someone is trying to communicate with you. You find it especially amazing that making phones calls is simply something that people no longer do. You recall how making phones calls was very expensive and that the telecommunication industry used to make most of its revenue from “services” around telephony. These days, calls in land are free. In Germany we even had different rates for calling from land line to mobile, calling from mobile in network to calling to mobile out of network. As far as you know, none of these still exist! Yet, people will text first to see if they can call you and generally prefer to text and not voice. Texting is a very low grade form of communication.

Spend time away from tech. This is one of the wonderful benefits of cycling. Sure, you can try and check your Twitter feed while cycling, but good luck with that in a forest road in Brandenburg. The encouragement to “join something” and “get outside” seems to be wide spread amongst those who try to get control over their lives and escape their own inability to control their actions in the face of the Internet Pocket Device terrorizing their lives.

The book does provide useful ideas, but you wonder if these ideas could be implemented by those who can not control themselves. Cal could have written the book on a few Post It notes with the first note being “Self Discipline” ending with “Delete Facebook”.

During the last 10 months or so I sensed a change in my approach to clothes. I could not get my finger on it exactly until I read an article, in GQ Magazin of all places, that described one of my favorite labels: outlier. The article poised that certain segment of the “tech people” were looking at their clothes as a piece of tech more than a piece of fashion or a trend.

It clicked. With all the bikes in a state that’s more or less “done”, I was inevitably pulled into another tech fetish. This time, it’s clothes.

I’ve also been following a two step process that started from minimizing the wardrobe and ended in only buying clothes that I believe will be in the closet for a long time and have specific purpose. This little piece is about the process and its results.

The joy of space

Opening my closet these days is pure joy. The closet is mostly empty with many hangers just sitting there, unused, collecting dust. It makes picking up the outfit in the morning easy, doing laundry a breeze, and feeling a sense of relief. Yes, less cutter is the way to go.

When cleaning up the closet I used a very easy rule and the helping hands and encouragement of my significant other. The rule was easy: did you wear it in the last year? If the answer was no, the item of clothing had to end up in a plastic bag that was later donated to the Red Cross. Given that this rule is going to be explored again next spring, it helps develop a sense of “only buy what you’re really going to wear.” That pair of boots you may wear one day, but did not since 2007, it had to go. That super nice suit that cost a fortune at the time, but was just hanging in the closet since 2008, it ended up in the bag. My only hope was that the Red Cross will provide these items to those who will appreciate them more than I did.

The closet ended up with loads of space and pieces of clothing that had purpose. It stopped being the resting place for old items that were just stored, but not used. A mostly empty closet also meant that someone else was getting newish clothes so everyone wins.

How to Not Buy Too Much

How to dress is a very personal thing. I will never dream of telling anyone how to dress for two simple reasons: I am not qualified in any way, shape, or form, to tell anyone how to dress and, people should dress how they want.

My style has been described by various friends as “monochromatic” and as “techwear”. I only own one pair of jeans, for example, while the rest of my pants are made from various space-age materials. This gets us right back to the GQ article I mentioned above. The article quotes one of my favorite writers, William Gibson, who, as it turns out, also loves the Outlier brand. The interesting bit of thinking in the article, however, is the description of these clothes as futuristic, as something that will fit perfectly in a William Gibson book, and as the last piece of clothing one needs for a time in history that may be described as “the end of the world”.

My interests in these type of clothes came, not surprisingly, from the same drive that got Outlier started: I was looking for pants that will not break when riding my bike to work. Once these were identified, I started looking for pants that will dry quickly in the rain showers we often get in Berlin, pants that will allow me to ride in January and jackets that will keep me warm, but not over-heat. These cycling-oriented clothes had a few additional requirements:

• Have as little labeling as possible.
• Look like normal clothes when not riding a bike.
• Be extremely well made.

Ironically, it’s very hard to find clothes that will fit the above list well. Loads of companies try to address this market, but dependent on their orientation, they either include way too many labels (I’m looking at you Rapha), look too technical (because you need 15 pockets right?), or are not very well made.

So which companies are worth looking at? Here is a list, by far not complete, of labels that are interesting and are also pragmatic, use more or less muted color palate and have a good online presence. Some labels, such as my home-town based Acronym, are simply too out there which is why they are not listed.

• Outlier. Obviously.
• Mission workshop. Mostly made in the U.S. (some in Peru or Canada) and based in the Bay Area. These guys occupy the other half of my closet. Their threads are simply exactly what the list above is all about.
• Seagale. No personal experience there, but their shirts are made from Merino and their pants from breathable, durable, water resistance material so they could be worth checking out.
• Descente Allterrain. Japanese cycling brand that started a sub-label to meet the more high-tech, every day, clothing. They are made in China which really is not so surprising since for these high-tech fabrics, China has some of the best factories in the world.
• Reigning Champ. Seem like a Canadian label which a few garments that are exceptionally well made (in Canada no less) and are super high tech. Their Stow-Away Hood Jacket hits the nail on the head.
• Loow.  Swedish.  Merino.  Do I need to say anything else?
• Western Rise.  No personal experience, but looks interesting.
• Shaping New Tomorrow.  Their pants caught my eyes since they made a point of mentioning that the thighs are wider which fits the bill if you’re a cyclist.  No personal experience so far.
• Wolk Antwerp. No personal experience but it’s European and looks to be priced in the more affordable category than outlier and Mission Workshop.
• Wool and Prince. Loads of Merino and very nicely done 100% T-Shirts.
• Rhone. No personal experience. Looks like interesting brand.

I’m pretty sure that the list will grow with time, but for now, it’s a good starting point. The other good thing about these labels, and I say it tongue in cheek, is that once you buy one of their items of clothes, you will not have money left for more clothes hence, your closet will not get packed again.

As soon as one bike build is done the next temptation appears. I love the way the Van Dessel WTF came out, but can’t help and find this rig a very attractive and desireable ride.

The bike is the brain child of a Seattle rider that also runs the Tumblr Bikefukr and was build by Garth L’esperance.

I thought for a long time about the reasons I find this bike so hot. First and foremost, the rider is 6’3” (which is 190.5 cm in a useful measurement) and the bike looks just right. Typically 650B look strange to me when the frame is meant to support a large rider, but this one looks just right. It’s also designed to fit a 2.3 inch tires and yet allow jdg, the rider, to use campagnolo cranks. It’s got disks and seems to be build for front loading which is also exactly how I like my bikes.

The full gallery is here.  Something about 650B that makes them super hot.