What I've been reading
Some other Substack newsletters you might be interested in
Substack has a recommendations function that is designed for writers to promote and support each other. The idea is that you recommend a publication, and the writer is prompted to recommend you back. Substack also sends an email to a writer’s subscribers every time they make a new recommendation, encouraging subscribers to sign up too.
I haven’t made any recommendations on Substack because I’m not entirely comfortable with an approach that feels like fishing for recommendations from others. I’m also conscious that what I like might not appeal to you and I’m reluctant to subject you to extra ‘Angela recommends’ emails from Substack.
However, there are a number of Substack newsletters that I follow and enjoy reading. So, rather than making a blanket recommendation, I thought I’d share a little bit about them.
Cycling-related newsletters
Most cycling-related newsletters on Substack are about professional cycling and cycling as a sport. I have found surprisingly few aimed at recreational cyclists or those interesting in cycling touring. Here’s a few newsletters I subscribe to.
Tom on the Trails
Tom on the Trails is one of the first newsletters I subscribed to and have kept reading each week. It’s written by Tom Bilcze, an Ohio resident who discovered cycling 15 years ago when he was looking to develop a healthier life. He’s become an advocate for cycle trails and exploring the world by bike.
Tom writes on a range of cycling-related topics but, like me, focuses on everyday cycling and cycle touring rather than the technical or competitive aspects of cycling. He is firmly of the view that “if you ride a bike, you are a cyclist.”
He’s actively involved with the Ohio to Erie Trail and has written several posts about what that trail has to offer - along with enticing photos - and his wider thoughts on what makes a good trail and trail etiquette. His posts are easy to read, and unfailingly positive about cycling.
I hope to share more about Tom and his cycling experiences in a future post so watch this space.
Unfinished Journeys
I was excited to discover Emily Chappell’s newsletter, Unfinished Journeys, because I really enjoyed reading her two books - What Goes Around: A London Cycle Courier’s Story and Where There’s a Will: Hope, Grief and Endurance in a Cycle Race Across a Continent.
If you’re not familiar with Emily Chappell, you’ve probably worked out from her book titles that she worked as a cycle courier in London for several years, and later took up long-distance cycle racing. She was the fastest women to finish in the 4,000-kilometre unsupported Transcontinental Race from Belgium to Istanbul in 2016 - a true endurance event that involved working out her own route, cycling at all hours and getting very little sleep (often taking short naps on the side of the road).
She’s since scaled back her cycling - thanks in part to a long recovery from Covid - although it’s still a big part of her life. In Unfinished Journeys, she shares her experiences and reflections on cycling, provides occasional book reviews (she has a love of literature) and writes about the opportunities that her cycling (and writing) has led to.
So, for example, she writes about being a judge at a film festival for mountain and adventure sports, hosting events at the Edinburgh International Book festival and leading riders on Le Loop, a loop of the Tour De France route before the main peloton come through. Always an interesting read.
Endurance Collective and JOIN The Program
These two newsletters are more focused on the science of cycling than on the cycling itself. Endurance Collective is written by Noa, a Canadian resident who works as a bike fitter, endurance coach and sport nutritionist. She shares her experience through tips and tricks on getting the right bike fit, advice on training and sports nutrition, and articles of particular interest to women in cycling (such as “protecting your lady bits”).
JOIN The Program is all about training. It’s largely aimed at improving the performance of road cyclists (which I am not), but the underlying principles are of relevance to anyone looking to achieve a cycling goal. There hasn’t been a new post since November, however, so I’m not sure whether the newsletter is simply taking a break or has run its course.
Eyelashroaming
Eyelashroaming is only loosely about cycling. It’s written by Wellington writer Ashleigh Young, better known for her book of personal essays, Can You Tolerate This? In late 2022, she started writing a weekly account of her daily rides, and what she saw, heard or thought about along the way. Mostly, it’s about her weekday commute.
Nothing much happens but it is compelling reading nonetheless. We learn where she went, what the ride was like (being Wellington, often hilly, wet and buffeted by wind) and how she was feeling on the day. She tells us about other cyclists, pedestrians or vehicles that captured her attention, and describes the inevitable conflicts she experiences or witnesses on the road, and her reactions to them.
As an occasional cycle commuter (and former Wellington resident), I find it easy to identify with Ashleigh’s experience on the bike - sometimes a grind, other days a delight. And she’s a good writer so somehow manages to make even the most mundane rides worth reading about.
Sadly, her ‘cycling week’ posts came to an end in December. But I enjoy her writing, so I’ve kept my subscription going to see what the blog morphs into next.
Other newsletters
There are thousands and thousands of newsletters on Substack on all manner of topics. It would be easy to spend all day browsing what’s on offer. But who has time for that?
I only subscribe to a handful of newsletters, most of which I’ve found via Substack’s weekly digest of recent posts. (There have been others at different times, but I unsubscribe if they don’t hold my interest.)
My favourite is Steinbergdrawscartoon’s Substack. Avi Steinberg is a cartoonist for The New Yorker, children’s book writer and illustrator, and a kindergarten teacher. His posts are a mix of cartoons and writing about the creative process. Dealing with procrastination and trying not to get waylaid by life’s many distractions when he just needs to sit down and draw (or write) are constant themes in his work. I’m sure I’m not the only one who identifies with that challenge, and his cartoons invariably make me smile.
Substack hosts many newsletters related to wellbeing and the never-ending search for balance and meaning in the modern world. I subscribe to two of them.
Ellen Scott’s working on purpose is focused on the world of work. Many of her posts relate to changing the way people work so they can meet the needs of both their job and their life outside work. So, for example, she discusses hybrid working (working in and out of the office), chronoworking (working at the time of day when you are most productive) and the tension between establishing clear boundaries (like taking a lunch break and leaving on time) and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.
Rosie Spinks’ What Do We Do Now That We’re Here? touches on similar issues like overworking, burnout and the general busyness of life. But she also casts the net a bit wider and writes about being online, friendships, meditation and artificial intelligence (among other things). Some posts I enjoy reading; others I scroll through pretty quickly before I push delete. But they are always thought-provoking and well-written.
My last subscription, to The Ultra Trail, is relatively recent so I don’t yet know whether I’ll keep reading. Written by adventurer and endurance athlete Jenny Tough (yes, this is her real name), it’s about recovering from exercise dependency and eating disorders. I subscribed after reading a great post titled “Stop assuming I’m working out to lose weight”, which is about the unsolicited advice and patronising comments she gets (mostly from men) because she doesn’t look like an athlete.
Until a few days ago, I also subscribed to a newsletter on New Zealand politics (Democracy Project). It provides well-informed analysis by credible commentators but, ultimately, I found it too depressing and decided to stick with more enjoyable reads.