The Power of Shared Hobbies
I’ve been riding my bike for about a month now, and it seems like a good time to reflect on one of the things that allowed me to take this trip: the unifying power of hobbies.
Just over a year ago, when I first bought a used bicycle on craigslist and started slowly riding around Rhode Island on it, it was just something to do during the pandemic. I could get out into the world and feel connected to it, while also maintaining a necessary physical isolation. I remember explicitly saying that there was no chance in hell that I’d ever ride my bike across the country. Such an idea was far too outlandish, too ridiculous, too out there.
Until it wasn’t.
The bicycle trip became real, moving from joking fantasy to serious reality, when it occurred to me to attach the board game stuff to it. And that power of that shared hobby continues to deliver.
Along this trip, virtual strangers have welcomed me into their homes and put me up for the night, just because I was willing to bike to their house to play some board games. From Hartford to Brooklyn to Philly and Columbus, I’ve crashed on couches and guest beds with other game designers and enthusiasts.
Using the Warmshowers website (sort of like couchsurfing, but for cyclists), I met a great couple in Pittsburgh that put me up for the night and taught me how to play Suburbia and Arboretum.
Suburbia is great! But I’m terrible at it.
On a bike trail leaving Columbus, I met another person riding on their own long journey that will ultimately take them to Denver. But we didn’t talk about biking for the 20ish miles we shared: we talked about board games! From Terraforming Mars to Magic: The Gathering, we passed the miles as the sun beat down on our backs in 90-degree weather.
In Dayton I met up with a designer (Andy Klosky), but we didn’t even do any playtesting! We just had a good time playing Unfair and Lords of Waterdeep.
The more time I spend on the bike, the less important I think the biking actually is. I’m just going forward. That’s not especially difficult, nor does it require any particular set of complex skills. Just keep pedaling.
What is special, however, is the connections made possible by our shared passion for board games. And that’s pretty cool.
